Dental Practice Heroes

Dr. Paul Etchison
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Where dentists learn how to cut clinical days while increasing profits - without sacrificing patient care, cutting corners, or cranking volume.   We teach you how to grow a scalable practice through communication, leadership, and effective management. Hosted by Dr. Paul Etchison, author of two books on dental practice management, dental coach, and owner of a $6M collections group practice in the south suburbs of Chicago, we provide actionable advice for practice owners who want to intentionally create more time to enjoy their families, wealth, and deep personal fulfillment.  If you want to build a scalable practice framework that no longer stresses, drains, or relies on you for every little thing, we will teach you how and share stories of other dentists who have done it!

  1. A Dentist, a Sausage, and a Student Loan Walks Into A Podcast

    1 HR AGO

    A Dentist, a Sausage, and a Student Loan Walks Into A Podcast

    The loan bill hits before your handpiece warms up—and it’s bigger than your first apartment. We sat down with Dr. Alan Mead of the Very Dental Podcast to unpack the sticker shock of modern dental education, the real math behind associate versus owner income, and how to build skills that actually move your take-home. No five-step frameworks, just honest stories, practical tactics, and plenty of laughs to keep it human. We start with the big question: is dentistry still worth it when new grads face $4–5k monthly payments? From there, we break down the critical early decisions—whether to chase ownership for upside or remain an associate and become indispensable. You’ll hear why leadership and communication pay as well as implants and endo, how to structure CE so it pays you back, and what case selection looks like when you need wins fast. We also talk about DSOs: why they can accelerate skill development and production, and how to spot the burnout traps before they grind your spark into dust. Skill building is a theme throughout: stacking meaningful repetitions, documenting questions in real time, and cornering instructors until ambiguity dies. We share the value of curation—picking a clear clinical lane, aligning your systems and team, and letting focus become your competitive edge. Along the way, we swap dental school war stories, joke about dentists opening doomed restaurants, and remind ourselves that humor is a survival skill when the numbers get heavy. Whether you’re a new dentist staring down a $500k note or a seasoned clinician wondering if ownership still makes sense, you’ll leave with a clearer playbook: pick a lane, get the reps, invest in communication, and let the value drive the income. If you’re ready to design a practice that buys back your time and sanity, subscribe, share this episode with a colleague, and leave us a review—then book a strategy call at dentalpracticeheroes.com/strategy. Join us for Free Live Trainings and Community Discussion in the DPH Hero Collective on the DPH App.  Click Here to Join! Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    38 min
  2. The Cash Flow Fix Your Front Desk Hates (But Your Practice Needs)

    6 DAYS AGO

    The Cash Flow Fix Your Front Desk Hates (But Your Practice Needs)

    A last-minute cancellation shouldn’t hijack three hours of your day. We dig into a simple shift—pre-collecting before you schedule—that lowers AR, slashes cancellations, and gives your front desk a calmer, cleaner workflow without awkward money talks at checkout. By the end, you’ll have the words, the rules, and the check-ins to make pre-collections stick—and a team that sees it as clarity, not conflict. If this helped, follow the show, share it with a colleague who needs fewer no-shows, and leave a quick five-star review to help more practice owners find it. Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    24 min
  3. The One Choice that can Set the Future of Your Practice

    16 FEB

    The One Choice that can Set the Future of Your Practice

    Tired of feeling like growth is always easier for someone else? We pull back the curtain on the real pivot point in practice ownership: not a lucky break, better reimbursements, or a unicorn office manager, but a clear decision to lead as CEO. Once that identity shifts, everything changes—how you spend your time, what you tolerate, how your team shows up, and how fast the numbers move. If you’re ready to stop reacting and start designing a team-driven, profitable practice with real freedom, join me for a live, virtual training that’s recorded for replay: dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who needs the push, and leave a review telling us the one thing you’re done tolerating. Your next chapter starts with a choice. Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    17 min
  4. 3 Decisions that will Save you Years and Millions

    11 FEB

    3 Decisions that will Save you Years and Millions

    Feeling overworked and underpaid even when your schedule is jammed? Paul breaks down the three decisions that turned a frantic, low-margin grind into a calmer, higher-profit practice: force capacity with DPH block scheduling, reclaim CEO time by understanding owner profit, and build a leadership team that truly insulates you from daily fires. If you’re ready to stop sprinting through composites and start running a business that serves your life, this conversation lays out the playbook: intentional scheduling, owner-first economics, and a leadership team that frees you to lead. Subscribe, share with a colleague who’s stuck at the chair, and leave a review with the one change you’ll make this week. Click here for the 3 day seminar Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    20 min
  5. The 3-Step AR Diagnosis That Fixes Cashflow

    9 FEB

    The 3-Step AR Diagnosis That Fixes Cashflow

    Staring at your AR and seeing chaos instead of clarity? We’ve been there, and we built a simple path out. We walk through a practical, three-part framework that turns one scary number into a clear diagnosis, so you know what to fix first and how to keep cash flowing without drama. If your AR feels like a magic eye poster, this is your focusing lens. Walk away with a short checklist, clear ownership, and a plan to make cash flow predictable. If this approach helps, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a five-star review to help more practice owners find it. And if you want hands-on help building these systems, grab a free strategy call at dentalpracticeheroes.com/strategy. Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    13 min
  6. How to Work with your Spouse (Without Burning Out Your Marriage) with Dr. Trent and Hope Neisen

    4 FEB

    How to Work with your Spouse (Without Burning Out Your Marriage) with Dr. Trent and Hope Neisen

    Running a practice with your spouse can be your biggest advantage… or your biggest stressor. In this episode, husband and wife team Trent and Hope Neisen share how they've made it work through big transitions, burnout, and the day-to-day challenges of running a practice. You'll hear how they handle the hard days, maintain boundaries in the office, and stay aligned as leaders of the practice. Topics discussed: Defining your role of clinical vs. office managerHow they handle disagreements and stay alignedHow Trent reduced his clinical days and managed burnoutBoundaries that protect the relationship and prevent burnoutThe challenges and rewards of working with familyWhere spouse teams can get outside support This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com Join us for Free Live Trainings and Community Discussion in the DPH Hero Collective on the DPH App.  Click Here to Join! Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    40 min
  7. How to Make This Year Feel Different as a Practice Owner

    2 FEB

    How to Make This Year Feel Different as a Practice Owner

    You start the year with big intentions, but end up back in autopilot mode. Sound familiar? This episode breaks down why good goals fall apart, especially in growing practices. The DPH coaches share how you can reset, refocus, and make sure this year doesn’t end with you right back where you started. From setting the right goals to building a leadership team you can rely on, you'll learn how to turn big goals into clear, actionable steps that help you create the life and practice you actually want. Topics discussed: Why most practice owners' goals fall apartHow to plan intentionally and actually reach your goalsThe move that gets you out of autopilot6 questions that help you build a plan for the new yearHow to audit your progress throughout the yearWhy vision and values are non-negotiable leadership toolsHow to align personal goals with practice goalsThis episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com Join us for Free Live Trainings and Community Discussion in the DPH Hero Collective on the DPH App.  Click Here to Join! Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    27 min
  8. The Dollar-Per-Hour Blueprint That Builds a Profitable Practice

    28 JAN

    The Dollar-Per-Hour Blueprint That Builds a Profitable Practice

    Ever set a production goal that felt exciting, then realized the math didn’t support it? We walk through a clear, no-fluff framework that turns revenue wishes into achievable targets by anchoring everything to one number: dollar per clinical hour. From there, we test whether your current systems can carry that load—diagnosis habits, treatment acceptance, and patient volume—and show how small, targeted adjustments create outsized gains without adding chaos to your week. We start by reverse-engineering annual revenue into a realistic hourly target and explain why that figure becomes your true north for scheduling, staffing, and time off. Then we dig into the three levers of growth. First, diagnosis: how to set ethical, consistent criteria, present risk clearly, and avoid the trap of under-diagnosing teeth at obvious risk of catastrophic fracture. Second, case acceptance: practical scripts and front-desk tactics for surfacing objections, clarifying value, and making financing easy so more patients say yes to care they need. Third, volume: when and how to expand through marketing, better phone conversion, airtight recall, and full hygiene capacity without burning out your team. The payoff is predictability. We show how to translate your dollar-per-hour into a block schedule that builds steady production days rather than volatile peaks and valleys. By aligning each provider—including hygiene—to a defined target and a purpose-built template, you reduce stress, hit goal consistently, and reclaim control of your calendar. You’ll walk away ready to set numbers that make sense, diagnose with confidence, lift acceptance with simple training, and choose whether to grow through volume—on your own terms. Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

    13 min
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About

Where dentists learn how to cut clinical days while increasing profits - without sacrificing patient care, cutting corners, or cranking volume.   We teach you how to grow a scalable practice through communication, leadership, and effective management. Hosted by Dr. Paul Etchison, author of two books on dental practice management, dental coach, and owner of a $6M collections group practice in the south suburbs of Chicago, we provide actionable advice for practice owners who want to intentionally create more time to enjoy their families, wealth, and deep personal fulfillment.  If you want to build a scalable practice framework that no longer stresses, drains, or relies on you for every little thing, we will teach you how and share stories of other dentists who have done it!

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Paul Etchison
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    646
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dental Practice Heroes
  • Show Website
    Dental Practice Heroes

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