Straight Up With Steph

Your stool might be costing you more than you realize. Most dental professionals spend more than 1,500 hours per year sitting, yet very few of us think about whether our stool is helping or hurting us. In this solo episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I share my personal journey with chronic low back pain, the ergonomic mistakes I made early in my career, and the one equipment change that completel...

Dentistry is changing—and whether you love it or hate it, the conversation needs to happen. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I welcome back former ADA President Dr. Brett Kessler for an honest discussion about the future of dental hygiene, practice ownership, and the profession as a whole. From the hygiene shortage and assisted hygiene to insurance reform, burnout, leadership, and medic...

Hair thinning, collagen loss, and aging skin can feel like they happen overnight in midlife—but there’s actually a lot happening behind the scenes. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, dermatologist and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner Dr. Corinne Erickson returns for part two of our conversation to answer listener questions about hair loss, collagen decline, red light therapy, skin...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I’m joined by certified nurse midwife and menopause specialist Sarah Shealy, CNM, MSCP, for a deep dive into one of the most talked-about—and misunderstood—topics in women’s health: hormone replacement therapy (HRT). If you've ever wondered whether your anxiety, poor sleep, body aches, brain fog, gut issues, or lack of confidence could be related to...

Leaking when you sneeze? Constantly running to the bathroom? Feeling pressure, heaviness, or disconnected from your core? These symptoms may have more to do with your pelvic floor than you realize. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph® , I sit down with pelvic floor specialist Emma Bromley to discuss one of the most overlooked aspects of women's health: pelvic floor dysfunction. Like man...

Is the hygiene department really a loss leader … or have we just been looking at it all wrong? In this episode, I sit down with Shannon Richkowski, RDH, founder of Hygiene Mastery and managing partner of Fortune Management. Shannon is a nationally recognized speaker, consultant, and leader in dental practice growth, known for helping practices transform their hygiene departments into powerful driv...

If you’ve ever thought, “Why am I still reacting like this even though I know better?” — this episode is going to hit. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph® , I sit down with EMDR therapist Dana Carretta-Stein to break down what trauma actually is, how it shows up in your daily life, and why healing isn’t just about awareness — it’s about rewiring your nervous system. We go way beyond surface...

If you’ve ever felt like your body is changing and no one really explained why… this episode is for you. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph® , I sit down with Dr. Jen Fraboni to break down what’s actually happening in women’s bodies through different life stages—and how to support yourself through it. We talk about everything from menstrual cycles and workouts, to pregnancy myths, postpartu...

Ever feel like you’re speaking a completely different language than your patients, coworkers, or even your own team? I had that exact moment with a patient when I realized… I might not be as “cool” or relatable as I thought 😅 And it made me start questioning—are generational differences actually that big of a deal? In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I sit down with generational futurist,...

What if your brain isn’t declining… it’s just undertrained? What if simple brain games can improve it? In this episode of Straight Up With Steph® , I sit down with Jules from BrainBodyByJules to break down what’s really happening with your focus, memory, and mental clarity—and why so many of us feel like we’re operating on autopilot. We talk about how your brain is actually trainable (just like yo...

Wrinkles, hormonal acne, melasma, and dry skin can suddenly appear in your 40s — and hormones may be the reason. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I’m joined by board-certified dermatologist and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner Dr. Corinne Erickson to talk about the connection between skin health, hormones, and aging. If you’ve noticed changes like adult acne, pigmentation, dryne...

Constipation, bloating, gas, and poop—these are topics people rarely talk about, but they can reveal a lot about what’s happening inside your gut. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I continue my conversation with gastroenterologist and bestselling author Will Bulsiewicz. If you listened to Part 1, we talked about the gut microbiome, inflammation, and why fiber is so important for gut hea...

Your gut microbiome affects far more than digestion. In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, I’m joined by gastroenterologist and bestselling author Will Bulsiewicz to talk about the science behind the gut microbiome and why fiber may be one of the most important nutrients most people are missing. Dr. B has spent years researching the gut microbiome and helping people understand how the trilli...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph®, we’re talking about something I get asked about all the time—career options in dentistry outside of clinical practice. After more than 17 years as a dental hygienist and building my company Polished Posture, I’ve learned there are far more opportunities available to dental professionals than many of us realize. If you’ve ever thought: “I’m just a hygieni...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I sit down with dental hygienist, educator, and entrepreneur Dana Paladino, RDH, to talk about a topic that impacts millions of women yet is still widely misunderstood—endometriosis. Dana shares her personal 20-year journey to diagnosis, the medical gaslighting she experienced, and how chronic pain shaped her mental health, career path, and ultimately her...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I sit down with Maggie Topham, integrative health coach and passionate advocate for helping women thrive in midlife. Maggie shares her powerful personal journey—from feeling lost, exhausted, and “fluffy” in her 40s to rebuilding her health through blood sugar awareness, strength training, and a muscle-centric approach to living. We talk about why what wor...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I’m joined by Dr. Meredith Broderick, a neurologist and board-certified sleep and behavioral sleep medicine specialist, to break down what actually matters when it comes to sleep. We talk about why waking up at 2–3 a.m. is so common, how sleep architecture really works, and why chasing “perfect” sleep scores can backfire. Dr. Broderick also explains sleep...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I sit down with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum, a functional optometrist and founder of MyVisionFirst, to talk about something most of us never learned: the difference between eyesight and vision — and why it matters far more than we realize. We dive into how the eye–brain connection impacts everything from driving anxiety and dizziness to screen fatigue, learning c...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I’m joined by Dr. David Rice—dentist, coach, and founder of Ignite DDS—for a real, honest conversation about leadership, practice ownership, hygiene value, and the future of dentistry. Dr. Rice shares what he would do differently if he were starting over as a practice owner, why leadership is the missing link in most dental practices, and how both dentist...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I’m joined again by registered dietitian and perimenopause expert Laura Berger for a deeper dive into muscle, metabolism, fat loss, and the biggest mistakes women are making with nutrition and training—especially in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. We unpack why muscle truly is the organ of longevity , why women are not “bulking up” from strength training, and...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph , hearing instrument specialist Madison joins me to unpack the surprisingly deep connection between hearing, cognition, memory, balance, and longevity. We talk about why hearing loss sneaks up on people, the common early signs that get ignored, and how untreated hearing loss dramatically increases the risk of dementia, falls, and social withdrawal. Madison...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I’m joined by registered dietitian and creator of The Perimenopause Diet , Laura Berger, for a deeply validating and eye-opening conversation about body changes in your 30s and 40s, perimenopause, weight fluctuations, insulin resistance, and why traditional “eat less, move more” advice stops working during this chapter of life. Laura breaks down: Why fat...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph , I sit down with clinical trichologist Dorian White to talk about all things hair and scalp health. We cover everything from tight hairstyles and traction alopecia to the science behind scalp care, proper shampoo techniques, and what really causes hair loss. You’ll learn: The real difference between scalp serums and oils How to properly wash your hair for...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I’m diving into the most common ergonomic mistakes dental clinicians make — and the exact corrections that will help you start the new year with less pain, better posture, and more confidence in the operatory. This solo episode breaks down years of assessment experience and everything I personally struggled with early in my career—the same habits that led...

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph , I sit down with Gary Bird, founder and CEO of SMC National, to talk all things marketing in dentistry .  Gary shares eye-opening insights on where dental practices lose potential patients, how to track what’s actually working, and all about AI being used in marketing. We cover: The #1 marketing metric most practices ignore (and how it’s costing you new p...