Open Wide Podcast

Scott and Jinesh chat with Heather Trombley, President and COO of DentalEZ. Heather discusses her journey from rocket scientist to DentalEZ. They then take a deep dive into topics like IoT, data, and AI, as they pertain to dental equipment and remote equipment monitoring.    1:28 Introducing Heather Trombley 3:12 Heather's journey to and through dental 10:00 Remote equipment monitoring and IoT 21:...

Scott and Jinesh chat about how dental tech companies and dental practices may be able to find leverage using AI to code tools bespoke to the needs of the company. 

Scott and Jinesh chat with Brendan Messenheimer, Managing Partner at HealthStream Ventures, about the ongoing 'freeze' in DSO acquisitions and upcoming struggles Brendan expects in the DSO industry.    1:19 Introducing Brendan Messenheimer, background pre HealthStream Ventures 7:34 Historical setup for current problems 17:30 A frozen DSO market, DSO nay-sayers validated 28:13 Doc-led groups vs PE...

Scott and Jinesh chat with Ralf Tomandl, Chief Operating Officer at HR for Health. They discuss Ralf's journey to and through dental, and his experience joining HR for Health right before Covid hit. Ralf shares some of his experience and lessons learned from event-based marketing, and highlights some of the biggest HR mistakes dentists make.   1:42 Introducing Ralf Tomandl 4:35 Journey to dental a...

Scott and Jinesh recap several highlights of the Leaderships Labs Conference, and share a couple conversations recorded at the conference itself.    1:25 Leadership Labs conference recap 19:02 Conversation with Mike Towle, Motor City Dental Partners 30:39 Conversation with Jason Bodnar, Cataloochee Dental Group

Scott and Jinesh chat with Stephen Thorne, Founder and CEO of PDS Health. They discuss the oral-systemic connection and how PDS Health is paving the way for medical-dental integration. It takes a herculean effort to change how our healthcare and payer ecosystems think about oral health, and Steve shares some of the challenges he's tackling to push the profession forward.    1:33 Introducing Steve...

Scott and Jinesh chat with Elliot Zibel, serial entrepreneur and Founder of ClariFi Health. They take a deep dive into Elliot's background with focus on his DSO Select Dental Management and technology startup ClariFi Health.    1:30 Introducing Elliot Zibel 3:29 Elliot's entrepreneurial experience before dental 13:25 Entering the dental space from an investor perspective 19:21 Approach at Select D...

Scott and Jinesh chat with John Stamper, founder and CEO of John Stamper Media. John recaps his journey to and through dental. He shares both his perspective and strategy around content marketing for companies looking to build meaningful relationships with their clients (both current and prospective).   2:00 Introducing John Stamper 4:09 From submarines to dental drills 18:44 John Stamper Media 22...

Scott and Jinesh discuss the recorded uptick in dental-related ER visits, Planet DDS's data on the impact of dental practice software, Dentsply's MRI venture, and recent negative press concerning DSOs.    2:44 Dental-related ER visits increase 6:42 Software improves practice performance 10:59 MAGNETOM MRI Machine 23:54 DSO financial woes   

Scott and Jinesh chat with Kevin Tallman, CEO of Mango Voice. Kevin takes us through his entrepreneurship journey before dental, and then dives deep into his journey at Mango Voice. He chats about integrations and partnerships, his ideal customer profile, and the massive impact AI is having on his company and the dental space in general.    1:15 Introducing Kevin Tallman 3:04 Accounting and oil fi...

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Brad Hughes, Founder and CEO of Vision Dental Partners. They discuss Brad's dental journey, and the process of scaling from a single location to over 10 locations across multiple states. They take a deep dive into the importance and value of content, and Brad shares how he thinks about the growth of his team, culture, and brand.    1:12 Introducing Brad Hughes 4:21 S...

0:00 Scott and Jinesh updates 9:21 Chicago Midwinter conference recap 15:41 Launch of TotalOp 26:52 Procurement Press Release

Scott and Jinesh chat with Sooji Park, Founder and Scent Sommelier of Spark Chances. They discuss Sooji's journey to and through dental, and all things scent. Sooji breaks down how scent impacts one's experience and purchasing decisions, and is utilized across various industries including retail, hospitality, and healthcare.  Sooji also shares some of the impact she's made to date in the dental sp...

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Matt Stout, orthodontist and founder of besmyle - an orthodontic services company that allows all dental practitioners to deliver on the highest quality ortho aligner care. They chat about Matt's journey through school and private practice, and making the switch to entrepreneurship. Matt shares his perspective on what other aligner solutions have historically missed,...

Scott and Jinesh discuss the launch of Crown Dental Club, Scott's concierge membership-based practice.  Scott shares behind the scenes insights and his go-to-market strategy.   2:08 Grand Opening 9:31 The pre-launch journey 18:37 Hiring and team 24:36 Race to market 31:30 Marketing channels 36:17 Monitoring market pull

Scott and Jinesh recap the biggest wins and losses of 2025, and make several predictions for 2026. Prediction categories include: DSOs, medical-dental integration, tech/startups, policy, and macro trends.    4:33 Biggest Wins and Losses of 2025 18:23 DSO predictions 25:02 Medical-Dental integrations predictions 27:51 Technology/Startups predictions 31:39 Policy predictions 37:33 Macro-trends predi...

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Rich Rosato, Oral Surgeon and current President of the American Dental Association. They discuss Rich's background and his path to both Oral Surgery and organized dentistry. Rich shares details about the impact that ADA makes on a regular basis, and about the ongoing challenges with membership numbers. The trio also chat about historical financial mismanagement, the...

Episode 59 - Dental Policy Update, Comparing Largest DSOs Size   2:26 Park Dental is public, Scott and Jinesh place bets 5:59 Government policy dental updates 23:08 Largest DSOs by locations and by doctor count

Scott 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 'relatio...

Scott 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 coachabil...

Jinesh 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

Scott 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...

Scott 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 h...

Scott 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 

Scott 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.   ...