The Dental Billing Podcast

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Your insurance AR report is trying to tell you the truth, but most of us only glance at the total and walk away with more anxiety than clarity. I’m Erica Aguilar, and I’m breaking down how to read the story behind the numbers so you can tell, with real confidence, whether your dental billing department is performing well or quietly leaking time and money. We star...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! I want to share something with you this week that I don't usually talk about. For years, Jen and I carried an idea we couldn't shake. We knew dental billing better than almost anyone, and we kept saying the same thing to each other. Somebody needs to fix this. Eventually, we realized that somebody was us. What followed was not a clean, easy story. We fl...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Twenty browser tabs. Constant timeouts. Portals that never match your workflow. If you’ve ever felt like dental billing is less about skill and more about surviving fragmentation, we’re saying the quiet part out loud and giving you a clearer path forward. Jen and I unpack the “command center” concept: the practical system that pulls critical billing knowledge out...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! A claim can be created in seconds, but a defensible claim takes verification and that difference can make or break your reimbursement. We start with a tough question: if a dental claim is a legal document, why are so many practices submitting claims before anyone confirms the clinical documentation actually supports what’s being billed? When speed becomes the pri...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! You can have hardworking people and still have a billing department that feels like a black box. Claims get submitted, denials appear, balances age, and everyone assumes follow up is happening, but nobody can point to where the work actually stalls. We dig into the “workflow engine,” the third pillar of the Fortune Billing Department Framework, and show how visib...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Interested in a Demo of Dentiq - The Billing Command Center? Get on the interest list here: https://4063-dentiq.systeme.io/waitlist Get your Dental Billing Toolkit Here: https://www.dentalbillingdoneright.com/the-dental-billing-toolkit Download "The Most Underused Codes in Dentistry - And How to Get Them Paid" checklist here: https://docs.google.com/for...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Your billing should not feel like a surprise every month. When collections swing up and down, it’s rarely because “insurance is just hard” it’s usually because the foundation was never built correctly. I walk through the core projects I use to make dental billing predictable, measurable, and strong enough to support growth, not just survive the next slow week.  W...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! If your practice feels slammed but collections still don’t line up with production, that’s not “just insurance.” That’s a billing system problem, and it’s fixable. We walk through the exact framework we’ve used to help hundreds of dental offices and group practices streamline dental billing, reduce denial chaos, and create predictable cash flow without gatekeepin...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Prop 56 is on the way out, and if your practice depends on Denti-Cal reimbursements, the impact won’t be theoretical. I’m joined by Adriana, a seasoned dental billing pro who’s built her reputation on getting Denti-Cal approvals by mastering what most offices miss: the documentation details, the authorization sequence, and the fine-print rules that don’t show up...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Your medical insurance may be able to cover wisdom teeth extractions, and the reason most people never find out is painfully simple: nobody asks the right way. We sit down with Jen from Hygiene Unlocked and unpack a real, recent moment where a medical insurance rep insisted “that’s dental” until Jen pushed for an actual code check. Once the CPT and diagnosis pair...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! What if the number on your AR report is giving you false comfort and your patient ledgers are quietly wrong? We dig into a hard truth from dental billing and revenue cycle management: most practices have never audited their ledgers line by line, which means balances, credits, adjustments, and write-offs can be fundamentally inaccurate. That is not just a money pr...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Hiring someone with no dental experience can feel like a gamble, but it doesn’t have to. I walk through the same onboarding system I’ve used for years to turn true beginners into capable, confident front office team members without wrecking your schedule, your claims, or your cash flow. The punchline is simple: when you build the foundation first, everything else...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Your insurance AR report can look perfect while your practice quietly bleeds money. I’m Erica Aguilar, and I’m pulling back the curtain on the uncomfortable truth: “clean” dental insurance accounts receivable can be manufactured, and the prettiest numbers on your aging report might be the biggest warning sign. We walk through a real-world story of “Biller Betty”...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Profit doesn’t come from working harder or cramming more patients into the schedule. Real profit comes from running your billing department like a business within a business—and using it to lift EBITDA, create predictable cash flow, and make smarter decisions across the practice. We walk through a clear definition of EBITDA and why serious owners, lenders, and bu...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! A weekend meetup in Phoenix turned into a deep dive on the “harmless” shortcuts that quietly drain dental practices and invite compliance trouble. We compare notes from a brutal 2025 billing case, unpack the defensiveness that often surfaces when a third party steps in, and show how audit trails reveal everything from embezzlement red flags to training gaps and i...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! We show how chart prep sets expectations and end of day confirms reality, so money stops leaking and compliance issues get fixed the same day. A practical checklist, time blocking, and coaching turn chaos into a repeatable close that protects revenue and trust. • redefining end of day as daily accountability  • chart prep for expectations, end of day for verifica...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! We pull back the curtain on a “busy” practice that bled revenue because trust replaced systems. A full audit, legal counsel, and a frank lunch reveal how missing chart prep, no route slips, and zero checks led to fraud risk and wild collections swings. • redefining chart preparation as the operational backbone • why custom route slips create visibility and accoun...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! If your perio percentage hovers around 15% while half your hygiene notes mention bleeding, you don’t have a production problem—you have a calibration problem. We sit down with Ed, a clinician-turned-hygiene coach with a billing background, to unpack how teams move from prophy habit to complete health care without losing trust or momentum. The through-line is simp...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Stop letting a benefits table decide your standard of care. We sit down with dental billing expert Ed to tear down the fear, myths, and mixed messages that keep teams from coding honestly, educating clearly, and treating confidently. From fluoride and adult sealants to SDF that literally shows patients a visible change, we talk through how to make prevention tang...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! A candid look at why AR rises even when production is strong and how access, clarity, and team alignment restore cash flow. We share the biggest blockers we see inside practices—password chaos, clearinghouse issues, unread billing emails—and the simple systems that fix them. • password and portal access as revenue gatekeeper • EFT lockouts creating delays and age...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! What if your dental practice's schedule management system worked like your most brilliant team member instead of just another piece of software? That's the game-changing perspective Lori Streeter brings to this episode as she unpacks how modern technology can transform dental scheduling from a headache into a powerful production driver. From her beginni...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Have you ever wondered what dentists truly value in their front office teams? This spontaneous episode reveals the surprising answer, and it hasn't changed in over a decade. When a scheduled interview fails to materialize, I take the opportunity to share key insights from my journey developing a six-month dental administration school back in 2011. Frustrated...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Credentialing versus contracting - these terms are often used interchangeably in dental offices, but as Ericka Aguilar explains in this essential episode, they represent entirely different processes with significant implications for your practice's compliance and financial health. Credentialing is the verification process where insurance companies confirm a...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! What happens when you try to end something, only to discover it's just beginning? After announcing what I thought would be the final episode of the Dental Billing Podcast, something extraordinary happened—hundreds of messages flooded in from listeners who weren't ready to say goodbye. From tearful voicemails to heartfelt emails, the message was clear: t...

Got questions? Send Ericka a Text! Pivotal moments often arrive unexpectedly. After years of helping dental practices decode insurance denials and maximize reimbursements, I've made a significant discovery that's reshaping our journey together. What began as technical discussions about coding and claims consistently opened doors to far deeper conversations about practice culture, team al...