The Truth Decay Podcast: Talking Dollars and Sense with Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen

In the wild world of Dental Billing, here is one reason for dental claim denials that makes us irrationally angry every time we see it. Not because it's complicated. Not because insurance did something sneaky. But because it's 100% preventable. Timely filing. (nooooooooooo) The denial that basically says: “You did the work… but you waited too long to tell us about it.” (which suuuuuuuucks) Which m...

My dental billing brochachos, let us paint a very real picture, we in the biz see every single day: You post an insurance payment from a carrier you’re in-network with… and it’s higher than what you estimated. Sounds like a win! Woohoo! Until you realize: • There’s now a credit sitting on the patient’s account. • You under-collected at the time of service. • Your estimate was wrong. • Your reporti...

What up, my fellow enamel enthusiasts! Riddle me this: What’s one of the biggest collection killers hiding in plain sight inside dental offices? It’s not insurance. It’s not patients. It’s how you start the conversation. See, the minute you lead treatment planning with, “Let’s see what your insurance covers…” —You’ve handed control of the narrative to a third party. You’ve shifted the value of the...

Okay, dental billing friendos: You took 4 bitewings and six PA X-rays, billed them correctly, and still got denied because insurance saw it and went, ‘oh hey, process those bad boys as an FMX.’ We've all seen it before - that math ain't mathing, yet that's what happens. Because if you're not paying attention to how those images are billed, bundled, processed, and frequency-limited, you could be ac...

“Wait — My Dental Insurance Didn't Cover It?” 😬 (SRPs, Denials, and the Conversation You Forgot to Have) For those SRPs, you thought you did everything right. Diagnosed the periodontal disease. Treatment planned SRPs (appropriately) and explained the necessity. "We'll send this to your insurance." Provided great care to your patient. And then… 💣 The claim got denied. The patient got big mad. And...

🚫 This Claim Is a Mess, Bro: How to Stop Getting Denied We know by now I love my silly questions.... what’s faster: submitting a clean claim—or spending six months appealing a denial, involving three people, five headaches, and one existential crisis? Exactly. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen are on a mission to save you from the unnecessary chaos of dirt...

Running a dental practice means making a hundred decisions a day: Where to push, what to fix, when to fight back, and when to let go. But if you’re constantly stressed, stuck on repeat with the same issues, and burning energy on the wrong things... it’s time to ask: Are you climbing the right hill… or just setting fire to the wrong one? (We have thooooughts...) Because let’s be honest: You’re figh...

It’s not the economy. It’s not your fees. It’s the 90+ day column on your AR report that’s quietly setting your practice on fire. Well, Dr. Dentist, lucky you... you have us to help! Gird your loins, bc it's time for an AR audit — and a system reset. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen tackle the real root of AR chaos: broken systems . They’ll show you how to...

You know that $25 co-pay you didn’t collect? "Aaaaah, it's okay... we'll just bill you. No big deal!" We hate to tell you, but it is actually kind of a big deal. (sorryyyyyy) Because let's be real, it's probably not just one that you didn't collect — it’s a whole bunch . Amirite? Trust us: do that a few dozen times a week , and suddenly you’re working full throttle… but still can’t make payroll. I...

My adorable periodontal party people: Lemme guess. You’ve got a “dedicated” in-house billing person. They know how your office works! They're great! Until the front desk calls in sick… Until your patients start walking in for their appointments... Until the phones start ringing… And now your "billing person" is checking patients in and out and answering phones instead of chasing claims and followi...

My enchanting enamel enthusiasts... picture this: you’re slammed. The schedule’s packed. The vibe is busy. But the bank account? …crickets. That “we feel slammed but we can’t make payroll” energy is more common than you think — and it usually means one thing: you’re flying blind on your numbers. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen run a full KPI check-up. Bec...

If you’ve ever heard a patient say, “Wait… why do I owe anything?” — congrats, you’ve just discovered what happens when your front desk is operating in a culture of avoidance instead of a culture of accountability . And nothing tanks cash flow faster. In this episode, Sara and LaRae dig into one of the most expensive cracks in the dental workflow: the missing, rushed, or terrified money conversati...

Dearest dental divas and dinosaurs: you know the sound a denial makes when it hits your desk? It’s the same one your soul makes when you realize this is the third one today . That you weren't ready for. 😩 But here’s the truth: a denial isn’t the end of the world: it’s a test of your systems. The real disaster isn’t the claim that got denied… it’s what happens next. (Spoiler: if your plan involves...

Oh my sweet, well-meaning dental friendos: you don’t need a ski mask and burner phone to commit insurance fraud; sometimes all it takes is posting the wrong code and thinking, “Eh, it’s close enough.” (Spoiler alert: it's not close enough.) In this episode, Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen break down the everyday billing mistakes that can quietly turn your claims from compliant to questionable... eve...

You told them about their periodontal issues, You warned them about the risks — again and again. You handed them the referral. Every. Single. Visit . ...they never listened. Buuut… you never wrote any of it down. Fast forward to now: the patient has moved, listened to their new dentist, (wtf man) and are threatening to sue you for negligence. And what do your notes from their last visit say? “Peri...

They look official. They feel reassuring. Sometimes they are even confused with “pre-authorizations" (they are not the same!) But let’s be clear: predeterminations are just estimates. And when your team—and your patients—don’t understand that, the result is confusion, complaints, and sooo many avoidable write-offs. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen unpack t...

“Nah, it's cool. Just submit it under the owner’s name for now.” Famous last words. 💀 If you’ve ever heard that advice—or worse, given it—this episode is for you. In this episode, Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen break down a rampant—and risky—practice happening in dental offices across the country: submitting claims under the wrong provider to “keep things moving.” Whether you’re onboarding a new a...

The Power of Smarter Dental Insurance Verification: How Targeted Insurance Verification Protects Your Practice and Patient Trust My dear dental friends: what if your insurance verification system wasn’t just inefficient—but unethical, unmeasurable, and quietly costing you thousands? In Part 2 of our deep dive on verification, Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen lay out exactly why the old way of doing t...

Insurance Verification Overload? Full Breakdown vs. Targeted Approach Why Full Breakdowns Aren’t Always Smart—Try Targeted Instead Is your insurance verification process leaving you overworked and underpaid? In this first of a two-part deep dive, Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen unpack one of the most overused, misunderstood, and inefficient processes in dental billing: the Exhaustive Full Breakdown...

My dental friendos: when a practice is struggling with collections, insurance aging, or accounts receivable, we find that it’s easy to assume the front desk just isn’t doing their job. But in our experience, it isn't usually a people-problem... It’s typically a system problem. Or lack thereof. (yiiiiikes) In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast: Talking Dollars and Sense , Sara Baker and LaRae...

“Waaait, Dr. Dentist Office... why did you send me this bill? But I paid everything I was supposed to! You TOLD me I wouldn’t have to pay anything else!” If that conversation sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Confusion about patient portions is one of the biggest sources of billing disputes, frustrated patients, and lost revenue in dental practices. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast: Tal...

Dental friendos: Is your treatment coding aligned with today’s opportunities, or stuck in last year’s rules and denials? If your team is stuck appealing the same zero-pays over and over, wasting hours on claims that will never get paid, it’s time to rethink your coding processes. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast: Talking Dollars and Sense , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen share a real-worl...

Dental friendos, please ask yourself: Do you have a culture of avoidance, or a culture of accountability in your practice? If you’re afraid to ask — or if you don’t know — you maaaay already have your answer. And it could be costing you far more than money. Ultimately, ethical billing isn’t just about compliance — it’s about protecting your practice, your patients, and your profits. (Dolla dolla b...

Dentist friends! Collections don’t have to feel like a battlefield — and they don’t have to hurt your patient relationships. (No for real) If your AR follow-up feels like conflict or avoidance, it’s time for a better system. Like, yesterday. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast: Talking Dollars and Sense , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen talk about how to manage final patient balances and AR f...

So, dental practice administrators: does your insurance aging report make you want to look the other way? If your 90+ claims column is lurking in the shadows, getting bigger and more overwhelming every single day... we see you. You're not alone! And ignoring it is costing you real money. In this episode of The Truth Decay Podcast: Talking Dollars and Sense , Sara Baker and LaRae McMullen explain h...