Shows
Open Wide PodcastEpisode 58 - Conversation with Sarah Ruberg | Our Thrive TribeScott and Jinesh chat with Sarah Ruberg, founder and CEO of Our Thrive Tribe. They discuss Sarah's journey to and through dental, and her entrepreneurship journey with Our Thrive Tribe. Sarah shares her thoughts around personal branding in the dental space, and several insights into optimizing LinkedIn as a platform for success.
1:20: Introducing Sarah Ruberg
2:50 Landing in dental via 'relationship management'
10:44 Our Thrive Tribe
13:43 Ideal customer profile
18:43 LinkedIn use in dental: an expert's thoughts
38:47 Industry shoutouts
45:04 Entrepreneurship and lessons learned
47:09 Striving for sparkle impact
52:05 Thoughts on a hospitality mindset
2025-12-0256 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 57 - Conversation with Penny Reed | AADOMScott and Jinesh chat with Penny Reed, Executive VP of Membership and Events at the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM). Penny shares details about her career to and through her time in the dental world. She shares insights from her years working within the dental practice setting and years spent consulting dentists and dental groups. Penny emphasizes the importance of coachability and culture, and the importance of adopting technology as it evolves. Penny also shares about AADOM and the value it brings to dental office managers across the country.
1:57 Introducing Penny Reed
3:52 Journey to dental via Walmart
15:42 Foray int...
2025-11-191h 12Open Wide PodcastEpisode 56 - DTA Conference Recap, CMS Medical-Dental Integration, HS One Partners with AWSJinesh recaps the DTA conference and shares some of the key takeaways. Scott and Jinesh then discuss the recent CMS announcement about their medical-dental integration initiative, and the recent announcement of Henry Schein One's partnership with AWS on AI.
1:30 Intro and DTA conference feedback
16:36 CMS highlights medical-dental integration
22:08 Henry Schein One Partnership with AWS for AI
2025-11-1229 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 55 - Conversation with Mitch Olan | DSO Landscape InsightsScott and Jinesh chat with Mitch Olan, a DSO industry veteran. Over the years Mitch was COO, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Dental Care Alliance (DCA). Mitch shares an overview of his many decades in the dental space, notably through the lens of one of the largest multi-location groups in the US. The trio discuss the recent challenges and woes that have faced DSOs, and Mitch shares his outlook on the space moving forward.
1:13 Introducing Mitch Olan
3:19 Mitch's journey through dental
9:34 Evolution of the DSO space
14:11 DSOs going public, back then and today
24:24 Predictions about continued co...
2025-11-051h 00Open Wide PodcastEpisode 54 - Conversation with Tina Saw | Oral GenomeScott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Tina Saw, founder and CEO of Oral Genome. Oral Genome is biotechnology company focused on saliva-based testing for oral health. Tina discusses the development of the Oral Genome test, the specifics of the test, and its implications for preventative care. Tina shares her passion for integrating dentistry and medicine, and explains medicine as an avenue for growth of her company. Throughout the episode Tina, Scott, and Jinesh all reflect on some of the challenges of entrepreneurship.
1:42 Introducing Tina Saw
3:07 Tina's journey from music to dentistry
7:22 Leaving the dental op
12:05 The Oral Genome test
16:47 Production com...
2025-10-2949 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 53 - Business Updates from Scott and JineshScott and Jinesh discuss their respective business updates.
2:40 Jinesh Updates: Growth from relationship with National Facilities Direct; Industry partnerships teaser
12:43 Scott's new business
2025-10-2147 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 52 - Dentalcorp Going Private, 'MAGA Dentist' BacklashScott and Jinesh discuss the recent announcement that Chicago-based Private Equity group GTCR is taking Canada's largest DSO Dentalcorp private (and paying a premium for it). They also chat about the backlash to the politically-charged comment / joke from the California-based 'MAGA Dentist', and the possible trademark / IP implications of dental practices in different states with the same name.
2:02 PE firm GTCR to take Dentalcorp (Canada's largest DSO) private
15:48 'MAGA Dentist' backlash
2025-10-0730 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 51 - Conversation with Samantha Strain | HealthStream VenturesScott and Jinesh chat with Samantha Strain, Partner and CDO and HealthStream Ventures and Cofounder of DoubleMint about all things M&A in the dental space. They discuss Sam's journey from distributor regional rep to healthcare lending to facilitating the purchase of dental practices. Sam shares her thoughts on the market opportunity from the buy side perspective, and then dives deep on changes in the dental practice market over the past 5 years, and the change in mentality of both sellers and buyers. Sam wraps by sharing about her venture investing activity, and impressive female founders in the dental tech space.
2:24 Int...
2025-10-011h 00Open Wide PodcastEpisode 50 - Conversation with Matt Ingram | Marketing to DentistsScott and Jinesh chat with Matt Ingram about his career in dental marketing and media. Matt explains how the space has changed over the last 15 years and comments on some of the high-level marketing strategies he's seen play out. He recounts some of the best and worst he's seen over the years, and discusses the massive opportunity that currently exists in the world of marketing to dentists.
2:33 Introducing Matt Ingram
7:18 Mechanics of marketing to dentists
10:44 Do print ads still work?
18:44 Marketing strategies across dental
23:04 Best and worst marketing tactics
28:15 Marketing on a shoestring budget
31:19 The untapped data opportunity
32:51 Inf...
2025-09-181h 00Open Wide PodcastEpisode 49 - Epic's AI Transcription Announcement, Vyne vs Henry ScheinScott and Jinesh chat about Epic's recent announcement that they're releasing their own native AI transcription tool to be bundled into their software, and Henry Schein announces they'll be restricting connectivity that Vyne has used to transfer data for insurance claims submissions.
1. Epic's AI announcement 2:18
2. Vyne vs Henry Schein 12:52
2025-09-0431 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 48 - Conversation with Marv Nelson | A-decScott and Jinesh chat with Marv Nelson, CEO of A-dec. They discuss A-dec's history, culture, and philosophy. Marv discusses the impact of COVID, A-dec's supply chain, and the impact of tariffs (or lack thereof) on A-dec. Marv shares his thoughts around price positioning, equipment servicing, DSO strategy, and dealer relationships.
3:05 Introducing Marv Nelson
5:29 Marv's path to dental
9:01 History of A-dec
11:35 A-dec's philosophy and culture
21:30 Navigating COVID
23:37 Supply Chain and impact of tariffs
27:35 Pricing strategy
30:16 A-dec's tech upgrade
38:16 Thoughts around equipment servicing
45:51 Dealer relationships
48:14 DSO strategy
51:22 Odd customer requests
54:59 Dealer relationships part 2
2025-08-271h 00
Coffee Break with Coachman#55 From Dentistry to Design: Christian Coachman on Quality, Technology, and the FutureIn this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Scott and Jinesh from the Open Wide Podcast and share my journey, the unconventional path that brought me to where I am today. We talked about the evolution of Digital Smile Design, the balance between quality and scale, and why I believe in always aiming for gold-standard dentistry. I also shared my thoughts on how technology is reshaping our profession and spoke about my more recent role as a strategic investor. It was a rich and honest conversation, and I hope listeners...
2025-08-2746 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 47 - Dental Medicaid Coverage at Risk, Insurance Company buys a DSOScott and Jinesh chat about the recent increased risk to dental coverage via Medicaid nationwide, as well as the recent acquisition of the DSO Cherry Tree Dental by Delta Dental of Wisconsin.
1:59 Dental coverage at risk
8:50 Delta Dental of Wisconsin buys DSO Cherry Tree Dental
2025-08-0532 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 46 - Conversation with Joe Cavaretta | Cavaretta Consulting GroupScott and Jinesh chat with Joe Cavaretta, Founder and CEO of Cavaretta Consulting Group. They discuss Joe's journey through dental, and how his career evolved from working at publicly traded dental distributors to venturing into startups, first at Whale Dental and then founding his own consulting firm. Joe shares his perspective on the maturing DSO space, and some of the ways he has helped guide DSOs to success.
2:31 Introducing Joe Cavaretta
3:50 Joe's journey through dental
14:03 The leap to Dental Whale
21:21 Launching Cavaretta Consulting Group
27:45 Facilitating DSO's software adoption
39:00 Investment in dental matures
43:03 Dental distribution growing pains
49:25 Dental distribution mimicking medical GP...
2025-07-031h 00Open Wide PodcastEpisode 45 - Conversation with Santosh Patel | Complete Specialty Solutions / SubscribiliScott and Jinesh chat with Santosh Patel, Founder of Complete Specialty Solutions and current Chief Revenue Officer of Subscribili. They discuss Santosh's journey building Complete Specialty Solutions, and his decision to sell the software piece of the business to Subscribili. Santosh shares why the relationship makes sense, and what the future at each respective company holds.
2:16 Introducing Santosh Patel
3:35 Medical Journey before dental
8:21 Broken referral system in dental
11:45 Founding Complete Specialty Solutions
15:06 Marketplace of specialists
19:06 CSS business model
28:08 Subscribili acquires CSS software
34:17 Becoming CRO at Subscribili
40:54 Customer profiles
45:11 Customer stories and advice from the trenches
2025-06-1952 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 44 - Conversation with Stanley Bergman | Henry ScheinScott and Jinesh chat with Stanley Bergman, CEO of Henry Schein. They discuss Stan's path to Henry Schein and touch on key elements of culture at the company. Stan shares stories from the transition to the digital era, reflects on crisis management and leadership, and discusses his perspective on industry relationships and competition. Stan also shares how he thinks about innovation, and what excites him most about the future of the dental profession.
1:29 Introducing Stan Bergman
3:23 Leaving South Africa for the US
5:35 Joining Henry Schein
13:41 The IBM debacle
17:50 People-first culture
21:02 Innovation
24:51 Balancing manufacturer relationships
29:57 Crisis management and leadership
34:30 Co...
2025-05-2948 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 43 - Conversation with Kyle Stanley | Light Side AcademyScott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Kyle Stanely about his journey in the dental world, from clinical practice to lecturing to podcasting to communicating mental health. They take a deep dive into the importance of mental health in the dental world, and how it's so commonly neglected. They discuss the stigma around mental health, and touch on the biggest mistakes dentists make.
1:36 Introducing Kyle Stanley
7:14 Founding Pearl
14:38 Current work balance
18:44 The business of lecturing
23:31 Podcasting
29:11 Journey to mental health
41:55 Mental health mistakes dentists make
48:58 Light Side Academy
52:21 Communicating and crucial conversations
2025-05-221h 03Open Wide PodcastEpisode 42 - Conversation with Landon Hilliard | DentisafeScott and Jinesh chat with Landon Hilliard, COO of Dentisafe. They discuss all things waterline safety including what builds up in dental water lines, proper treatment and testing protocols, and legislation being passed to keep dental waterlines safe.
1:22 Introducing Landon Hilliard
5:38 Bacteria in dental water lines
10:43 Waterline maintenance overview
17:19 State laws around water line maintenance
23:03 Testing water lines
28:23 Dentisafe customer profiles
35:02 Adoption and cost of water line testing
39:38 Testing and maintenance best practices
42:30 Dentisafe helps NC after Hurricane Helene
2025-05-1548 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 41 - Sedation Death, States Ranked on Dental, Tariffs ChaosScott and Jinesh recap several recent news articles including: dental sedation oversight in North Carolina, states ranked on 25 dental health related factors, and commentary about the potential impact of tariffs on healthcare.
1:34 Best times to post on LinkedIn
3:38 Dental sedation oversight in NC
11:54 States ranked on dental health related factors
24:37 Impact of tariffs on healthcare
2025-05-0735 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 40 - Conversation with Jordan Reiss | Dexis (Envista)Scott and Jinesh chat with Jordan Reiss, Senior Director of Clinical Strategic Development at Dexis, about the evolution of imaging technology in dental. They also discuss some of the latest applications of AI in imaging and case-planning workflow.
1:28 Introducing Jordan Reiss
3:30 Jordan's journey to and through dental
15:14 AI enters the picture
27:10 Software ecosystem and integrations
30:02 A future in the cloud
37:37 Dexis' new implant AI workflow
47:56 Tariffs and strategic planning
2025-05-0258 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 39 - Conversation with Christian Coachman | Digital Smile DesignScott and Jinesh chat with Dr Christian Coachman about a wide range of topics, starting out with his personal journey and the unconventional path he took. They dive into the Digital Smile Design business journey, product, and evolution. Christian shares his philosophies around quality vs scale, gold-standard dentistry, and the role of technology in dentistry. They wrap with a discussion about Christian's more recent work as a strategic investor.
1:05 Introducing Christian Coachman
4:30 Embarking on an unconventional career path
13:24 Founding Digital Smile Design
21:12 DSD business model and revenue streams
25:22 Quality and scale
30:57 Gold standard of dentistry
42:35 Physical and mental he...
2025-04-241h 03Open Wide PodcastEpisode 38 - Conversation with Lior Tamir | The Dental AppScott and Jinesh chat with Dr Lior Tamir about his journey through dental. Lior shares key insights on running a dental practice through a business lens. He explains why he has taken the time to build out The Dental App practice management software that better suits the needs of practice owners and practicing dentists. He shines light on why the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) element of his software is game-changing when it comes to patient communication and patient follow-through on treatment.
1:26 Introducing Lior Tamir
13:43 Dental practice startup growth strategy
30:09 Dentistry viewed as hospitality
32:28 Dental practice software challenges
36:39 Birth of The Den...
2025-04-091h 00Open Wide PodcastEpisode 37 - Midwinter Recap, UptimeHealth Recognition, ADA warns UtahScott and Jinesh recap their Chicago Midwinter conference experiences, Scott gives Jinesh his flowers for the UptimeHealth recognition by Fast Company, and the duo recaps the ADA letter to the governor of Utah warning against removing fluoride from drinking water.
1:28 Chicago Midwinter conference recap
9:35 UptimeHealth nominated Most Innovative by Fast Company
14:11 ADA unhappy with Utah moving to ban fluoride from drinking water
2025-04-0328 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 36 - Conversation with Trey Tepichin | Cloud DentistryScott and Jinesh chat in person with Trey Tepichin, founder of Cloud Dentistry. They discuss Trey's path to dentistry and powering through the early days of the company via 'manual automation'. Trey reflects on the ins and outs of his platform, his go to market strategy, and how marketplaces bring out the best (and worst!) of the population.
1:01 Introducing Trey Tepichin
6:46 Finding dentistry
9:28 Starting Cloud Dentistry
13:17 Go to market strategy
15:59 Impact of Covid on the business
19:19 Mechanics and use cases of the platform
28:37 Wild stories from marketplace interactions
30:50 Next steps for Cloud Dentistry
2025-03-2639 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 35 - Conversation with Khamir Patel and Dmitry Burshteyn | SmartChair.AIScott and Jinesh chat with Dr Khamir Patel and Dr Dmitry Burshteyn about SmartChair.AI, a company dedicated to measuring dental chair usage time. They discuss the origin and progress of the company, and reflect on chair usage time as possibly the most important driver of optimizing success of a dental practice.
1:46 Introducing Khamir and Dmitry
13:12 SmartChair.AI product overview
17:18 Progress to date
19:46 Product use cases
24:51 The co-founder relationship
29:07 Khamir's balancing act
31:54 Lessons learned
33:51 Go to market strategy
41:03 Surprising findings (the data doesn't lie)
49:33 Optimizing efficiency - seeing is believing
2025-03-1955 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 34 - Conversation with Marko Vujicic | ADA Health Policy InstituteScott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Marko Vujicic, Chief Economist at the American Dental Association. They discuss Marko's role within the ADA and the work of the Health Policy Institute. The trio dive into oral health and public policy, and the challenges (and potential solutions!) to meaningfully increasing access to care in the US.
0:56 Introducing Dr. Marko Vujicic
3:47 Marko's pre-dental journey
8:12 The ADA's Health Policy Institute
12:55 Putting oral health on the map
16:55 Oral health and the new administration
21:39 Public policy and access to care
29:49 The dental insurance paradigm
38:20 Medical-dental integration
50:23 Marko solves the access to care problem
2025-03-0459 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 33 - Conversation with Ophir Tanz | PearlScott and Jinesh chat with Ophir Tanz, founder of Pearl, about all things dental AI. They discuss Ophir's background, why the AI opportunity in dental specifically makes sense, and get in the weeds on Pearl's philosophy and approach to tackling the challenge. Ophir shares his perspective on partnerships, integrations, the regulatory environment, go-to-market, and the future of Pearl.
1:28 Introducing Ophir Tanz
8:35 Why AI in dental made sense
12:24 Training data
16:34 Types of AI and benefits of AI (in dental)
22:58 Integrations and partnerships
30:39 Regulatory approvals
35:15 Going global
46:40 Pearl's future
2025-02-2555 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 32 - Conversation with Ashley Lerman | FirstgrinScott and Jinesh chat with pediatric dentist Dr. Ashley Lerman about her journey founding and growing Firstgrin. Ashley shares insights on her go-to-market strategy and partnerships, as well as lots of advice for parents with young children. She breaks down the importance of early dental visits, and the cost of delaying a child's first trip to the dentist.
0:44 Introducing Ahsley Lerman
6:20 Launching Firstgrin
17:10 Go-to-market strategy
24:23 Growth and partnerships
28:54 Fluoride recommendations
33:16 Advice from a pediatric dentist
39:05 Cost of delaying a child's dental care
41:07 Dental referrals and founder support
2025-02-1846 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 31 - ADA Letter to President TrumpScott and Jinesh discuss some of the highlights of the letter the ADA sent to President Donald Trump just before he took office for his second term.
3:50 Introducing ADA letter to Trump
6:57 Opioid monitoring, Fluoride, and Government Subsidized Dental Coverage
11:59 Medical-dental integration, practice technologies
16:17 Education and Defense
20:04 Environment Protection
22:37 Flex-spending
26:29 Rescinding expansion of nondiscrimination protections
2025-02-1129 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 30 - Narcotics, Surveys, and AIScott and Jinesh chat about the Yankee Dental Conference and recap the recent Dental Post survey. They also discuss the latest journal article assessing efficacy of various pain relievers, and wrap up with a discussion about the Dental Economics article about AI use in the dental world.
1:27 Jinesh preps for Yankee Dental Conference
5:24 Dental Post survey results
18:37 Pain relievers study
28:19 AI report in Dental Economics
2025-02-0434 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 29 - Conversation with Eric Shirley | Dental Manufacturing and Distribution LandscapeScott and Jinesh chat with Eric Shirley, current President of Keystone Industries and former President of Patterson. Eric shares his personal experience running both manufacturers and distributors in the dental space, and the dynamics between those two parties. Eric also weighs in on the Patterson acquisition, and opines on the impact it may have on the dental industry as a whole.
2:44 Introducing Eric Shirley
6:16 How Eric ended up in dental
11:36 Buy/Get deals in dental
14:42 The dynamic between manufacturers and distributors
27:40 Eric's thoughts on the Patterson deal
39:49 Equipment manufacturing and service
50:34 Printing the future at Keystone Industries
59:40 Tariffs and Made in th
2025-01-281h 03Open Wide PodcastEpisode 28 - Selling to Dentists and Startup Expansion ConsiderationsRecorded during holiday season 2024, Scott and Jinesh chat about the seasonality of selling to dentists, and about how to manage team coverage over the holidays. They also discuss the right timing for company expansion internationally and into other healthcare verticals, and reflect on fundraise timing and luck.
2:46 Seasonality of selling to dentists
14:07 Coordinating team schedules
16:10 Timing for a startup's market and/or geographic expansion
25:08 TAM, SAM, and SOM
28:07 Fundraising timing and cadence
2025-01-0831 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 27 - ADA Invests in Dental CompaniesScott and Jinesh discuss the recent ADA announcement that they have made an investment into the company Pearl via their Innovation Advisory committee. They chat about the optics of the ADA making select investments, and they dissect key details included in the publicly available press releases.
2024-12-2719 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 26: Patterson To Be AcquiredScott and Jinesh react to the news of Patterson (PDCO) entering into a definitive agreement to be acquired and taken private. They discuss the terms of the deal itself, speculate on where a competing offer might come from, and opine on what this means for the dental industry moving forward.
2024-12-1930 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 25 - The Fluoride Debate and Bad Full-Arch PressScott and Jinesh chat about RFK Jr.'s war on fluoride, the recent negative mainstream press around full-arch treatment, and Dentsply closing its recently acquired BYTE orthodontic line.
3:36 RFK Jr. and fluoride
16:30 Negative press for full-arch treatment
31:18 Dentsply closes down BYTE
2024-12-1143 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 24 - Conversation with J.W. Oliver Jr | Outsourcing Dental StaffIn this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with JW Oliver Junior, founder of ZimWorkX and Support DDS. They discuss JW's entrepreneurial journey up to and through the dental world, and take a deep dive into the world of remote support staff for dental practices. They cover topics including unit economics of outsourcing staff, team culture, impact of COVID on hiring remote staff, customer profiles, and opine on the future of AI on remote workers.
1:52 Introductions
5:15 JW's journey through dental to SupportDDS
12:25 Breadth and depth of SupportDDS
15:54 Entrepreneurial instinct
18:28 Unit economics of support staff
23:08 Global team culture and values
30:55 Impact of COV...
2024-12-0457 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 23 - Conversation with Sudha Vetri | Membership Plans for Dental PatientsScott and Jinesh chat with Sudha Vetri about Subscribili and subscription plans to dental offices. They dive into the the possibilities of what a dental membership plan could look like, discuss the legal considerations of supporting membership plans, and how membership plans may interact with dental insurance. They opine on what dental-medical integration may look like through the lens of 'membership'. They wrap by discussing Sudha's entrepreneur journey with Subscribili up through October 2024.
1:51 Introductions
3:18 Sudha's journey pre-Subscribili
8:09 More than just membership
13:09 Compliance laws vary widely
17:26 Infinite membership plan possibilities
25:28 Membership plans and medical-dental integration
32:14 Membership vs dental insurance
40:31 An...
2024-11-0659 min
Group Dentistry Now Show: The Voice of the DSO IndustryKim Larson & Bill Neumann's appearance on the Open Wide Podcast with Dr. Scott Drucker & Jinesh PatelGet to know Kim Larson and Bill Neumann. From the Open Wide Podcast recording with Janesh Patel and Dr. Scott Drucker. In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Kim Larson and Bill Neumann of Group Dentistry Now. They dive into details of the birth and growth of GDN, and touch on all the various elements of the GDN business. The group discusses the ongoing trend of consolidation in dental, and some of the controversy that surrounds the DSO space. Kim and Bill share some advice for both dental practitioners and dental vendors, and reflect on the DSO c...
2024-11-011h 24Open Wide PodcastEpisode 22 - Conversation with Group Dentistry NowIn this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Kim Larson and Bill Neumann of Group Dentistry Now. They dive into details of the birth and growth of GDN, and touch on all the various elements of the GDN business. The group discusses the ongoing trend of consolidation in dental, and some of the controversy that surrounds the DSO space. Kim and Bill share some advice for both dental practitioners and dental vendors, and reflect on the DSO conference scene, as well as the DSO media landscape.
1:39 Introductions
5:08 Origin story of GDN
13:08 GDN behind the scenes and business components
31:56 Controversy a...
2024-10-301h 24Open Wide PodcastEpisode 21 - Conversation with Hendrik Lai | Dental Insurance, Medical-Dental Integration, and Consulting in DentalIn this episode, Jinesh and Scott chat with Dr. Hendrik Lai of Viturtal Consulting. They discuss Hendriks journey from dental surgeon in Australia to business constant in the US, the dental insurance landscape, friction between dental insurance companies and providers, and medical-dental integration. They also cover tech innovation in dental space, and review what went wrong at Smile Direct Club.
0:00 Introductions
4:12 Dr Hendrik Lai's journey
9:25 Dentists vs. Insurance Companies
18:05 Practicing Dentistry vs. Business Consulting
24:30 Dental Insurance Business Fundamentals
32:14 Healthcare Clinic's KPIs
36:21 Dental Landscape in Australia
43:39 Medical-Dental Integration
55:21 Tech Innovation in Dental
58:07 SDC Post-Mortem
1:07:50 Hendrik's Advice
2024-10-241h 12Open Wide PodcastEpisode 20 - Dental Health Awareness and Social Media
Scott and Jinesh discuss awareness (and perception of awareness) of dental health, particularly amongst Gen Zers. They chat about the quality of dental content on TikTok, as well as a new bill introduced in Michigan that aims at increasing access to dental care. They wrap up with some thoughts on dental events.
0:00 Introduction
4:22 Dental health vs mental health awareness
8:45 Assessing dental content info on TikTok
19:28 Michigan introduces bill to better access to dental care
24:47 Scott opines on dental events
2024-10-1629 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 19 - States Pass Bills, and Dental Companies' Poor PerformanceIn this episode Scott and Jinesh cover a few recent news topics from the dental world, including new laws changing in Pennsylvania to increase dental coverage and restrict insurance companies from paying dentists via virtual credit card. They also discuss the state of Illinois trying to combat insurance companies not paying out doctors for pre-approved treatment, and chat briefly about dental office membership plans. They end by reflecting on the relatively poor recent performance of publicly traded dental companies.
0:00 Introduction
1:45 Pennsylvania course corrects, increases dental coverage
7:15 Pennsylvania insurers can't pay via virtual credit card
9:37 Illinois insurers mu...
2024-10-0936 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 18 - Conversation with Glenn Vo | The Nifty Thrifty DentistScott and Jinesh chat with Dr Glenn Vo, founder of the Nifty Thrifty Dental group. They discuss Glenn's inspiration to become a dentist, early dental career, and success with the Nifty Thrifty group. He shares his negotiation tips and tricks, and advice for sales reps, owner docs, and associates. They wrap with Glenn responding to a few ridiculous questions posed by Scott and Jinesh.
0:00 Introductions
4:08 Decision to become a dentist
11:03 Early days in practice and career vision
19:09 Motivation to keep pushing further
26:16 Origins of the Nifty Thrifty Dentists
33:03 Nifty Thrifty scale, revenue, and relationship focus
41:43 Challenges of running the Facebook g...
2024-10-021h 06
Dental Trade AllianceDTA Podcast Episode 4 - Featuring Jinesh Patel and Scott DruckerConnecting the Dots with Wide Open Podcast Hosts Jinesh Patel and Scott Drucker
2024-09-2615 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 17 - Conversation with Michael Sonick | Treating People Not Patients
In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Michael Sonick, periodontist and author of the book Treating People Not Patients. They discuss dentistry and healthcare as viewed through the lens of hospitality, and all of the little details that may contribute to a truly excellent patient experience. They also touch on practitioner social skills, patient communication, and how to best hire someone that is a perfect cultural fit.
0:00 Introductions
3:13 Hospitality in dental and healthcare
14:48 Don't judge your patients (but they definitely judge you)
23:31 The scalability of excellence
32:18 Social skills and patient communication
47:24 The secret to hiring well
2024-09-251h 03Open Wide PodcastEpisode 16 - Conversation with Ray Scott | Scaling a DSO and Selling to HeartlandScott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Ray Scott about his journey scaling American Dental Partners and eventually selling to Heartland Dental. They touch on a few of the many lessons learned along the way, including implementation of systems and processes, building culture, and alignment of incentives. They also discuss considerations around selling to DSOs of different sizes, the change management involved with a sale, and the importance of being both patient-centric and doctor-centric.
0:00 Introducing Dr. Ray Scott
4:44 Career launch
8:19 Accreditation figuring things out at ADP
22:52 Heartland acquisition and change management
30:07 Doctor incentive structures during and after acquisitions
45:24 Compliance, systems, and pr...
2024-09-181h 12Open Wide PodcastEpisode 15 - Conversation with Amy Moorman | The Dental Trade AllianceIn this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Amy Moorman of the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA). They discuss all of the important advocacy work the DTA does in Washington DC on behalf of all of the dental manufacturers, distributors, and dentists in the country (and world). They also chat about the DTA conference and community.
0:00 Introductions
4:40 Overview of the DTA
12:54 Advocating in Washington DC
18:12 Access to care, research funding, and medical-dental integration
29:50 Industry alignment
33:25 DTA internal politics
42:30 Capitol Hill collegiality
46:19 Prior DTA wins
2024-09-1150 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 14 - Conversation with Keri Forsythe-Stephens | 24X7 Equipment UpkeepIn this episode, Scott and Jinesh chat with Keri Forsythe-Stephens, Chief Editor of MEDQOR's 24x7 magazine. They cover the most top-of-mind issues and challenges Biomeds face today, and compare and contrast the medical and dental worlds when it comes to equipment maintenance and repair.
0:00 Introduction and Keri's journey into HTM
5:33 HTM vs Health IT and Cyber Attacks
8:32 Biomeds' Concerns and Industry Exposure
15:38 Med vs Dental equipment service paradigms
30:00 Need for awareness of the HTM space, and workforce demographics
37:54 HTM to the rescue during COVID
2024-09-0542 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 13 - Conversation with Ro Parikh | Why Walmart Health FailedIn this episode Scott and Jinesh have the pleasure of chatting with Dr Roshan (Ro) Parikh, the first Head of Dentistry at Walmart. They chat about Ro's experience growing a 25 location dental group from ground up and taking it through a PE transaction. They then take a deep dive into why the Walmart Health initiative failed, resulting in the closure of 51 Walmart dental clinics. Ro also discusses his stint at NYC's dntl bar, and his current role at Viva Pediatrics Home Healthcare.
0:00 Introducing Dr Roshan Parikh
3:18 Building and Transacting a DSO from ground up
16:42 Why Walmart Health Failed
32:53 Trying to r...
2024-08-2845 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 12 - Conversation with Paul Goodman | Dental NachosIn this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr Paul Goodman, founder of Dental Nachos and Dentist Job Connect. The trio touch on a range of topics including which social media platforms dentisting humans of different ages congregate, Paul's career trajectory, and where his revenue comes from. Paul opens up about the challenges of moderating a massive facebook community, and reflects on some of the specific challenges facing the youngest dentists in the workforce. Paul also discusses prior challenges with university bureaucracy, and he shares his advice for dental schools trying to best equip their students for the working world.
2024-08-211h 08Open Wide PodcastEpisode 11 - Pearl clutches $58MIn this week's episode Scott and Jinesh discuss Peal's announcement of a $58M series B, the art of the 'partnership' press release, and learnings from the PR world. They wrap up by chatting about various ways companies in the dental space should think about going to market with their products.
0:00 Introduction and personal updates
3:51 Pearl raises $58M Series B
11:22 Art of the 'Partnership' press release
19:11 Marketing and PR learnings
25:29 Go-to-market strategy in dental
2024-08-1434 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 10 - Team Incentives and Financing Dental Tech GrowthIn this episode Scott and Jinesh discuss strategies to incentivize teams (tech and dental office), DSO growth via credit and debt facilities, and the investors and venture capital in dental tech.
0:00 Intro and Incentivizing the team | stock options vs cash
14:56 Transparency and alignment in dental practices
22:06 DSOs securing credit and debt facilities
33:44 Investors and venture capital in dental tech
2024-08-0744 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 9 - Dental Care Trends and Aetna's Entry
In this conversation, Scott and Jinesh discuss their impressions of the Dykema Conference and the importance of culture and leadership in the DSO space. They also review several news articles, including one about the overwhelming support for Medicare dental coverage, the increase in the number of dentist graduates, the decline in dental hygienist and assistant graduates, the expansion of dental therapy in certain states, and Aetna's launch of a virtual dental care subsidiary. Overall, the conversation highlights the need for improved access to dental care and the evolving landscape of the dental industry.
00:00 Dykema Recap and v...
2024-08-0233 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 8 - Conversation with Ryan Hungate | The Simplifeye JourneyIn this episode Scott and Jinesh interview Dr Ryan Hungate about his journey with Simplifeye. Ryan details the good, the bad, and the ugly of his entrepreneurial journey. He then shares about his current role at Henry Schein One.
0:00 Introducing Ryan Hungate
5:18 From Apple to Ortho
14:26 Restless in School
15:52 Startup Bug Bites
27:20 Simplifeye Evolution
34:51 Investor Relations
41:03 Sh!t Hits The Fan
49:12 Staying Through the Sale
56:54 Henry Schein One explained
1:07:21 Interview Recap
2024-07-251h 15Open Wide PodcastEpisode 7 - Hiring Challenges, Consolidation Scrutiny, and DSO VariabilityIn this episode we dive into hiring challenges generally, and challenges with Gen Z dentists specifically. We then discuss the implications of the FTC suing a Texas anesthesiology group for anti-competitive behavior, and wrap with a nuanced discussion about current consolidation in dental, and the current diversity of groups within the DSO space.
0:00 Introduction and recap of the Dental Compact
5:58 Hiring challenges in dental and in general
16:41 Challenges with Gen Z dentists
26:38 FTC targets healthcare rollups
36:00 DSOs are not all the same
2024-07-1852 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 6 - UptimeHealth and Dental Whale
Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale, a company that aimed to be a one-stop solution for dental practices
Dental Whale had multiple offerings, including equipment sales, service technicians, training and education, practice transitions, and a dental savings network
Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale's network of service technicians, who are independent contractors or franchisees
The acquisition allows Uptime Health to ensure quality control and provide high-quality service to dental practices Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale and is repurposing its components to fit within the Uptime Health framework.
The acquisition of Dental Fix allows Uptime Health to improve its service network and support...
2024-07-111h 02Open Wide PodcastEpisode 5 - Startup ScrappinessDr. Scott Drucker and Jinesh Patel discuss work-life balance and startup scrappiness. They then review articles that discuss Maryland dental scholarships and dental stats in the US, and conclude with reflections on their conversation with Nick at Candid.
0:00 Work-life balance and scrappiness
33:06 Maryland dental scholarships
38:06 Dental stats in the US
47:29 Reflections on chat with Nick at Candid
2024-07-0554 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 4 - Conversation with Nick Greenfield | Candid Aligns with DentistsDr. Scott Drucker and Jinesh Patel discuss dental conference conflicts and the economic impact of oral health. They then interview Nick Greenfield - the Founder and CEO of Candid.
0:00 Introduction
2:29 DSO Conference Conflicts
12:45 The Economic Impact of Oral Health
20:38 Interview with Nick Greenfield of Candid
2024-06-2852 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 3 - Hard Truths of Founding a Startup | A Behind-the-Scenes PerspectiveDr. Scott Drucker and Jinesh Patel discuss the crazy journey of being a startup founder, and give a behind-the-scenes peek into their own experiences.
0:00 Introduction - Founding a Startup
2:45 Fundraising - Behind the Scenes and Addressing Misconceptions
22:45 Solo Founder vs Co-founders
27:37 Building an MVP and Challenges of Hiring
34:33 Impact of Geography on a Startup
39:40 The Rollercoaster of Being a Founder
49:40 Reflections
2024-06-2151 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 2 - Data Breaches and Other NewsDr. Scott Drucker and Jinesh Patel discuss a few recent news topics, including data breaches, regulation of DIY dentistry, and dental license portability.
0:00 Data Breaches in Dental
8:12 Regulation of DIY Dentistry and Teledentistry
14:15 License Portability in Dentistry
2024-06-1422 minOpen Wide PodcastEpisode 1 - PilotDr. Scott Drucker and Jinesh Patel discuss the creation and goals of the podcast, and cover a few current news topics. Topics include Privilege Licenses for dentists in Wisconsin, Walmart closes all dental clinics, mewing, and veneer techs.
00:00 Intro to the Open Wide Pod
19:58 Privilege Diplomas in Wisconsin
33:42 Walmart Closes Dental Clinics
44:38 Mewing
49:48 Veneer Techs
53:18 Self Reflection
2024-06-0354 min