The My Practice My Business Dental Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we pull back the curtain on Delta Dental’s latest effort to “train” HR departments on how to talk about their plans. On the surface, it looks like education—but behind the scenes, it’s strategic messaging designed to make employees hear only the positives and none of the truth about coverage limitations, provider restrictions, and patient choice. We explore how th...

Send us Fan Mail Tracy takes our listeners into a deep dive on how third-party payers are discouraging their clients to see out-of-network dentists. In this episode, we expose the truth behind Delta Dental’s latest campaign targeting HR departments. Their message? Convince employees that going “out of network” will cost them more. The reality? It costs Delta control. We break down the misleading t...

Send us Fan Mail Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and resistance figure, once observed:   “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. Stupidity, not evil, is the greater threat. Not because it’s more powerful, but because stupidity is unreachable. You can expose evil, you can argue with it, you can shine a light on it, you can resist it, but stupidity just does not resp...

Send us Fan Mail Two wonderful softwares at battle with each other. Unfortunately, Dentrix is flexing their mighty muscle, and it just might lead to dental practices making the switch to other dental practice management software. Vyne is the preferred software when it comes to the submission of dental insurance claims. Hopefully they'll fix their integration issues. Tracy takes on the podcast...

Send us Fan Mail Why Do Dental Specialists Feel Restricted in Charging Referred Patients, or should I say, using up the PPO patient’s benefits? If you’ve ever wondered why your dental specialist friends seem hesitant to bill additional fees for value-added services, or their full fee, or why your dental specialist family member says they have to “keep their fees within the referring dentist’s rang...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine you offer two options to your patients—one with premium materials, one standard. Sounds good, right? But what happens when those better options come at a cost that insurance won’t cover? Now ask yourself—when you pass on those costs to higher-paying patients, is that ethical? Or are you just playing Robin Hood with root canals? Here’s the kicker—many practices do this sile...

Send us Fan Mail Here's the typical scenario: dental offices are not profitable by procedure, so they work the hygienists to death in order to make up for lost revenue. Then there's the lack of support Hygienists need when diagnosing periodontal disease. Need I say more? It's no wonder why dental hygienists are burned out... But is there something dentists can do to reverse this pro...

Send us Fan Mail In Who Moved My Cheese? , Dr. Spencer Johnson uses a simple allegory involving four characters (Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw) who navigate a maze in search of “cheese” — a metaphor for what we want in life, such as a job, relationship, or health. The story centers on how each character reacts when the cheese is moved, reflecting the need to adapt to change. This narrative is eerily...

Send us Fan Mail I’ll never forget the first time I sat down with a dental insurance representative, and started asking questions. I began with questions based on all the “false information” that had been thrown at me through the years regarding PPO contracts, such as: “sending in fee-for-service (FFS) fees increases PPO reimbursement rates”, or “you can’t upgrade patients on PPO plans” and many o...

Send us Fan Mail Tracy was headed down to Utah County a few months ago, listening to one of our favorite talking heads interview an author, Annie Jacobsen, on a book she wrote titled, “Nuclear War.” She ended up buying the book for me to read, and it was very eye opening. I love reading books and finding what I call “crossovers” to what I see in our profession, and such was the case here. Support...

Send us Fan Mail When I first started my dental practice, back in 1989, most dentists helped each other out. There existed a sense of community that was evident, even within our state dental association. They actually had a “new dentist” committee that was really helpful. The association leadership would assign someone as a mentor, which was also really helpful.  Back then, it seemed like as long...

Send us Fan Mail We identify what the top ten concerns dentists face every day with running their dental practices, and where to find the answers to run their dental businesses profitably.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail My Practice My Business and the UDA help Utah dentists score another big win with legislation. We cover what this bill means to dentists and the patients they serve, and our wish for all states to pass similar legislation.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail It’s no mystery with all who know me that I love what Walt Disney created, especially when it comes to customer service. I grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday at 6pm, eating dinner on a TV tray in front of an RCA 26-inch color television. I was so blessed… I am a Disney University Graduate, and we have incorporated their training in our dental practice, as...

Send us Fan Mail Listen to what Tracy and I are working on this year, and it's almost complete. Other states are copying what we are accomplishing here in Utah, and it's benefiting their dentist/association members, and the patients they serve. Go through our business trainings here at My Practice My Business and experience applications of state dental laws, and much more, for REAL pract...

Send us Fan Mail Dear ADA, UDA, and All State Dental Associations, As many of you know, my wife and business partner, Tracy, and I have been strong advocates for both dentists and patients through our company, My Practice My Business (MPMB). Over the years, we’ve trained dental practices in Utah and across the nation on how to achieve profitability, even when participating in PPOs. Part of our tra...

Send us Fan Mail I just saw an article stating the “Washington State Dental Association (WSDA) is coming for Delta Dental of Washington (DDOW).” The name of the article is called, “Putting patient Care First: Fixing Washington’s Broken Dental Benefits System.” They stated that it’s “the battle over dental benefits.” Well, they got it partially correct. When I read the article to this point, I star...

Send us Fan Mail With the beginning of a new year, I decided to Google what the top three concerns were for dentists in their practices. What resulted was interesting. The top three to five concerns tended to center around the business entity answering the questions on Google, and it’s worth reporting. The top concerns and solutions vary with who is being asked: consultants vs. software companies...

Send us Fan Mail I’m beginning to wonder if some dentists who serve in dental associations are just there for new plaque of recognition to hang on the wall. Don’t get me wrong, I know they put in time to serve, but are they effective leaders, or just going through the motions? Support the show

Send us Fan Mail There's an old saying, "those who know the least always yell the loudest." In this episode we dissect a dental networking thread from FaceBook, and and invite the majority of commenters to the 2025 Utah Dental Association Convention on Friday from 11:45am to 1:45pm. In this presentation you will experience a live audience presentation of the My Practice My Business...

Send us Fan Mail We hear the words “goals” and “purpose” used frequently in business classes and corporate leadership training, but do we really know what they mean and how they are the same or different? One might ask if lacking a goal means the same thing as lacking a purpose. The answer is no. It’s not the same at all. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail If I had a dollar for every time a dentist has told me: “I believe in your training. I’ve talked with other docs who love what you’ve done for them. But, you need to convince my team that MPMB training is a good thing before I can sign up.”  Dentists who do not take charge of their businesses have one thing in common. It simply comes down to a lack of leadership. It’s almost like...

Send us Fan Mail I love how most of you tend to make business decisions about your dental business. Don’t deny it, you know how you are. You lick your finger, hold it high in the air, see which way the wind is blowing, give it some concentrated thought, and talk yourself right out of those things that could change your life for the better. I want to address some common bad dental business tactics...

Send us Fan Mail Bundling is defined by the ADA as "The systematic combining of distinct dental procedures by third-party payers that results in a reduced benefit for the patient/beneficiary." When Tracy and I met with the ADA last June, we pointed out how the ADA needs to quickly define the term “unbundling” because the dental insurance companies have been defining it in ways that benef...

Send us Fan Mail Dentists need to stop being mislead. Challenge the status-quo, and be that leader you know you can be. I'm always asking myself, "am I embracing stupid" when it comes to everything in my life? Mitigating stupidity in life is my constant challenge. We all make mistakes, but limiting the stupid mistakes just makes life easier.  Learning business principles to help us...