Managing Dental Drama

While work culture has always been a “thing,” it has become a very important “thing” over the last few years. Whether it is due to post-pandemic depression and anxiety trends or workforce generational gaps, work culture has taken a hit. It has become increasingly difficult to keep teams working together well and staying focused on the main task of work. Bethany believes that many of the problems s...

While accountability may seem simple, it is actually quite complex. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the many reasons why it can be so complicated. On one hand, a practice owner cannot be too soft, and yet on the other hand, a practice owner cannot be too rigid. Accountability requires a strategic mind, good communication, and consistency. Dr. Kuba confesses that key team members ofte...

It’s a word that makes every shudder – embezzlement. In this episode, Dr. Kuba asks Bethany questions to ensure that her embezzlement resistant strategies are enough. Together they discuss the most vulnerable places for a practice. Then, they discuss several strategies to strengthen the weak spots. One of the most important aspects of protecting the practice is ensuring that the team knows that th...

After airing the recent episode “What is Servant Leadership?,” many fans requested information on other leadership models that work. In this episode, Bethany unpacks several examples of other successful leadership styles that she has seen at work in her clients’ practices. She covers the laissez fair leader, transactional leader, authoritative leader, democratic leader, visionary leader, and situa...

In this episode, Dr. Kuba faces her first liability lawsuit after a child hurt herself on a gaming console in her pediatric dental office. She and Bethany reflect on the event that occurred nearly eighteen months ago. After many months of assuming that the worst had passed, Dr. Kuba received an unwelcome visit from a constable with lawsuit papers. She discusses the process that they’ve been throug...

Dr. Kuba inserts some drama of her own into today’s episode! She discusses the difficulty of sharing feedback with a colleague of her own. So, Bethany offers her own advice. Throughout fifteen years of consulting, Bethany has had to work diligently on the art of giving feedback, and parenting a tween has furthered her desire to perfect the craft. She shares a four step process that she discovered...

Every person has a sphere of influence – impact. Practice owners, associates, and team members are all leaders. So, what does it mean to lead? In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss a popular leadership concept – servant leadership. Bethany admits that this style is her favorite style of leadership and discusses the basic mindset behind this model. Dr. Kuba discusses the friction that can o...

For the first time in Managing Dental Drama history, we have an associate dentist on the show! Dr. Michael took a calculated and detailed approach to his associateship plans. Prior to completing his pediatric residency program, he developed a plan to merge together two to three different types of practices to give him a full-time schedule. His goal was to expand his skills while also expanding his...

In the last episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany encouraged listeners to courageously take the time off they need to stay mentally and emotionally healthy. Bethany commented that time away really shouldn’t cost the practice anything if planned correctly. In this solo episode, Bethany unpacks step by step how to control and maximize your 2024 schedule.  Step One: Determine your production goal or NEED  Do...

The end of the year is the PERFECT time to make really good plans for 2024. Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the importance of building out your 2024 schedule IN 2023. By the time the rush of January hits, most individuals are simply too busy to slow down and schedule everything that needs to occur in the year. Then, important items can get overlooked, off track, or even missed. Bethany encourages lis...

Dr. Kuba is back in the studio today with Bethany! Together, they discuss an incredibly relevant topic – burnout. Many dentists drag themselves into December after a long, often difficult year. The holidays often add an added layer of stress onto an already stressed doctor. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany give listeners critical advice for managing stress and avoiding burning completely out....

Bethany embarks on her third “rendezvous and record” session! Dr. Marr is a pediatric dentist in the Dallas, TX area. After many years successfully growing her private practice, she has a fresh and encouraging perspective built upon reflection, positivity, and overall gratitude. She shares with listeners the importance she places on reflection, even if that means getting away alone to truly evalua...

Bethany embarks on her second “rendezvous and record” session! This time, she is back in Arkansas with her dad, Dr. Jones! At 72 years young, Dr. Jones definitely has plenty of excellent advice regarding building good quality goals. In this episode, he encourages listeners to set reasonable and attainable goals but also goals that push you in an area where you need to grow. According to Dr. Jones,...

In this first “rendezvous and record” series, Bethany hosts a client of hers – Dr. Jones! Since Bethany met Dr. Jones a few years ago, she has been impressed with the level of respect and appreciation that Dr. Jones has fostered with his team. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains how he and his wife have prioritized respect and appreciation amongst their staff for over 16 years. They have learned i...

Bethany encourages all listeners to be excellent goal setters, but all excellent goal setters start with a very important step – reflection. In this episode, Bethany unpacks the broad picture of how to reflect on personal, family, and work satisfaction. Then, she reminds listeners to use the reflection to inform and create strong goals for the next year. She even challenges listeners to encourage...

Bethany trapped Dr. Kuba in the studio today and forced her to answer some deep and probing questions. Bethany recommends these “annual retreat” questions to be completed each year in order to ensure that life, the practice, and family life is moving in the right direction. These questions are meant to slow things down to ensure an appropriate amount of reflection time and goal setting. While all...

Dr. Kuba poses a question and subsequent subject matter – What is good customer service? In this episode, she and Bethany discuss how good customer service goes far beyond a simple smile and peppy tone. Instead, it requires preparedness, attention to detail, delivering what you say you will deliver and much, much more. Part of the barrier in providing good service is relying on sometimes inconsist...

 Although it may not be the most glamorous topic, increasing fees is a critical aspect of keeping a dental practice profitable. In this episode, Bethany has several tips for evaluating fees as well as strategies for analyzing your current fee schedule against competitors. She discusses the pluses and minuses of certain fee analysis strategies while also encouraging listeners to do something rather...

Bethany throws two difficult scenarios at Dr. Kuba today to get her take on how she would handle them. First, she asks Dr. Kuba how to handle a partner or associate who doesn’t handle the responsibility as expected. Dr. Kuba is able to dialogue about this deeply and personally because she recently was experiencing dissatisfaction with her associate. She unpacks the steps she took to improve the re...

After hearing from Dr. Smith last week, Dr. Kuba had some deep questions on what he and other successful practice owners do differently. What guides them? What unites them? In this episode, Bethany covers three examples from her clients – three practices that are unique and yet are united by a strong, authentic leader. Dr. Kuba and Bethany challenge listeners to truly evaluate if they are genuine...

Bethany and Dr. Smith have worked together for almost 10 years! Today, you get to meet Dr. Smith! Many might consider his practice a unicorn – one that only exists in the figment of an imagination. However, he has thrived for many years at a small, out-of-network dental office. His small team of four proves every day that doing dentistry differently is possible. Not only has his practice survived...

This epic three-part series comes to a close today! In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany talk about the specific details of how they conducted the meeting with Thief to determine if she was “guilty.” Meetings like this can be very difficult to navigate as emotions swell. However, Dr. Kuba and Bethany tag-teamed the meeting in a way that helped the truth of the situation to emerge. In fact, Bethan...

You have waited in eager anticipation! Part two of “Mama Said They’ll Be Days Like This” covers the storyline of “thief,” one of the three people that Dr. Kuba had to fire in one singular day. In this episode, you will learn more about what Thief did to earn her place on the termination list. To complicate the nature of this triple firing, Dr. Kuba had recently (3 days prior) brought a brand new t...

Ever had to fire three people from your team in a single day??? Well, Dr. Kuba did last week. She and Bethany discuss what led to the triple firing as well as the thought process that went behind each decision. Each termination was due to a different reason and all were potentially consequential to the practice. Yet, three terminations in one day come with its own downsides. Dr. Kuba and Bethany d...

An important member of Bethany’s team is joining the podcast today – Danielle! She is behind the scenes in so many aspects of not only serving Bethany’s clients but also ensuring that an episode drops every Monday. One of the ways that Danielle (and our beloved Sydney too) helps clients is by overseeing their job posts and forwarding on good applicants. Therefore, she has an excellent pulse on cur...