Back in 10

Apparently, mind reading is part of the job description. Who knew?! Welcome back to I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know, our six-part Back in 10 series where Jen and Savanah share the leadership lessons nobody warned them about. The ones learned through experience, uncomfortable conversations, and the occasional "Well, how the hell was I supposed to know THAT?" In Part 2, we're talking about the expe...

Nobody tells you how personal leadership is going to get. That your entire team can read your mood before you've even opened your mouth. Or that leaving a job might be easy compared to leaving the people you've spent years working alongside. Welcome to I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know, a new six-part Back in 10 series where Jen and Savanah are sharing the unexpected lessons, uncomfortable realizat...

"You're not a hygienist. You don't understand." Oh, we're going there. You're responsible for the entire dental practice. Scheduling. Team performance. Patient experience. Profitability. But the moment you try to address an issue with a clinical team member, suddenly your authority is up for debate. Sound familiar? In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah tackle a question that might ruffle...

Business travel sounds glamorous until you're exhausted, dehydrated, living out of a suitcase, and wondering why you didn't pack your own pillow. And apparently, Jen doesn't travel without TWO. In this Off the Cuff episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah are taking you behind the scenes of life on the road. Between dental conferences, speaking engagements, and industry events, they've learned that...

The phones won't stop ringing. Recall is falling behind. Your front desk is overwhelmed. And someone inevitably says, "We need to hire another person!" But do you? In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah challenge one of the most common reactions to an overwhelmed dental practice: adding another employee before figuring out what's actually broken. Is your team truly understaffed? Or are out...

You’re on PTO. So why are you checking your work email? Somewhere along the way, many of us started confusing great leadership with endless availability. We answer the text. Check the email. Solve the problem. And convince ourselves the team needs us. Jen once processed payroll while IN LABOR. Savanah admits she checked her work email first thing in the morning while recording this episode… on PTO...

Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when your PPO is helping fill the schedule. But is it actually helping your practice? In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah talk about the leadership and business side of knowing when a PPO relationship may no longer make sense. Before you panic about empty chairs, it's time to look at the actual numbers. How many patients really have that plan? What...

Your title says Office Manager. But your responsibilities? They might look a whole lot more like COO. Hiring and firing. Managing payroll. Reviewing the P&L. Negotiating with vendors. Implementing technology. Leading the team. Making operational decisions. Turning the doctor's vision into actual execution. So where exactly does office management end and executive leadership begin? In this epis...

What does it actually take to become a Practice of the Year? Back in 10 went LIVE from the Henry Schein One booth at AADOM for a very special conversation with the newly crowned Dentrix and Dentrix Ascend Practices of the Year. Savanah and Jen sit down with Betsy Cord, Kym Page, and Melissa Floyd to talk about what happens behind the scenes of exceptional dental practices and, spoiler alert, techn...

Your schedule is full. Your team is busy. Production is up. So... why is there less money left at the end of the month? In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah talk about the financial squeeze happening inside dental practices and why increasing production doesn't automatically mean increasing profit. Payroll goes up. Supplies and lab costs go up. Overhead increases. Insurance write-offs ta...

"I'm exhausted." "I hate this job." "We're understaffed." "I'm doing the work of three people." "I need a vacation." We've gotten really comfortable calling all of it burnout. But is it? In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah dig into what burnout actually means and why labeling every hard season, stressful week, or frustrating workplace experience as burnout can keep us from identifying t...

This one wasn't planned. What started as an off-the-cuff conversation about expectations and accountability quickly turned into Jen sharing her own experience working within a DSO and what can happen when performance goals, KPIs, and financial pressure start driving the conversation. This isn't an episode about what every DSO gets right or wrong. It's one leader's experience and an honest conversa...

You know the conversation needs to happen. But what if they quit? In today's hiring market, that's the fear many dental leaders carry every single day. You know someone isn't meeting expectations, but the thought of losing another team member makes accountability feel impossible. In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah unpack one of the biggest leadership challenges in dentistry: how to hol...

Your career is made up of thousands of little decisions. This episode is all about picking a side. In this edition of This or That, Jen and Savanah tackle some of the biggest career questions dental leaders face: • Mentor or coach? • Networking or skill building? • Job security or growth opportunity? • Work smarter or work harder? • Personal brand or company brand? What starts as a fun round of qu...

The doctor knows there's a problem. The team knows there's a problem. You know there's a problem. ...but no one is making the decision. In this episode of Back in 10, Jen and Savanah tackle one of the most frustrating realities of dental leadership: what happens when you're expected to lead the practice, but the doctor avoids the tough conversations and final decisions. They discuss why avoidance...

Leadership decisions, but make them fast. In this quick round of This or That, we’re picking sides on some big leadership questions with very little time to overthink them. Lead by example or lead by vision? Accountability or empathy? Respected or liked? Tough conversations or tough decisions? Unlimited time or unlimited money? And yes, Jen immediately tries to choose both. Because apparently that...

Welcome to another round of This or That! This time, we're tackling one of our favorite topics: managing people. Should you hire for attitude or experience? Promote from within or hire externally? Build policies with flexibility or hold the line? These are the kinds of decisions leaders make every day, and spoiler alert... we don't agree on all of them. In this episode, we debate: Hire for attitud...

Welcome back to our This or That series! This time, we're tackling office culture. The little decisions that can have a big impact on your team, your leadership, and the environment you create every day. Fair warning... there are definitely a few clutch your pearls moments in this one. We debate: Team lunch or team happy hour? Employee of the Month or peer recognition? Team-building activity or vo...

Email or phone call? Voice memo or typed message? Open door policy or scheduled office hours? In this episode of Back in 10, we're kicking off a brand-new series called This or That, where we take common leadership and workplace scenarios and pick a side. For our first round, we're diving into communication because let's be honest, most workplace problems can be traced back to someone saying somet...

You attend an incredible CE event. Your notebook is full. Your mind is racing. You can't wait to get back to the practice and start making changes. And then Monday happens. In this special LIVE episode from the Circle of Dental Excellence in Washington, D.C., we're talking about the gap between inspiration and implementation and why so many great ideas never make it back to the practice. We discus...

They said yes. They understood the treatment. They scheduled the appointment. And then... they disappeared. In this episode of Back in 10, we're tackling one of the most frustrating challenges in dentistry: patients who accept treatment and then never follow through. The surprising truth? It's often not a patient problem. It's a communication problem. Jen shares her 4 Cs of Treatment Acceptance Fr...

What do you do when your top performer is also the person creating tension, drama, or negativity inside your practice? Because high production does not always equal high value. In this episode of Back in 10, we’re tackling one of the hardest leadership situations in dentistry: how to handle a toxic team member when they’re also one of your strongest producers. We talk about: • Why avoiding the con...

Stepping into dental leadership can feel like one day you were just doing the job… and the next day everyone was looking at you for answers. No playbook. No warning. Just vibes, responsibility, and a whole lot of “wait, how did I get here?” In this episode of Back in 10, we’re talking about where to actually start when you’re new to dental admin leadership, whether you’re a new office manager, lea...

One year. Fifty episodes. Countless laughs, a few tears, some questionable language choices… and somehow, we’re still figuring it out. In this special anniversary episode of Back in 10, we’re reflecting on what it’s really been like building this podcast over the last year, from sitting in a Boston coffee shop brainstorming logos to recording live in front of packed rooms of dental professionals....

AI in dentistry is everywhere right now… and honestly? Some people are spiraling. In this episode of Back in 10, we’re having a real conversation about what AI actually means inside a dental practice and why it should support your team, not replace them. Because AI is not magic. It’s not a replacement for leadership, empathy, clinical judgment, or human connection. We talk about: • How to identify...