The Real Talk of Dental

Brandi Marzolino
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Mental Health
  • Weekly

The Real Talk of Dental is not your average industry podcast—it’s a soul-shaking, BS-busting, variety show for dental professionals who are done faking fine. Hosted by Brandi Marzolino—a 20-year dental vet, leadership coach, and cultural truth-teller—this show rips off the polite mask and digs into the real issues behind the front desk: burnout, boundaries, broken systems, and the human stories no one’s talking about. Expect sharp leadership insights, anonymous confessions, chaotic call-ins, sketch-style reenactments, and mic-drop moments that make you laugh, cry, cringe, and breathe a little deeper. This is for the dentists secretly, or not-so-secretly, in therapy, the OMs carrying too much, the hygienists questioning everything, the team members who just want to feel seen – and the industry partners, vendors, and DSO players navigating the business of dentistry while trying to make it a little more human. With weekly episodes that blend industry expertise, emotional intelligence, and unapologetic humor—plus recurring segments like X-Ray Vision, Trauma Drama Theater, and the Real Talk Hotline—this is where the dental world gets real. Because in this office? Truth is the treatment plan. And humor? That’s the local anesthetic. Hit play. We saved you a seat.

  1. 5d ago

    067: Dental Virtual Assistants: From Skeptic to Global Team | Cory Pinegar

    Dental virtual assistants are remote team members who work inside your practice’s systems to handle scheduling, insurance verification, and patient calls. If the phrase makes you picture the frustrating offshore call center from your last credit card dispute, you are not alone. Cory Pinegar pictured the same thing. Meanwhile, your front desk is stretched thin, labor costs keep rising, and AI changes the game every six months. The real question is not whether to use remote talent and technology. It is how to use them without turning your practice into a commodity. Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach and host of The Real Talk of Dental, sits down with Cory Pinegar, founder and CEO of Reach, formerly CallForce. At 22, Cory bought Weave’s patient recare call service for $1, then spent six months landing his first customer. He shares the business triangle that saved his company, how two hires in Brazil and Argentina turned him from skeptic to believer, and why less than 5% of his team now works inside the US. You will also hear how he pairs good humans with AI tools like Pearl, Overjet, and Claude, and why a BYU study of 311,000 adults points to human connection as your real edge. AI can buy back your time. What you do with it is what patients remember. You’ll learn: How Cory Pinegar bought a dental company from Weave for $1: why a fast-growing startup let its recare call service go, and why Cory passed on a Goldman Sachs internship to take it.Why the game doesn’t call you in: Cory’s one piece of startup advice for the many people who sit on a good idea and wait for someone to give them permission.What the business triangle is and why it has to stay balanced: deeply serve your customers, deeply serve your team, and run an economically sustainable business, or one side eventually breaks the other two.How dental virtual assistants changed Cory’s view of international talent: from refusing to become the next frustrating offshore call center to a company where less than 5% of the team works inside the US.Why Reach stays focused only on dentistry: dedicated sales, marketing, and success teams who speak your language on insurance verifications, Dentrix, and Delta Dental instead of offering every ice cream flavor.How AI and dental virtual assistants work better together: Cory’s view that a well-trained human using tools like Pearl, Overjet, and Claude delivers more quantity and quality than either one alone.Why human connection is your practice’s real differentiator: patients can’t judge the clinical work in their mouth, but they remember how they were treated, so spend AI’s bought-back time on connection. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Why offshore customer service once frustrated everyone 01:00 Cory Pinegar joins The Real Talk of Dental 03:00 Why would Weave sell a company for $1 05:00 Turning down Goldman Sachs to prove his dad wrong 08:00 Six months to land the first dental customer 09:00 The game doesn’t call you in 14:00 The moment the business realized it was bleeding money 17:00 From offshore skeptic to dental virtual assistants 22:00 Why Reach stays laser focused on dentistry 26:00 AI, cybersecurity, and nine years without a breach 34:00 Will AI turn your dental practice into a commodity 36:00 Was Cory’s dad proud of the $1 deal Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental Connect with Cory: Website: https://www.getreach.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-pinegar/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222

    067: Dental Virtual Assistants: From Skeptic to Global Team | Cory Pinegar

  2. Oct 23

    066: The Trusted Employee Who Stole $700K+ | Courtney Staiger & Amber Weber

    Dental embezzlement is the theft of money, product, or time by someone inside your own practice, and nearly half of dental offices report being stolen from. If you think digital payments, AI tools, or an office manager who feels like family make you immune, this is your wake up call. The person closest to the money is often the one taking it. The losses add up quietly through payroll bumps, stolen insurance checks, padded overtime, and extra PTO until it is death by a thousand paper cuts. On The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Prosperident fraud examiners Courtney Staiger, a Certified Fraud Examiner and former dental assistant, and Amber Weber, a Registered Dental Hygienist, for a true crime breakdown of two real cases: a family friend who stole about $225,000 and an inherited employee who took more than $700,000 from two owners. You will learn why your CPA is unlikely to catch theft, why no payment type is safe, the one question to ask any AI payment posting vendor, and why Amber says transparency is the first casualty of embezzlement. Trust your instincts, verify everything, and get a second set of eyes on your numbers before your practice becomes the next story. You’ll learn: Dental embezzlement warning signs often start small, like a $2,000 payroll bump that quietly grows to $30,000 a year when nobody cross-checks payroll, supply orders, or bonuses.Why your CPA will not catch dental embezzlement: accountants are not inside your practice management software, so timing gaps get excused away as insurance or deposit lag.Transparency is the first casualty of embezzlement, so your whole team should know how to run reports, spot check past months, and ask why numbers changed after the fact.How a proactive embezzlement audit uncovered $155,000 stolen from a new owner in just 18 months, plus $580,000 more from the previous owner, with no obvious red flags.No payment type is safe from dental office theft, including insurance checks cashed through mobile deposit and digital payments that hit the bank before or after posting.The question to ask any AI payment posting vendor: do you reconcile from the bank first or the EOB first? Courtney Staiger explains why bank-first is a red flag.How to prevent embezzlement in your dental practice with background checks, verified employment history, separation of duties, clear associate contracts, and an outside expert exam. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Why no dental practice is immune to embezzlement 11:00 The trusted family friend who stole $225,000 16:00 How a proactive audit uncovered hidden theft 18:00 Do dentists press charges against embezzlers? 24:00 Will your CPA catch embezzlement in your practice? 28:00 Associate pay errors from adjustments and vague contracts 33:00 Why you need an outside financial exam 35:00 How insurance checks get stolen through mobile deposit 39:00 The AI payment posting question to ask vendors 41:00 ADA survey data on dental embezzlement rates 44:00 Background checks and verifying past employers 46:00 Lifestyle red flags and trust but verify Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental Connect with Courtney Staiger and Amber Weber: Prosperident: https://www.prosperident.com/Meet the team: https://www.prosperident.com/our-teamThe Prosperident Exchange podcast: https://www.prosperident.com/podcasts Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DentalEmbezzlement #DentalOfficeEmbezzlement #EmbezzlementPrevention #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalPracticeOwner #DentalOfficeManager #DentalFraud #FraudPrevention #DentalLeadership #DentalBusiness #DentistLife #DentalHygienist #DentalAssistant #DentalTeam #PracticeOwner #TrueCrime #Prosperident #TheRealTalkOfDental

    066: The Trusted Employee Who Stole $700K+ | Courtney Staiger & Amber Weber

  3. Oct 16

    065: Dentistry Was Never Meant to Be Your Identity | Mike Nelson

    Dentist burnout is not always caused by dentistry itself. More often, it happens when everything outside the practice gets neglected: your marriage, your kids, your health, and your own personal growth. If you are hitting your numbers but feel like you are failing at home, or thriving at home while the business drifts, nothing is wrong with you. You are running your life on autopilot, and the highlight reel you see from everyone else in the industry is making it worse. On this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Mike Nelson, a dental tech veteran of Dental Intelligence, Solutionreach, and Weave and the founder of The Atlas Project. Mike explains why dentistry was never meant to be your identity, it was meant to fuel your life, and how The Atlas Project helps dental professionals navigate every map of life with intention, from craft and business to connection, health, and adventure. You will hear why most practice owners cannot describe the practice they want, why resilience is a muscle you build outside the office, why changing your environment matters when you unplug, and why no one on a dental panel has it all figured out. If you are ready to stop reacting and start living a life by design, consider this your permission to begin. You’ll learn: Why dentist burnout, according to Mike Nelson, usually comes from neglecting your life outside the practice rather than from dentistry being too hard, and why refilling your own battery changes how you lead.The Atlas Project belief that dentistry was never meant to be your identity, it was meant to fuel your life, and how to navigate each map of your life with real intention.Why most dental practice owners cannot describe the culture, team, or patients they actually want, and how becoming a victim of indecision quietly shapes both your practice and your home life.How to build resilience like a muscle through physical challenge and discomfort, so a schedule falling apart at the practice feels manageable instead of feeling like the end of the world.Why changing your environment matters when you finally unplug, and what Brandi Marzolino learned about sleep, rest, and her nervous system after taking extended time away from work.Why work-life balance for dentists starts with practicing preventative care on yourself, your marriage, and your kids, instead of waiting until dentist burnout forces a crisis you cannot ignore.How to see through the highlight reel from dental influencers, conference panels, and gurus, and why admitting no one has it all figured out gives you and your team room to grow. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental 01:00 Successful at work but struggling at home 03:00 Mike Nelson’s path from landscaping into dentistry 06:00 Why Mike Nelson started The Atlas Project 08:00 Why most practice owners cannot say what they want 12:00 Dentistry was never meant to be your identity 14:00 Why changing your environment helps you truly unplug 17:00 What extended time off taught Brandi about sleep 21:00 Is dentistry really the cause of dentist burnout 22:00 Building resilience alone in the backcountry 30:00 Couples retreats and family events with The Atlas Project 33:00 Why does no one in dental have it figured out Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental Connect with Mike Website: www.Youratlashq.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-atlas-project1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/youratlashq Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youratlashq/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DentistBurnout #DentalBurnout #DentalLeadership #WorkLifeBalance #DentistLife #DentalProfessionals #PracticeOwner #DentalPracticeOwner #IntentionalLiving #LifeByDesign #Resilience #DentalCommunity #DentalCulture #DentalWellness #MentalHealthInDentistry #DentalPodcast #TheAtlasProject #MikeNelson #BrandiMarzolino #TheRealTalkOfDental

    065: Dentistry Was Never Meant to Be Your Identity | Mike Nelson

  4. Oct 9

    064: Why Dentists Fear Looking at Their Practice Numbers | Jessica Nunn

    Dental practice financials are the numbers that show whether your practice is truly healthy: your collections, your AR, your hygiene production, your overhead, and your profit. If you avoid them, you are not alone. Plenty of practice owners know what they collect each month and that the bills get paid. But they have no idea what their AR looks like, whether they overpay for supplies, or how to plan for that next big equipment purchase. Dental school never taught you the business side, so it is easy to decide you are bad with numbers when you were simply never trained. Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach and host of The Real Talk of Dental, sits down with Jessica Nunn, CPA, founder and CEO of Maven Financial Partners. Maven is a female-led financial consulting firm serving dental, dermatology, and plastic surgery practices. Jessica shares how she went from preparing tax returns to building a firm where clients actually look forward to their monthly numbers meeting. You will hear her core principle, big change requires big change. You will also hear why feelings aren't facts when you review your P&L, and how a budget tells your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. You already earned your seat. Now it is time to look under the hood. You’ll learn: Why dental practice financials feel so scary: Jessica Nunn explains how money conflict growing up and zero business training in dental school lead owners to assume they are bad with numbers.What big change requires big change means for your profitability: a financial consultant brings awareness, but small tweaks rarely move the needle, so real profit growth demands real change in how you operate.How feelings aren't facts plays out in your dental practice financials: owners who feel they had a bad month often had their most profitable one, driven by hygiene, ortho starts, or a strong associate.How to fix team compensation that is hurting your profit: Jessica's take on paying your team wrong, gradual pay restructuring, and when keeping a loyal team at a higher cost is a valid choice.Founder-led practices vs private equity-backed platforms: why about 98% of Maven Financial Partners clients are founders working side by side with their teams, and how emotion can cloud lab and vendor decisions.What a dental practice budget actually does: Maven's definition of a budget as telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went, plus how a year-at-a-glance plan keeps you proactive.How to choose the right financial partner for your practice: why approachable advice in plain English matters, and why a CPA or advisor who leaves you feeling dumb or in tears is the wrong fit. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental 01:00 Do you really know your dental practice numbers 05:00 Jessica Nunn's path from CPA to Maven founder 09:00 Correcting veteran CPAs as a young woman 12:00 Why big change requires big change 14:00 Are you bad with numbers or just scared 17:00 You cannot measure what you are not tracking 18:00 Feelings aren't facts in your dental practice financials 21:00 Why does a financial review feel like getting naked 28:00 Running your practice by values or the bottom line 32:00 A budget tells your money where to go 33:00 Finding a financial partner you actually vibe with Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental Connect with Jessica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-nunn-cpa-1474a417/ Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maven-financial-partners/ Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial Website: https://www.mavenfp.com/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DentalPracticeFinancials #DentalPracticeOwner #DentalBusiness #DentalPracticeManagement #KnowYourNumbers #DentalProfitability #FractionalCFO #DentalCFO #DentalPracticeGrowth #DentistLife #DentalLeadership #DentalOfficeManager #WomenInFinance #FemaleFounder #PracticeOwner #DentalPodcast #MavenFinancialPartners #RealTalkOfDental

    064: Why Dentists Fear Looking at Their Practice Numbers | Jessica Nunn

  5. Oct 2

    063: The Delta Dental Insider Dentists Need to Hear | Michael Cembrola

    Dental insurance fee negotiation is how your practice gets carriers like Delta Dental to raise what they pay you, and most offices are not doing it nearly enough. If you haven't touched your fee schedules in six, eight, or even ten years, you are leaving money on the table every single day. Staffing costs aren't going down. Supply costs aren't going down. As more practices weigh dropping PPO networks in 2026, knowing how in-network reimbursement really works has never mattered more. On The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Michael Cembrola, a former Delta Dental sales executive with 20 years in dental benefits who now helps dentists negotiate fees with insurance companies. Michael explains why you should review your reimbursements every two years, why dental fraud and abuse cost an estimated $12 to $15 billion a year in the US, and how the Model Dentist tool he helped build scores every dentist in a network across 25 clinical and patient metrics. You'll also learn how self-funded and fully insured plans drive your prophy reimbursement, and who actually sets that $1,000 annual maximum. This is the episode where we stop picking a villain and start having the real conversation. You’ll learn: Dental insurance fee negotiation timing: why Michael Cembrola recommends reviewing your reimbursements every two years, and what to do when a carrier tells you no the first time you ask. Should dental offices drop insurance? How your patient mix, the carriers in your area, and your growth stage decide whether staying in-network still makes sense for your practice. Dental insurance fraud, waste, and abuse: why an estimated $12 to $15 billion is lost every year in the US, and how honest coding mistakes by office staff quietly add to it. Model Dentist quality scoring: how the tool ranks every dentist in a network from tier one to tier five using 25 metrics like complication rates, fillings versus crowns, and continuity of care. Who really sets your $1,000 annual maximum: why employers, not insurance companies, choose the plan design, and how that misconception fuels patient frustration at your front desk. Self-funded versus fully insured dental plans: how employers paying the cost of care directly keeps prophy reimbursement low, and why that makes dental insurance fee negotiation so tough. Value-based care in dentistry: what it means to pay dentists more for appropriate, preventive care at the right time, and why dental still runs about ten years behind medical. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Why a Delta Dental insider isn't the villain 03:00 Former Delta Dental exec thoughts on dental insurance today 05:00 Should dental offices drop insurance? 07:30 Dental insurance fraud costs $12 to $15 billion yearly 11:00 Is dental fraud mostly intentional or accidental? 13:00 Who really sets your $1,000 annual maximum? 14:30 Dental insurance fee negotiation: how often should you ask? 19:00 Model Dentist scores every dentist on 25 metrics 25:30 What does value-based care mean in dentistry? 30:30 Dentists vs insurers: who really holds the power? 32:00 Is low prophy reimbursement hurting dental hygiene? 33:30 Self-funded vs fully insured dental plans explained Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental Connect with Michael LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecembrola/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DentalInsurance #DentalInsuranceNegotiation #PPONegotiation #DeltaDental #DentalPractice #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalFraud #DentalBilling #DentalCoding #DentalHygiene #DentalHygienist #ValueBasedCare #DSO #DentalOfficeManager #DentalLeadership #DentalIndustry #DentalPodcast #TheRealTalkOfDental

    063: The Delta Dental Insider Dentists Need to Hear | Michael Cembrola

  6. Sep 25

    062: Why This Dentist Took a Year Off and Never Went Back | Matt Allen

    A dental sabbatical is what happens when a dentist steps fully away from clinical practice, not for a two week vacation, but for a real, intentional reset. If you've ever quietly wondered whether you could walk away from the chair for a year and come back different, this episode is proof it's possible. Dr. Matt Allen did exactly that, and it didn't just change his schedule, it changed the direction of his entire career. He talks with Brandi about the fear that keeps dentists white knuckling control, the moment he realized the four lane highway to success wasn't for him, and why slowing down turned out to be the fastest way forward. Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran, leadership coach, and host of The Real Talk of Dental, sits down with Dr. Matt Allen, DDS, Co-Founder and CEO of DifferentKind, to unpack what he learned in the year he stepped away from dentistry. You'll walk away with Matt's soft focus framework for creative rest, his ikigai based approach to figuring out your next move, and his reservoir mindset for giving without burning out. This is a real conversation about fear, patient experience, and what it actually looks like to build a career on your own terms. Hit play and give yourself permission to imagine a different path. You’ll learn: Why Dr. Matt Allen walked away from clinical dentistry for a full year, and what a real sabbatical actually requires before you take the leap.How Spain's World Cup winning soccer system explains why over controlling your dental team quietly stalls their growth and decision making.The difference between the fear that keeps you safe and the fear that's secretly running every decision in your dental practice.Why Matt reframes big career moves as experiments instead of demanding perfection, and how that shift changes what you're willing to try.What soft focus time taught Matt about slowing down, and how walking became the surprising unlock for his best business decisions.How Matt used the Japanese concept of ikigai to build A Different Kind, his patient experience company for dental organizations.Why AI can automate dental communication tasks but still can't replace the human trust building skills most dental teams were never taught. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental 01:00 Matt Allen left dentistry to build A Different Kind 05:00 How Spain's World Cup win applies to dental leadership 08:00 Why controlling every outcome breaks down under pressure 09:00 Why fear shows up around growth and hard decisions 10:00 How dental training shrinks your focus and your control 14:00 Reframing fear as experimenting instead of chasing perfection 19:00 What led Matt to take a full year off 22:00 Soft focus time and the early seeds of Different Kind 27:00 Finding ikigai and deciding what only you can do 32:00 Why people are losing trust in AI generated communication 35:00 Matt's reservoir mindset for staying full instead of empty Connect with Matt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/differentkind/ Website: https://www.differentkind.com/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #Dentistry #DentalPodcast #DentalLeadership #PatientExperience #DentalBurnout #DentalCareerChange #DentistLife #DentalCulture #DentalTeamCulture #FearInLeadership #Ikigai #DentalSabbatical #DentalWellness #PracticeOwner #DentalIndustry #DentalCoaching #DentalMarketing #RealTalkOfDental

    062: Why This Dentist Took a Year Off and Never Went Back | Matt Allen

  7. Sep 18

    061: How to Scale a DSO and Prepare It for Private Equity | Eric Pastan

    How do you scale a DSO without creating a collection of practices that operate like completely different businesses? In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, Brandi Marzolino sits down with Eric Pastan, who built a 45-practice DSO and sold it to private equity, to explore what sustainable growth actually requires. Eric explains the difference between scaling and stacking, what private equity buyers value beyond EBITDA, and why repeatable systems, realistic projections, strong culture, and operational alignment make a dental group more valuable. You’ll also hear why Eric walked away from his first attempted transaction, how to connect growth targets to actionable KPIs, and why the highest offer may not come from the right partner. If you are growing a dental group or considering a future sale, this conversation will help you build a business that is easier to operate, more attractive to buyers, and strong enough to grow without losing its culture. You’ll learn: The difference between scaling a DSO and stacking practices.What private equity buyers evaluate beyond EBITDA.Why Eric walked away from his first attempted DSO sale.How repeatable systems and accurate projections increase value.Why financial goals must connect to practice-level KPIs.How to evaluate technology before investing in it.Why the highest offer may not be the best offer.How to grow without sacrificing culture or operational control. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 What private equity is really buying 03:07 Eric’s journey building a 45-practice DSO 06:13 The state of DSO growth in 2026 08:30 Scaling versus stacking dental practices 12:03 How fast should a dental group grow? 15:10 Building systems that do not depend on the founder 20:08 How uncontrolled growth damages culture 23:03 Why Eric walked away from his first DSO sale 24:52 What made the organization valuable to buyers 28:43 The systems to strengthen before selling 35:07 Evaluating dental technology investments 38:04 Advice for DSO founders considering an exit Connect with Eric LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-pastan/ Website: https://www.elliottdavis.com/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DSOGrowth #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalLeadership #DentalBusiness #DSOStrategy #DentalPracticeGrowth #PrivateEquity #DentalPracticeAcquisitions #DentalEntrepreneur #DentalOperations #DentalPracticeKPIs #DentalTechnology #DentalPracticeCulture #DSOLeadership #DentalIndustry #EricPastan #BrandiMarzolino #TheRealTalkOfDental

    061: How to Scale a DSO and Prepare It for Private Equity | Eric Pastan

  8. Sep 11

    060: You Can Build Fort Knox and Still Get Hacked | Tom Terronez

    Dental office cybersecurity training is the one investment most practices skip, and it is exactly why hackers keep getting in. You can spend thousands locking down your network, but if your office manager clicks one bad link, all of that protection means nothing. Cyberattacks against dental practices and DSOs have surged through 2026, from major distributors to small single location offices, and most teams still have no idea what a real phishing attempt looks like. Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Tom Terronez, CEO of Medix Dental IT, to unpack why people, not software, are the biggest vulnerability in every dental practice. Tom shares the real story behind the Fort Knox problem, why office managers are often the strongest advocates for security training, and how tech should free up your team to be more human with patients, not less. You will walk away knowing exactly what questions to ask before you buy new technology, why trust, once lost through a bad rollout, is nearly impossible to win back, and how a little warmth at the front desk can matter more than the fanciest system in the building. You’ll learn:Why dental office cybersecurity training matters more than any firewall, and how one clicked phishing link can undo thousands of dollars in IT protection.What to ask before your practice invests in new dental technology, so you avoid the shiny object syndrome that leads to expensive, disconnected systems.Why office managers are often the strongest advocates for cybersecurity training in dental practices, and why leadership still hesitates to invest in it.How a single mishandled tech rollout can break staff trust in leadership, and why rebuilding that trust afterward is nearly impossible.Why the biggest cybersecurity vulnerability in any dental practice is people, not software, and what regular training actually changes.How small human moments at the front desk, like a genuine hello, can matter more to patients than the most advanced technology in the building. 🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions: https://www.therealtalkofdental.com 🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental: https://leadhershipexperience.com/ 🔗 Boundary Boss GPT: https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss We talk about: 00:00 Why one bad email can undo your security budget 01:44 Meet Tom Terronez, dental IT and cybersecurity expert 03:08 The missing piece in every tech rollout is people 06:21 What should you ask before buying new dental tech 07:22 Why you should never buy technology at a conference 13:54 The real gap between vendor onboarding and daily use 15:26 How one bad tech rollout can break team trust 18:00 Why losing trust is the hardest thing to earn back 21:33 A patient check-in story that shows what tech misses 33:44 What keeps DSO leaders up at night about cybersecurity 37:00 Why lack of training is the real cybersecurity gap 39:17 Why office managers are the real cybersecurity MVPs Connect with Tom LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-terronez-9371104/ Website: https://medixdental.com/ Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/ https://courageandjoyatwork.com/ https://leadhershipexperience.com/ Phone: 616-682-6222 #DentalCybersecurity #DentalOfficeSecurity #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalIT #CyberAttackPrevention #PhishingAwareness #DentalTechnology #DSOLeadership #HIPAACompliance #DentalOfficeManager #RansomwareProtection #DentalPracticeGrowth #DentalLeadership #PracticeCulture #TomTerronez #MedixDentalIT #TheRealTalkOfDental

    060: You Can Build Fort Knox and Still Get Hacked | Tom Terronez
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5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The Real Talk of Dental is not your average industry podcast—it’s a soul-shaking, BS-busting, variety show for dental professionals who are done faking fine. Hosted by Brandi Marzolino—a 20-year dental vet, leadership coach, and cultural truth-teller—this show rips off the polite mask and digs into the real issues behind the front desk: burnout, boundaries, broken systems, and the human stories no one’s talking about. Expect sharp leadership insights, anonymous confessions, chaotic call-ins, sketch-style reenactments, and mic-drop moments that make you laugh, cry, cringe, and breathe a little deeper. This is for the dentists secretly, or not-so-secretly, in therapy, the OMs carrying too much, the hygienists questioning everything, the team members who just want to feel seen – and the industry partners, vendors, and DSO players navigating the business of dentistry while trying to make it a little more human. With weekly episodes that blend industry expertise, emotional intelligence, and unapologetic humor—plus recurring segments like X-Ray Vision, Trauma Drama Theater, and the Real Talk Hotline—this is where the dental world gets real. Because in this office? Truth is the treatment plan. And humor? That’s the local anesthetic. Hit play. We saved you a seat.

Information

  • Creator
    Brandi Marzolino
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    68
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Brandi Marzolino
  • Show Website
    The Real Talk of Dental