The Doctor Avi Show

What happens when a dentist can no longer practice? In this episode of The Dr. Avi Show, Dr. Avi Patel sits down with Dr. Mariz Tanious, Chief Dental Officer at Affinity Dental, to discuss an unexpected career pivot that transformed her perspective on dentistry, leadership, and the future of DSOs. After being diagnosed with arthritis, Dr. Mariz Tanious was forced to step away from clinical dentist...

Dr. Hardik Chodavadia co-founded Enamel Dentistry, growing it from a single startup practice with no formal business plan into a 10+ location dental group across Austin and McKinney. In this conversation, he's refreshingly honest about how much of that journey came down to timing, taking calculated risks, and what he jokingly calls a "dangerous level of lack of risk tolerance." In th...

25 years ago Anna Singh was a new grad with no map. Today she's Senior VP of Clinical Operations at Heartland Dental, overseeing care across nearly 2,000 practices. In this episode, she breaks down the systems behind that growth: why "bread-and-butter" dentistry beats chasing big procedures, how time studies transform efficiency, why the doctor-PMO partnership makes or breaks a pract...

Dave Gaspar, CEO of Smile Partners (120+ practices), pulls back the curtain on what it actually looks like to lead a DSO without a clinical background and why that forces better decisions. In this episode, Dr. Avi and Dave break down the three promises every DSO should make before a doctor signs, why clinical autonomy is only meaningful when you're willing to sacrifice for it, and how grit — n...

What happens when a serial CPG entrepreneur meets a disrupting dentist — and they start building together? In this episode, Dr. Avi sits down with Gulshan Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Swishables, the portable mouthwash brand disrupting oral care. From his roots building Pathwater to identifying a massive white space in dental wellness, Gulshan breaks down how curiosity, strategy, and imagination d...

Dr. AJ Acierno built a 27-location dental group while still practicing four days a week, and he's not sugarcoating what that actually took. In this episode, he breaks down why dentistry is falling from within, what standard of care really means in today's climate, and how AI is reshaping diagnostics and accountability. He also shares the leadership lessons he learned the hard way scaling D...

Brian Colao has spent 31 years at the intersection of law and dentistry — and in that time, he's watched the DSO industry go from a misunderstood concept to the most powerful force reshaping the profession. In this episode, Brian breaks down why most dentists still don't know how to leverage technology for same-store growth, what the biggest mistake is when selling a practice (hint: it&#39...

Most dentists are great clinicians. Nobody taught them how to run a business. Dr. Avi sits down with Craig Iott, operational consultant to 200+ businesses , to break down why dental practices feel chaotic, and what to do about it. They cover systems, DSO mistakes, shiny object syndrome, and why your personal brand matters more than ever. If you own a practice or plan to, this one is worth your tim...

Dr. Avi sits down with Dr. Ellie Bucklin, dentist, podcaster behind Teeth Matter, and NYU faculty, for a candid conversation about what dental school doesn't prepare you for. From mental health and people-pleasing to navigating toxic mentorship and building resilience, Ellie shares the raw reality of early-career dentistry and how she turned her lowest points into a platform that's helping...

 In this episode, Dr. Avi sits down with a third-generation dentist and founder of Vision Dental Partners, Dr. Brad Hughes, to discuss the mindset shift that transformed his career—from thinking about 5x growth to building a 100x vision. They explore the power of community, personal branding, and social media for young dentists, the reality behind DSOs and mentorship, and why leadership and patien...

What does success in modern dentistry really look like? In this episode of  The Dr. Avi Show , Dr. Avi sits down with entrepreneur and clinician Dr. Naved Fatmi to discuss scaling without burnout, building strong systems, and redefining ownership in today’s dental landscape. They cover why most dentists get in trouble, the importance of communication and culture, the myth that everyone needs to ow...

In this insightful episode, Dr. Stephane Reinhardt delves into the importance of aligner education and the surprisingly low adoption rate of aligners among dentists. He underscores the immense potential and profitability of incorporating aligners into dental practices and addresses the common fear of orthodontics, advocating for a focus on improvement rather than perfection. Dr. Reinhardt discusse...