The Dental CEO Podcast

Scott Leune
  • 4.8 (39)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to the Dental CEO® Podcast — where Dr. Scott Leune applies proven business strategies from leading entrepreneurs and CEOs to the complexities of dental practice ownership. In each episode, Dr. Leune dives into candid conversations with leaders from industries far beyond the operatory, uncovering strategies, struggles, and breakthroughs that align with the challenges dentists face every day. From scaling operations to maximizing profitability, these discussions reveal the financial frameworks and operational insights that empower dentists to lead with precision, manage with efficiency, and achieve sustainable growth as the CEO of their practice.

  1. 9h ago

    Retire Twice: Why Waiting Until 65 Is the Worst Retirement Plan for Dentists (Part 1)

    What if the traditional retirement plan, work hard for 40 years and finally retire at 65, is actually the reason so many dentists end up burned out, broke on experiences, and full of regret? In Part 1 of this two-part series, Scott Leune revisits a post he wrote 16 years ago that challenged everything he'd been taught about building wealth and retiring. Instead of one big retirement at the end of a career, Scott lays out a philosophy of semi-retiring twice: once during the years your kids need you most, and again once you've built enough wealth to slow down for good. Scott breaks down: Why the traditional "work hard, save, retire at 65" path leads to the most common regrets he's heard from wealthy people, again and againThe four life phases (18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-65) and what your income, savings, and schedule should look like in each oneWhy your 20s and early 30s should be about high income and low costs, not lifestyle upgradesHow to structure your practice so you can drop to two or three days a week during the years your family needs you mostWhy your late 40s through 60s can become your highest-earning, highest-impact years, if you've set yourself up correctlyHow this philosophy applies directly to practice ownership, associateships, and the timing of buying, building, or selling a practiceThis episode lays the groundwork for a bigger conversation. In Part 2, Scott will get tactical, walking through the specific dental practice models that make semi-retiring twice actually possible at each stage of your career. If you've ever felt like the traditional path to retirement doesn't match the life you actually want to live, this episode will change how you think about your career, your family, and your money.

  2. Sep 7

    The Dental Supplier You've Probably Never Heard Of, Solving Dentistry's Biggest Problem

    Episode 80: There's a good chance you've never heard of DHP. While Schein, Patterson, Darby, and Benco dominate the conversation around dental equipment and supplies, DHP has quietly built a 35-plus-year, privately held, family-owned business that Scott says delivers strong pricing and personal service, without the brand recognition to match. Scott sits down with Dale Roberts, DHP's founder and CEO, and Nick Roberts, COO, to unpack what makes the company different, across both equipment and everyday supplies. Rather than steering dentists toward a narrow list of premium brands, DHP shows the full range of options, from budget-friendly to premium, and lets the dentist decide what's actually right for their practice. That same $15,000 "workhorse" chair some distributors recommend often has a $4,000-$5,000 equivalent that performs just as well, and DHP is the company willing to show dentists that option exists. They also get into how tariffs have driven up pricing on gloves and other everyday supplies over the past year, squeezing dentist margins at the same time patients have less to spend, and how DHP's service model, real technicians' dentists can call directly rather than an impersonal dispatch system, extends across both equipment repair and ongoing supply relationships. Dale and Nick share what they're seeing across the industry right now: flat patient volume since 2009, new tariff-driven pricing pressure, a slowdown in DSO growth tied to higher interest rates, and why private practice ownership is still thriving despite it all. In this episode: Who DHP is, and how a privately held, family-owned company built a 35-plus-year track record across equipment and suppliesWhy DHP shows dentists a full range of equipment options across different price pointsHow tariffs have driven up pricing on everyday supplies like gloves, and what that's done to dentist marginsHow DHP handles repair and service, with real technicians dentists can call directlyThe real price difference between a premium patient chair and one that performs just as wellHow DSO pricing structures compare to what private dentists typically seeWhat's really happening with dental industry trends: patient flow, tariffs, and DSO growthScott's strategy for financing equipment like CBCTs and scanners separately from your startup loanLearn more: dhpsupply.com 🎧 Listen now: www.dentalceopodcast.com🔔 Subscribe: www.dentalceopodcast.com

  3. Aug 31

    Mo Shirin Built Europe's Largest Full Arch DSO in 8 Years. Now He's Coming for the U.S.

    Episode 79: In 2019, a 22-year-old flew from Dublin to Texas to take three of Scott's courses back-to-back, so eager to learn he came back a second time just to finish the one he missed. Eight years later, that same dentist has built Truly Dental into Europe's largest full arch implant group, 15 locations across Ireland and the UK, on pace to cross $100 million in annual revenue. Now he's setting his sights on the U.S., and he says he can do it cheaper, and just as good. In this episode, Scott sits down with Mo Shirin to unpack exactly how. Truly manufactures its own implants and prosthetics in-house, down to the submicron level, cutting out the markup baked into nearly every implant sold in the U.S. Mo explains that the actual manufacturing cost of an implant is under 10 cents, yet dentists are routinely charged $200-$250 a piece. Some of his early U.S. patients were flying to Ireland after being quoted 600% more at home for the same procedure, and Truly was still making a healthy margin at a fraction of that price. This isn't a race to the bottom. Mo walks through how vertical integration, owning the lab, the manufacturing, and the training, lets Truly deliver full arch care at a dramatically lower cost without cutting corners on quality, and why he believes that combination is what will let Truly compete directly with, and outperform, U.S. incumbents once they officially enter the market. In this episode: How Mo went from Scott's seminar room at 22 to founder of Europe's largest full arch groupWhy Truly manufactures its own implants and prosthetics, and how that cuts cost without cutting qualityThe real manufacturing cost of an implant versus what dentists are typically chargedWhy U.S. patients were flying to Ireland and paying less, even after travelHow Truly scaled from a single Dublin practice to 15 locations across Ireland and the UKThe pivot from general dentistry to full arch implants, and why it changed everything financiallyMo's plan, and reasoning, for entering the U.S. market to compete directly with incumbentsMo's philosophy on ego, mentorship, and betting on yourself before you feel readyLearn more about Mo and Truly Dental: trulydental.ieSurgical training facility: livepatientdubai.comImplant manufacturing lab: https://borislabs.ie 🎧 Listen now: www.dentalceopodcast.com🔔 Subscribe: www.dentalceopodcast.com

  4. Aug 24

    One Procedure, $1.5M+ in Additional Collections at a 90% Margin: The Best-Kept Secret in Dentistry

    Episode 78: Scott sits down again with Justin Warcup, a pediatric dentist in Dallas-Fort Worth, to break down the numbers behind pediatric airway dentistry and the system he built to scale it, called the BRĒTH Method. Cases run $4,000 to $9,000, case acceptance sits at 52%, and in just three months of focused marketing, Justin scaled from 4–5 cases a month to averaging $130K+ a month, increasing his profit by an estimated $1.4 million on top of his existing practice revenue. They dig into the real math: why the procedure costs so little to deliver, and why Justin says it's simpler clinically than routine cases most general dentists already do every day. In this episode: The exact fee range behind this procedure ($4,000–$9,000 per case)The case acceptance numbers: 52%How averaging $130K+ a month in new case starts breaks down to roughly 90% profitWhat the clinical treatment actually looks like, and why it's simpler than most dentists assumeWho can realistically add this to their practice (pediatric dentists, general dentists, and orthodontists)Info on Justin's upcoming BRĒTH Method training event in Dallas-Fort Worth (September 18–19)Learn more about the BRĒTH Method: justinwarcup.com If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the Dental CEO Podcast and leave a review, it helps other dentists find these conversations. 🎧 Listen now: www.dentalceopodcast.com

  5. Aug 17

    Is There Ever a "Right Time"? Building a Booked-Out Dental Startup While Raising 3 Kids Under 5

    Episode 77: Is there ever really a "right time" to start a practice? In this episode of the Dental CEO Podcast, Scott sits down with Dr. Stamatis Kouniaris and his wife Katarina, a practicing attorney, to talk about one of the boldest timing decisions a young family can make: launching a dental startup in Canada while raising three kids under five, including a newborn just one month old. Just a month after opening Ilios Dentaire, Stamatis and Katarina are already booked out three to four weeks, adding a hygienist, and hiring a second assistant, all while juggling final construction details, working capital, and the everyday chaos of a young family. They open up about why they chose a startup over an acquisition, how financing and insurance structures shaped their decisions, what it's really like when one spouse is a dentist and the other is navigating life alongside the build, and why they believe waiting for the "right time" often means waiting forever. Whether you're weighing a startup against an acquisition, wondering how kids factor into the timeline, or just want an honest look at the first month of practice ownership, this conversation is a real, unfiltered look at building a business and a family at the same time. Topics covered: startup vs. acquisition decisions, financing and lending strategy, insurance and fee structures, balancing parenthood with practice ownership, and the value of coaching during a startup build. See photos and videos of Ilios Dentaire on Instagram: @ilios.dentaire If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the Dental CEO Podcast and leave a review, it helps other dentists find these conversations.

  6. Aug 10

    Why Most Dentists Settle for Mediocre

    Scott Leune sits down to give young dentists the advice he wishes someone had given him. He breaks down the four numbers every associate should be tracking, why a high-income associateship matters more than a signing bonus, and why waiting to feel "ready" for ownership is usually the exact reason people never get there. It's a blunt, no-fluff take on why so many careers stall out in mediocrity, and what it actually takes to avoid it. Whether you're a dental student, a new associate, or years into your career, this episode is a reset on what success in dentistry should really look like.

  7. Aug 3

    AI Is Becoming the Operating System of Your Practice

    Radiologic AI was just the beginning. In this episode, Scott sits down with Ophir Tanz, founder and CEO of Pearl, to unpack how AI has evolved from a single feature into an entire layer running underneath the modern dental practice, handling everything from CBCT analysis and ambient charting to claims, insurance verification, and scheduling. They get into where this is headed next: a world where AI doesn't just assist your team, it becomes the operating system your practice runs on. If you haven't engaged with AI in your practice yet, this episode makes the case for why now, not later, is the moment to start.

  8. Jul 27

    $4M in Debt and His Partner Left. You Won't Believe What Dr. Omar Virani Did Next

    $4 million in debt. A business partner who walked away. That's the position Dr. Omar Virani was in, and it would have ended most people's dental careers right there. Instead, he turned it into a thriving two-location practice in Vancouver, Canada, one with 19 operatories, associates who actually want to work there, and the kind of balanced schedule most owners only dream about. In this episode, Omar walks through exactly how he rebuilt from rock bottom, and Scott and Omar break down what U.S. dentists can learn from Canada's very different approach to associate pay and insurance. This is what it actually looks like to lose everything and build something better.

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About

Welcome to the Dental CEO® Podcast — where Dr. Scott Leune applies proven business strategies from leading entrepreneurs and CEOs to the complexities of dental practice ownership. In each episode, Dr. Leune dives into candid conversations with leaders from industries far beyond the operatory, uncovering strategies, struggles, and breakthroughs that align with the challenges dentists face every day. From scaling operations to maximizing profitability, these discussions reveal the financial frameworks and operational insights that empower dentists to lead with precision, manage with efficiency, and achieve sustainable growth as the CEO of their practice.

Information

  • Creator
    Scott Leune
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Scott Leune
  • Show Website
    The Dental CEO Podcast

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