Open Wide Podcast

Scott 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. 

Scott 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  

In 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...

Scott 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 'members...

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 de...

In 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. ...

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 denta...

In 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 offi...

Scott 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 Introd...

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...

Scott 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 invol...

In 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 Washingt...

In 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...

In 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...

In 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...

In 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'...

In 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...

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 th...

In 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 H...

In 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...

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 al...

Dr. 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...

Dr. 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

Dr. 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 Rollercoast...

Dr. 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