The Savvy Dentist

Are you the kind of dental leader who hands over the reins - or do you find yourself hovering, checking, and quietly correcting your team's every move? In this episode, Jesse unpacks why micromanagement quietly destroys trust, and what to do instead. Drawing on one of history's most famous negotiating phrases, Ronald Reagan's "trust but verify", Jesse explains how the right systems create the acco...

Are you working hard in your practice, hitting your numbers month after month, and still wondering where all the money goes? In this episode, Jesse gets straight to the point on one of the most common (and costly) traps that stands between practice owners and their dental practice financial goals: focusing only on revenue while completely ignoring the leaks draining profit from the other side of t...

Creating a thriving dental practice isn’t just about hiring great people, it’s about building the right environment for them to succeed. In this episode, Jesse explores the idea that culture is the “soil” of your practice, explaining how leaders shape the environment that determines whether teams flourish or struggle. Drawing on lessons from gardening, the Navy, and real-world practice ownership,...

In the early days of your practice, things can feel a little like a pirate crew - informal, flexible, and held together by hustle and instinct. But as your practice grows, that same looseness can become your biggest constraint. In this episode, Jesse shares powerful leadership lessons from his time as a Navy dentist and explains why scaling a dental practice requires structure, clarity, and discip...

Letting someone go is one of the hardest conversations you’ll ever have as a practice owner. No one starts a business excited about terminating team members. Yet if you’re in business long enough, there will come a time when despite your best recruitment efforts, onboarding, training and feedback, someone simply isn’t the right fit. When that happens, how you handle the conversation matters — not...

Hiring an associate dentist is meant to create leverage, free up your time, and help your practice grow. But when an associate becomes unproductive, the opposite often happens. Many practice owners find themselves working harder than ever, still carrying the bulk of the load, and wondering why the associate model isn’t delivering the freedom they expected. In this episode, Jesse explores why unpro...

Scaling your dental practice can feel like the natural next step once things are going well — but if it’s done at the wrong time or in the wrong way, it can quickly turn a profitable practice into a stressful, cash-draining business. In this episode, Jesse breaks down the three fatal mistakes dentists commonly make when scaling, why they happen, and how to avoid them so you can grow sustainably wi...

What does it take to sell a thriving dental practice in just 81 days? In this episode, Dr Jesse Green is joined by returning guest Michael Filosi, who opens up about the mindset, strategy, and execution behind his successful business exit. From humble beginnings with possums in the walls to running a ten-chair, thirty-person operation, Michael shares how he built a high-performing, sale-ready prac...

If there is one word in dentistry that gets people sweating, it's the word ‘sales’. Sometimes the term ‘sales’ can have a negative connotation. Sales is helping people achieve better outcomes, whether it's in healthcare or otherwise, it's about understanding your patient or your customer and helping them with a solution. In dentistry, we use other words like ‘case acceptance’ or ‘case presentation...

Jesse Green dives deep into one of the most powerful drivers of practice growth: personal leadership. At a time when it’s easy to blame the economy, external events, or staff challenges, Jesse challenges practice owners to take full responsibility for their outcomes - and shows how doing so can create profound momentum in business and life. Drawing inspiration from Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the...

In this episode of the Savvy Dentist Podcast, Dr Jesse Green is joined by global customer experience expert David Avrin to unpack what it really means to be "ridiculously easy to do business with" and why that’s the competitive edge dental practices can no longer afford to ignore. With consumer expectations rapidly evolving and disruption sweeping through healthcare, practices that cling to outdat...

Hiring a new clinician can either be a catalyst for growth or a source of stress and stagnation, depending on how well the process is handled. In this solo episode, Jesse shares his proven 3-part framework to help dental practice owners confidently recruit, onboard, and retain high-performing clinicians who are not only clinically competent but also culturally aligned. Whether you’re scaling your...

What does it really mean to be an entrepreneur? And how do we build a business that works, not just a job that pays? In this episode, Jesse Green is joined by Alan Manly OAM, a distinguished entrepreneur, innovator, director, and author whose unconventional journey from the computer industry to educational leadership offers a masterclass in business building. Alan founded Group Colleges Australia...

As 2025 winds down and the summer holidays approach, Jesse invites you to pause, reflect, and intentionally design the year ahead. In this solo episode, Jesse walks you through a powerful, forward-focused review to help you set clear goals, close open loops, and define what success looks like for you in 2026. Whether you’re enjoying downtime or making the most of the financial opportunity this sea...

In this episode of the Savvy Dentist Podcast, Jesse is joined by Lachie Smart - entrepreneur, adventurer, medtech CEO, and record-breaking pilot - to explore the mindset behind navigating complexity and leading through chaos. At just 18 years old, Lachie became the youngest person to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft. Since then, he’s led a globally distributed medtech company,...

In this episode, Jesse Green is joined by Rob Markey, co-creator of the world-renowned Net Promoter Score (NPS) and co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 . Together, they explore how dental practices can harness the power of customer loyalty to drive sustainable growth. Rob unpacks the differences between satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, and explains why emotional commitment, not just repeat...

What does it take to not only survive extreme trauma, but to thrive and lead with purpose on the other side of it? In this episode, Jesse chats with Noliza, a mother of five, award-winning keynote speaker, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and survivor of unspeakable adversity. From childhood abuse and homelessness to near-death experiences and systemic injustice, Noliza’s story is not defined by trau...

In this episode, Jesse shares a powerful four-part framework to help dental practice owners not just survive, but thrive during economic downturns. Drawing inspiration from the medieval concept of a castle and its protective moat, Jesse introduces the MOAT strategy as a robust defence mechanism for your business. Whether you're facing turbulent financial conditions or simply want to future-proof y...

In this powerful conversation, entrepreneur, speaker, and stress coach Luke Mathers shares transformative insights on why stress isn't the real problem - it's how we recover from it that matters. Drawing from his business journey, Luke unpacks how stress, when harnessed correctly, can sharpen our focus, build resilience, and actually lead to better outcomes. But without the right recovery habits,...

In this inspiring episode, Jesse chats to world champion surfer, Paralympian, and business leader Matt Formston. Matt Formston stands as a powerful example of how resilience and determination can shatter boundaries and redefine what’s possible. Despite having less than 3% vision, he has excelled in the athletic, corporate, and community worlds, inspiring others with his story of courage and grit....

This episode is a real-world case study of two of Jesse's clients who transformed their modest two-chair dental practice into a thriving multi-chair operation generating millions in revenue. Starting from a place of financial frustration and limited clinical capacity, Jesse unpacks the strategies that helped them boost profitability and reclaim time freedom. It highlights the pivotal mindset shift...

In this episode, Jesse tackles one of the biggest profit leaks in dental practices - poor patient retention. Drawing on decades of experience and his book Retention: How to Plug the #1 Profit Leak in Your Dental Practice , Jesse breaks down the real cost of patient attrition, and why throwing more money at marketing won't solve the problem. You'll learn how to build a retention-focused practice th...

Running a dental practice can often feel like a tug-of-war between time and money. In this solo episode, Dr Jesse Green shares a personal story that sparked a pivotal shift in how he approached business - moving from being time-poor to building a practice that supports both financial success and personal freedom. Jesse breaks down the three critical pillars every dental practice owner must master...

If you’ve ever wondered why some dental practices thrive while others tread water, this episode is for you. Jesse shares the three critical gaps that often prevent practice owners from growing and scaling effectively - and how to close them. These aren’t just theoretical ideas - they’re practical, real-world insights drawn from years of working with high-performing practices. Whether you're lookin...

In this solo episode, Jesse unpacks what it really means to lead a dental practice during a time of massive technological upheaval. With AI evolving at a breakneck pace, and the future of dentistry changing before our eyes, Jesse explores how to position yourself in the age of disruption - not as the disrupted, but as the disruptor. He reflects on key moments of disruption in the past, from the GF...