Just a Couple of Dentists

Tracking numbers doesn’t grow a dental practice. Tracking the right numbers does.

In this episode of Just a Couple of Dentists, Eric and Alex sit down with Ross Maddox and Deren Flesher — both owners of $2M+ practices — to break down which KPIs are actually worth paying attention to… and which ones are just consultant noise.

They dig into:

• Lead vs lag metrics (and why most dentists obsess over the wrong ones)

• Google reviews...

Selling to a DSO is complicated. Most dentists already know that.

What’s harder to find is a straight explanation of how the process actually plays out.

In this episode, we sit down with Jon Eskow, a dental attorney who works with both DSOs and dentists, to walk through what really happens when a practice goes to market — from the first conversations, to the LOI, to diligence, to closing, and what comes after.

We talk about where l...

Everyone online talks about FFS vs PPO like you have to “pick a side.” But the reality is way more nuanced and way more dependent on who you are, where you practice, and what you want your career to look like.

In this episode, we brought together: • Dr. Erik Zundo — 12 years fee-for-service in a college town • Dr. Deren Flesher — PPO-heavy, multi-doctor office

This episode breaks down how to actually win in either model and what mo...

Most dentists either avoid meetings or run them with no real purpose. We’ve been guilty of both.

In this episode, Dr. Chris Green breaks down the exact meeting structure he used to grow a $5.8M practice without drowning in chaos or doing everything himself. We get into:

• The meeting cadence that actually works • How to develop real team leads so you stop carrying the whole load • What should happen in a meeting… and what should ne...

Most dentists lump every bad day, every rough month, and every “I can’t do this anymore” moment into one word: burnout. But what if it’s not burnout? What if you just… don’t like clinical dentistry?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Laura Brenner, founder of the Dentist Side Gigs community and Lolabees, to unpack the real difference between being truly burned out and being completely misaligned with clinical dentistry. 

We get ...

This week we check back in with Dr. Cory Ball — you might remember him as the guy who bought the practice that should’ve come with a disclaimer. Ten months later, he’s cleaned up a lot of the mess… but now he’s dealing with the thing that’s driving him the craziest right now:

No-shows. Constantly.

We get into what he’s trying, what’s actually helped, and the stuff that sounds good on paper but falls apart in real life...especially ...

You’ve heard it a thousand times: “Build passive income so you can be free.” But what if that whole idea is a myth?

After selling our dental practices, we chased the same dream: passive income, early retirement, financial freedom. Spoiler alert...it didn’t exactly work that way.

In this episode, we sit down with Josh Cochran to unpack what real passive income actually looks like, why most of what’s pitched to dentists isn’t passive...

Ever wonder what it actually takes to open six dental offices in six months?

Dr. Andrew Vallo didn’t just wonder...he did it. And in this episode, he breaks down exactly how it all went down.

We talk with Andrew and Matt Brown (from Energize Marketing) about:

• How he used second-gen spaces to move fast and stay lean

• Cutting build-out costs from $600K to $150K

• Building a growth model around associates and how he retains the...

Zach Shelley and Kirk Teachout are two office managers running multi-million dollar practices who actually have their systems dialed in.

In this episode, we get into what those systems look like day to day: how they hire, how they hold people accountable, and how they keep the culture steady when things get messy.

We also talk about why firing faster usually fixes more than it breaks, how they structure meetings so they don’t drag,...

Paul Goodman didn’t set out to build the most well-known group in dentistry. He just liked nachos and connecting with fellow dentists.

Fast forward 8 years....with 67,000+ members, Dental Nachos is part Facebook group, part movement, and part community dentists didn’t know they needed.

In this episode, we get into:

• Who actually came up with the name "Dental Nachos"

• The origin story behind BAD, MAD, and SAD

• What it’s like ...

We brought on our dental school friend Dr. Mike Dyriw, who somehow went from living in a van during orientation week to becoming a board-certified endodontist in Nashville.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mike’s “Wax Rim Scandal” that almost got him in trouble in dental school 🦷

• Why endodontists roll their eyes at “Please remove decay and assess restorability” referrals

• Whether they actually want you to prep the tooth first o...

How does a dentist running a $20M business plan his year for success?

We brought back Josh Cochran to walk us through the annual planning system he calls the #1 most impactful habit of his entire career—the same process he uses every year to lead a $20M dental business and real estate company with clarity and intention.

Inspired by Bill Gates' “Think Week,” this 8-week framework helps him reflect, get focused, and set up the year t...

Most of us show up to a dental CE, grab our badge, sit in a ballroom, and don’t think twice about what it actually takes to pull the thing off.

But what’s it really like to run one of these events?

• How much do room blocks actually cost?

• What happens if people don’t show up?

• Are sponsors footing the bill… or is the organizer rolling the dice?

• And is it really worse than planning a wedding?

In this episode, we sit ...

Chris Green went from $0 to $4.6M in four years. In this episode we cover what he systemized so you can copy it, and what he tried that wasn’t worth it. You’ll learn how he… 📁 set up his Google Drive so systems are easy to find and use ✅ built one-page checklists the team actually follows ⏱️ trained assistants to be “functional in 30 days” 🛡️ tightened insurance verification to cut surprises at checkout and improve collecti...

Every dentist dreads that first one-star review. The truth? It’s not the review that hurts you — it’s how (or if) you respond.

In this episode with Dr. Len Tau, we break down:

• The do’s and don’ts of replying to reviews

• The difference between a HIPAA-safe response and the snarky reply you wish you could post

• Why taking things offline first is usually the smartest play

• How reviews act as signals for your future patients, ...

Building a dental office isn’t cheap. And if you’re not careful, you’ll blow tens of thousands of dollars on stuff you don’t need.

We sat down with our longtime friend and contractor Tommy Morales to talk about the real mistakes dentists make during a buildout and how to avoid them. 

In this episode we get into:

• Why storage space always gets overlooked

• Pocket doors, barn doors, and flooring that actually works

• Where denti...

Last month, Spencer Greer called me out for producing like a sissy.

I was averaging 3 crowns a month, underdiagnosing like crazy, and letting my cheap-ass brain run my treatment planning.

So we did a live coaching session.

Now, a month later, I’m back with the results:

• My crowns jumped from 3 to 11 in the same number of days.

• My monthly production went up 75%.

• We added about $20K more than the same month last year.

Compliance is nobody’s favorite topic. But if you ignore it, it can get real expensive, real fast.

We brought on Dr. Lisa Kane (dentist + founder of Dental Office Compliance of New England) to walk us through the stuff that actually matters and the traps that cost dentists money.

We get into:

• Why every office misses things (and which ones you can’t afford to miss)

• Waterlines, sterilization, and the shortcuts that backfire

• ...

AI is shaking up every industry...including dentistry. But is it really the end of SEO, Google Ads, and traditional marketing? Or just another shiny object?

In this episode of Just a Couple of Dentists, Eric and Alex talk with Brandon Platt, founder of 4D Digital Media, to set the record straight. Together, they cover:

• The truth about AI search vs. Google search

• Why local SEO still drives new patients

• Where AI can save de...