The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

Letting insurance fee schedules become your “real” fees creates bad data, bad decisions, and an unnecessary production treadmill. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt coaches with Robyn Theisen on why every practice — even PPO-heavy practices — must use a master fee schedule, bill full fees, and track adjustments correctly so you can see the true gap between UCR and contracted rates.

You’ll learn how insurance-driven fees distort write-offs, inflate gross production, hide profitability, and anchor patients to allowance instead of clinical value — plus what to do today to start fixing it. Listen to Episode 1042 of The Best Practices Show!

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AI is showing up everywhere in dentistry, but how far should you go with it in HR—and where does it create risk? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Alan Twigg, HR professional and leader at Bent Ericksen, to unpack practical, low-risk ways to use AI in a private dental practice, where it can backfire, and why compliance and culture still require trained human judgment.

You’ll learn what AI does well today, what it gets wrong, how employees may use it against you, and how to protect your practice while staying efficient. Listen to Episode 1041 of T...

Turnover is expensive, disruptive, and often blamed on “the staffing market”—but what if the real issue is your internal culture and leadership systems? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with coach Heather Crockett to explain why turnover isn’t a staffing problem—it’s a culture problem—and to walk you through the practical framework that attracts the right people, keeps them, and helps them thrive.

You’ll learn what truly drives turnover, the leadership behaviors that reduce it, and the culture systems that create clarity, consistency, and accountability. Listen to Episode 1040 of The Best Practices Show!<...

Are you producing at a high level but still feeling tight on cash? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Carlie Einarson, ACT Dental coach, to explain why strong production doesn’t automatically mean strong cash flow. You’ll learn the two metrics that reveal what’s really happening—collections percentage and AR days—plus the practical steps to tighten your financial systems so the money you’ve earned actually makes it to the bank. Listen to Episode 1039 of The Best Practices Show!

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Building an amazing dental team is hard when everyone is “busy” but daily friction, miscommunication, and inconsistent expectations keep getting in the way. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with coach Jenni Poulos to explain how written team agreements create alignment, reduce conflict, and make accountability easier.

You’ll learn why individual, unwritten expectations create expensive operational friction, how agreements support core values with specific behaviors, and how to build a living document your team actually uses. Listen to Episode 1038 of The Best Practices Show!

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AI is moving fast, but most dentists still don’t know what to use, what to ignore, or how to avoid wasting time on tools that don’t help the practice. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Travis Wentworth, an AI and cybersecurity expert (with a doctorate in chemical engineering and a background in data modeling), to explain how AI has evolved beyond chatbots into practical “coworker” tools and agent-based workflows that can save time in a dental office.

You’ll learn how to think about AI use cases, how to structure prompts for better outputs, w...

When patients don’t say yes to treatment, it’s easy to assume the problem is fees, timing, or motivation—but the first place to look is your data. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with ACT coach Carlie Einarson to break down two key performance indicators that reveal where case acceptance is actually breaking down: diagnostic percentage and case acceptance percentage.

You’ll learn how to define and track these metrics, what “low” numbers typically indicate inside your systems, and the first practical steps to improve diagnosis, presentation, and scheduling outcomes. Listen to Episode 1036 of The Best Pra...

Dentistry is full of big-ticket purchases, but many clinicians overlook the most expensive and valuable “equipment” they own: their body. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Dr. Uche Odiatu to reframe the equipment conversation around physical health, and to lay out practical, sustainable habits that protect performance over a long career. You’ll learn why sleep and light exposure are foundational, how consistency beats extremes, and which nutrition “bottlenecks” can quietly undermine energy, cognition, and longevity—so you can keep practicing (and living) well for decades. listen to Episode 1035 of The Best Practices Show!

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Hiring in dentistry is harder than ever, especially when you hire for skill and end up firing for attitude. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with coach Heather Crockett about how to hire for culture fit using a structured system, including four essential types of interview questions that reveal credentials, technical ability, experience, and behaviors tied to your core values.

You’ll learn how to define the role, reduce bias, avoid “least-worst” hiring decisions, and build a repeatable process that strengthens your team over time—listen to Episode 1034 of The Best Practices Show!

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Metrics don’t create pressure—unclear expectations do. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Robyn Theisen, coach at ACT Dental, about how role-specific KPIs reduce stress by creating clarity, ownership, and accountability.

You’ll learn why teams feel pressured when success isn’t defined, how to use metrics as a “scoreboard” for standard of care and performance, and how to build meeting rhythms that keep everyone aligned and improving. Listen to Episode 1033 of The Best Practices Show!

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Most practices spend thousands each month on supplies but still don’t have a documented ordering system—so spending becomes reactive, inconsistent, and hard to control.

In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with co-host Miranda Beeson, Director of Education at ACT Dental, about what a GPO (group purchasing organization) is, where it fits in your ordering system, and how to combine budgets, accountability, and a repeatable process to stabilize supply costs and improve profitability over time—Listen to Episode 1032 of The Best Practices Show!

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Do you ever feel like your team is technically doing their jobs—but they’re not pulling in the same direction, and performance still falls short? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Miranda Beeson, ACT’s co-host and practice coach, about how to shift a practice from “working with each other” to “working for each other.”

You’ll learn how a “me” mindset creates invisible walls, why vulnerability-based trust changes accountability and communication, and how leaders build clarity, consistency, and connection to create a true “we” culture. Listen to Episode 1031 of The Best Practices Show!

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Do you feel busy all day, yet your production doesn’t reflect it? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings in Robyn Theisen, practice coach and co-host, to break down why “busy” is a false proxy—and how to replace it with intentional productivity.

You’ll learn how to use two key metrics, production per day (PPD) and production per visit (PPV), to spot schedule problems, reduce day-to-day production swings, and build more stable, higher-value days without the frantic pace. Listen to Episode 1030 of The Best Practices Show!

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Is your schedule “full” but still feels chaotic, stressful, and unproductive? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with ACT Dental coach Robyn Theisen about the real reason your schedule feels like chaos—and how to fix it by designing your day with intention, predictability, and clear scheduling agreements.

You’ll learn how to work backwards from annual goals to daily targets, use block scheduling without losing flexibility, protect emergency time, and stop letting patients dictate your day. Listen to Episode 1029 of The Best Practices Show!

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As a dentist, you can present the best treatment plan—and still lose case acceptance if your team “translates” it differently after you leave the room. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Debra Engelhardt-Nash, educator and founder of the Nash Institute for Dental Learning, to unpack what’s really being said in the operatory when you’re not there.

You’ll learn how belief systems and “wallet biopsies” derail care, how to position assistants as clinical endorsers (not counterpoints), and how to train communication so patients hear one consistent message. Listen to Episode 1028 of The Best Practices S...

Case acceptance slows down when patients don’t fully trust the diagnosis or understand the outcomes they’re buying—not just the treatment they’re paying for. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Miranda Beason, ACT’s Director of Education, about why low case acceptance is often a trust problem and how to fix it with better value communication, co-discovery, and consistent team language.

You’ll learn what it looks like when practices get case acceptance wrong, what “right” looks like in real conversations, and the specific behaviors and tools that move patients from “let me think about it” to...

One of the hardest parts of running a dental practice is producing dentistry consistently while cash flow stays unpredictable because you’re not collecting what you’re actually owed. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings in Ashley Bond, founder of Wisdom Dental Billing, to explain where revenue leaks happen inside the billing and collections process and how to tighten up your systems so production turns into real collections.

You’ll learn how to calculate your collection percentage, what numbers to watch every month, where missing money usually hides, and which daily workflows keep claims moving and prevent write...

Dental teams are feeling the hygienist shortage, and many practices are reacting with shortcuts instead of fixing what’s actually driving clinicians away. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Katrina Sanders, a dental hygienist, educator, and clinician with AZ Perio, to unpack what’s behind the shortage, why “oral preventive assistant” roles miss the point, and what leaders can change right now to attract (and keep) high-performing hygienists.

You’ll learn what the data says, what “respect from leadership” really looks like in day-to-day practice, and how core values and humility shape the culture that determines who...

Overhead feels too high, and many dentists try to fix it by cutting costs in the wrong places. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with co-host Miranda Beeson about how to evaluate overhead through two lenses—spending and collections—so you can reduce overhead without compromising the practice. You’ll learn what “high overhead” actually looks like, where practices typically leak revenue, what to review inside your overhead buckets, and the specific actions you can implement today to strengthen collections and control supply and lab spend.

Listen to Episode 1024 of The Best Practices Show!

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Weekly team meetings often get skipped, squeezed into lunch, or treated as optional — and that creates misalignment, unresolved issues, and reactive decision-making. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back ACT Dental coach Carlie Einarson to explain why a structured weekly team meeting is the key rhythm for “practice care” (not patient care).

You’ll learn when to schedule it, what to cover, how to use KPIs to course-correct quickly, and how consistent meetings build an aligned, smarter, healthier team over time — listen to Episode 1023 of The Best Practices Show!

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Do your patients feel cared for — or are you just taking care of them? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt interviews Dr. Bryan Laskin, dental author, tech entrepreneur, and patient-advocacy leader, about why dentistry is losing patient trust and what to do about it. You’ll learn how private equity and spreadsheet-driven decisions can quietly degrade the patient experience, why “clarity” is the biggest lever for rebuilding trust, and how simple systems and technology can help patients feel listened to, informed, and confident.

Listen to Episode 1022 of The Best Practices Show!

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Hygiene production problems don’t start this week — they were built months ago through leading indicators you can track and influence. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with ACT Dental coach Ariel Siegel to explain why hygiene production is a lagging indicator and how to improve it by focusing on reappointment rate, perio diagnosis, and perio acceptance. You’ll learn what hygiene breakdown looks like in real time, what predictable stability looks like when systems are working, and the simplest numbers to start tracking today so you can engineer future results instead of reacting to past ones.

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Embezzlement can feel like a cash-only problem—until it isn’t. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with David Harris of Prosperident to explain what dental thieves steal besides cash, why modern payment methods create new vulnerabilities, and what behaviors can signal elevated risk inside your practice.

You’ll learn how thieves think, where they tend to steal (revenue vs. expense), why comparing collections to deposits matters, and how to reduce risk by trusting systems—not people. listen to Episode 1020 of The Best Practices Show!

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In dentistry, many problems aren’t caused by the procedure itself—they come from what wasn’t discussed before treatment started. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Dennis Hartlieb, a general dentist and educator, to share four communication tips that help you set expectations, reduce misunderstandings, and protect the practice before you ever pick up a handpiece.

You’ll learn how to give patients clearer choices, document risk the right way, talk through outcomes without creating fear, and spot red flags before they become bigger problems—listen to Episode 1019 of The Best Practices Show!

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Do your numbers look good on paper, but the practice still feels heavy day-to-day? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back ACT coach Ariel Siegel to explain why “busy” doesn’t automatically mean “healthy,” and how the effort gap between gross production and net production creates exhaustion, tight cash flow, and a constant hamster-wheel feeling. You’ll learn how to calculate your effort gap, translate it into an “energy quotient,” and start managing write-offs so your schedule is built around profitable dentistry—not just busy dentistry.

Listen to Episode 1018 of The Best Practices Show!

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Occlusion cases stall when dentists focus only on how the teeth fit, instead of why the bite doesn’t fit in the first place. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Jim McKee to explain the #1 thing dentists get wrong about occlusion—and why it’s not the teeth.

You’ll learn how to redefine occlusion beyond tooth contacts, how disc displacement changes the bite, why many “malocclusions” should be considered joint-driven until proven otherwise, and how better diagnosis can create a restorative diagnostic practice model that attracts the right patients. listen to Episode 1017 of The Best Practic...

A growing number of dentists are reconsidering PPO participation as costs rise and reimbursement falls. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with dental consultant Deborah Engelhart Nash to unpack why a reported 29% of surveyed dental practices stopped taking insurance in 2025, what fears keep dentists stuck, and how to transition the right way.

You’ll learn how to evaluate your patient mix, identify low-hanging fruit plans to drop first, communicate changes without blaming insurance, and redesign systems so your team can focus on people work instead of paperwork—listen to Episode 1016 of The Best Practices Show!

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Many dentists track annual patient value (APV) but don’t use it to make a clear decision about what kind of practice they want to build. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Miranda Beason, ACT’s co-host and education leader, about what APV reveals about your business model, why it impacts stress and schedule design, and how to calculate it using your last 12 months of collections and active patient count.

You’ll learn what low versus high APV typically looks like in day-to-day operations, what changes when you start improving it, and the first step to take t...

Have you ever felt like your team is “getting along” but no one is saying what they really think? That’s artificial harmony, and it quietly creates frustration, drifting standards, and eventual blowups. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back coach Miranda Beason to explain the difference between toxic positivity and productive conflict, why unresolved issues always become a crisis, and how leaders can build a culture where real problems get discussed calmly and respectfully.

To learn how to find the sweet spot on the conflict continuum and create healthier conversations in your practice, listen to Episode 1014 of The...

Do you know exactly where money can slip through the cracks in your practice—and what to do about it before it becomes a major problem?

In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back David Harris, dental-exclusive forensic investigator and embezzlement expert, to break down the division of duties in a dental practice and explain how to apply it in real workflows. You’ll learn the six-step revenue cycle, the three rules that reduce opportunity for theft, and practical ways to create checks and balances in both large and small practices. Listen to Episode 1013 of The Best Practices Show...

Most practices have plenty of numbers but still feel unclear about what to work on next. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Miranda Beason about why many dental practices don’t have a data problem — they have a focus problem — and how to use quarterly priorities and the right metrics to create alignment, reduce chaos, and make steady progress toward annual goals. To learn how to set focus, choose what to measure, and lead your team with calmer, clearer direction, listen to Episode 1012 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways

Private practice is getting squeezed by complexity, competition, and promises that “bigger is better.” That pressure is pushing more dentists to consider selling, scaling, or giving up control. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Dr. Christian Coachman, dentist and educator, about why celebrating independent private practice matters, why quality in dentistry isn’t scalable, and what private practitioners can do to stay clinically excellent without burning out. To learn how community, support, and smart strategy can help you protect your freedom and your standards, listen to Episode 1011 of The Best Practices Show!

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Are you relying on the sale of your practice to fund your retirement? Before you accept an attractive offer from a DSO, it’s critical to understand what those numbers really mean — and what alternatives exist.

In this episode, Kirk Behrendt interviews Dr. Bob Margeas, founder of Iowa Dental Group in Des Moines, Iowa, about how he evaluated multiple DSO offers, broke down EBITDA and earn-outs, and ultimately chose a different transition strategy. They discuss adjusted EBITDA, recap risk, associate buy-ins, creative ownership structures, and why equity matters more than a headline purchase price. If you’re consid...

Many dental practices feel surprised by their numbers at the end of the month, even when they review reports regularly. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Miranda Beeson, leadership coach at ACT Dental, to explain the difference between leading and lagging indicators and why relying too heavily on historical data creates stress, reactivity, and missed opportunities. They break down how leading indicators connect daily behaviors to long-term results, how to spot problems earlier, and how to use data to lead calmly instead of reactively. If you want to understand which numbers actually help you influence outcomes before...

Is online continuing education enough to elevate your dentistry? With unlimited access to webinars, social media cases, and on-demand videos, it’s easy to believe you can master complex procedures from a screen. But is that really how clinical excellence is built?

In this episode, Kirk Behrendt interviews Dr. Adamo Notarantonio, educator, clinician, and faculty member at the Kois Center, about the critical differences between online and in-person learning. They discuss why hands-on training, mentorship, and layered learning are essential for developing technical skill, clinical judgment, and the ability to think under pressure.

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Running a dental practice can feel like an endless cycle of putting out fires, reacting to problems, and repeating the same frustrations day after day. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Christina Burn, Director of Operations at ACT Dental, to explain why most of these daily issues stem from a lack of clear systems, not people. Together, they break down how systems create predictability, reduce stress, improve team accountability, and support long-term growth. You’ll learn where to start with systems, how to build them with your team, and how to keep them relevant as your practice ev...

Many dental leaders make decisions based on how the day feels instead of what the data shows. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt is joined by Miranda Beeson, ACT Dental coach and leadership advisor, to explain why leading from emotion creates reactive leadership and how metrics create clarity, consistency, and confidence for teams. You will learn how data removes emotion from decision-making, how to pause emotional reactions, and how to use key performance indicators to guide smarter conversations and actions. Listen to Episode 1006 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways

Most dentists treat sleep as optional until performance drops, patience gets shorter, and focus slips. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Dr. Uche Odiatu, health and fitness educator for dentistry, about sleep hygiene fundamentals that improve energy, cognition, metabolic health, and daily productivity. You will learn why seven hours is the minimum, why “sleep debt” can’t be repaid on weekends, and the practical habits that make sleep deeper and more consistent. Listen to Episode 1005 of The Best Practices Show!

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Leaves of absence are complicated, highly regulated, and often misunderstood in dental practices. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Alan Twigg, HR expert at Ben Erickson Administrative Services, to explain how leaves of absence actually work, why documentation matters, and how dentists can protect their practices while treating team members fairly. You’ll learn how to identify protected leave, handle medical and mental health requests, manage return-to-work issues, and avoid common mistakes that lead to liability. Listen to Episode 1004 of The Best Practices Show!

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Marketing costs can easily drift without clear benchmarks, clear goals, or reliable data. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt continues the Metric Monday series with practice coach Ariel Siegel to break down marketing percentage as part of overall overhead. They explain what marketing percentage actually measures, why the benchmark matters, how internal and external marketing must align, and how to evaluate return on investment using real practice data. If you want to understand how much you should be spending on marketing and how to know whether it’s working, listen to Episode 1003 of The Best Practices Show!

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