The Dental Truth Project

The Dental Truth Project

The Dental Truth Project No fluff. No spin. Just bold, unfiltered conversations about what’s really happening in the dental industry. Hosted by Ken Kaufman and Dallin Kaufman, AccruDent Co-Founders, this podcast dives into the mistakes, wins, and truths that DSO leaders, clinicians, and consultants usually avoid. Expect real talk, raw insights, and answers to the questions no one else is asking.

  1. Roll the Equity or Take the Cash and Walk Away? (E.38)

    4d ago

    Roll the Equity or Take the Cash and Walk Away? (E.38)

    Mark Haddad, Endodontist and Co-founder of Specialty1 Partners and ScoutIQ, pulls back the curtain on what private equity actually wants — and why most dentists walk into a deal completely unprepared. At the heart of every PE transaction is one defining decision: do you take the cash and walk away, or do you roll your equity and bet on a bigger payday down the road? If you've ever thought about selling your practice or scaling with PE backing, this episode will change how you think about both paths — and help you figure out which one is right for you   Option A Cash out Full liquidity at close. Best for founders nearing retirement or those who want a clean exit. You walk away with 100% of the agreed value — no strings, no risk, no upside.   Option B Roll the equity Take partial cash now, convert the rest into ownership of the larger DSO. If the group grows, your stake multiplies. Mark calls it "the second bite of the apple" — and it's how younger founders build serious long-term wealth.   Key Revelations: What Every Dental Founder Needs to Know Before Selling PE created optionality — Before private equity, dentists had almost no exit options. PE firms are market makers — and that's a good thing for doctors. Rolling equity isn't risky — it's strategic. Trading full cash for a stake in the larger DSO is how younger founders capture the "second bite of the apple." PE is buying your practice in 5 years — not today. They want a growth story, not just your current numbers. Tell them how you plan to scale. EBITDA is subjective. Buyers will fight to reduce your number through add-backs. Without a strong CFO and banker in the trenches, you'll lose that battle. 💡 The "Ask Dallin" Question:  "What factors should I consider when choosing a practice management software?" Dallin's answer: Two things outrank every other feature — scalability (can it standardize across multiple locations?) and data access (can you actually get to your own data?). Cloud-based PMS platforms tend to win on both. Everything else — user friendliness, features, cost — matters less if you're building toward a group practice.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.2) Why High-Multiple Exits Are Bankrupting Dental Practices - AJ Peak, Health Wealth Capital (E.5) The DSO Valuation Crash No One Talks About - Gareth Petsch. pH Partners (E.11) Unqualified Practice Brokers Are Costing Dentists Millions - Maria Melone, Caber Hill Advisors   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    23 min
  2. From Producer to Leader: The Hardest Shift in Dentistry (E.37)

    May 20

    From Producer to Leader: The Hardest Shift in Dentistry (E.37)

    Corey Hastings, CEO of Blue Sage Management Group and practicing pediatric dentist, exposes the uncomfortable truth most multi-location dental owners refuse to admit: scaling from one to seven locations almost broke him — not because of bad dentistry, but because he couldn't get out of the chair. The clinical skills that built his practice became the very thing holding it back. Key Revelations: Why Your Greatest Strength Becomes Your Biggest Bottleneck Most dentists don't have a clinical problem — they have a leadership problem they're solving with more dentistry When you're still producing a significant chunk of your revenue and EBITDA, you're permanently stuck between two roles — the producer and the leader — and neither one gets your full attention The hidden cost of staying clinical too long: your team stops making decisions because nobody ever taught them how — and that indecision comes right back to you as decision fatigue Your associates graduated knowing how to fill a Scantron. Nobody taught them how to read a P&L, lead a team, or make a decision without running it by you first. That's your problem now.   💡 The "Ask Ken" Question:  "What's the biggest financial red flag that would make a buyer walk away from your dental group?" Ken's answer: Buyers want to see a business that can grow without being held hostage by one person's skill set. If your collections are inconsistent, your books are messy, or your entire operation collapses the moment one key person walks out — they'll walk out too. Do a quality of earnings audit on yourself before a buyer does it for you. Find the bombs before they do. Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.29) The Business Skills Every Dentist Needs (But Was Never Taught) - Dr. Rehan Shahid, Practice Success Academy (E.26) You Keep Losing Dental Team Members. Have You Asked Yourself Why? - Bonnie Thompson, Forest Family Dentistry (E. 22) The DSO Leaders' Imposter Syndrome Epidemic - Thomas Passalacqua, Ascend Professional Pathways, LLC   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    23 min
  3. The Cyber Threat Dentistry Keeps Ignoring (E.36)

    May 13

    The Cyber Threat Dentistry Keeps Ignoring (E.36)

    Virginia Jones, CEO of Village Family Dental (14 locations, 400 employees) & Gary Salman, CEO of Black Talon Security reveal the silent threat that could shut your practice down — not a bad review, not a slow month, but a cyber event you never saw coming. Post-Change Healthcare breach, dentistry is still 3–4 years behind the rest of healthcare on cybersecurity — and the hackers already know it. Small practices think they're flying under the radar. Large groups think their IT team has it covered. Both are wrong. Key Revelations: The Invisible Threat Inside Your Practice 70% of dental practices treat cybersecurity as a once-a-year checkbox — the hackers treat your network as an everyday opportunity The government doesn't care if you're a 1-chair solo practice or a 50-location DSO — HIPAA fines hit everyone equally, and dentistry has been slow to realize it Dentistry is 3 to 4 years behind the rest of healthcare on cybersecurity. And the hackers already know it. Stop calling it an expense and start calling it an investment — because a cyber event isn't a month of downtime, it can be years   💡 The "Ask Ken" Question:  "At what point does adding more locations actually start destroying value instead of creating it?" Ken's answer: The real question isn't how fast you can grow — it's whether your operational infrastructure has room to breathe. Before you sign on that next location, ask yourself: are your regional managers tapped out or do they have capacity? Growth without operational leverage isn't scaling — it's a slow-motion collapse. Know your limits before your skis outrun your legs.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E. 22) The DSO Leaders' Imposter Syndrome Epidemic: Thomas Passalacqua - Ascend Professional Pathways, LLC (E.11) Unqualified Practice Brokers Are Costing Dentists Millions: Maria Melone - Caber Hill Advisors (E.3) How Associate Mismanagement Is Bankrupting Dental Groups: Eric Roman - Dental Associate Growth   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    20 min
  4. The Hard Truth About AI Vendors in Dentistry (E.35)

    May 6

    The Hard Truth About AI Vendors in Dentistry (E.35)

    Randa Seif, COO of CaliDental, issues a stark warning to every dental practice owner scrolling through AI vendor ads: handing over your patient data to the wrong company isn't just a bad business decision — it could be a legal and ethical catastrophe.  After personally vetting vendors from Australia, Amsterdam, and across the U.S., she reveals why most AI companies knocking on your door have no business being inside your practice management system. Key Revelations: The Vendor Trust Crisis No One Wants to Say Out Loud Vendors are cold-pitching practices on Facebook and Instagram with $70,000 blank-check proposals — and most have never worked a day inside a dental office If an AI vendor can't prove they understand your workflow, they cannot build something that works for you — technical brilliance without dental knowledge is worthless Overseas vendors create a compounding problem: HIPAA exposure, unverifiable security standards, and zero recourse if something goes wrong with your patient data Giving API access to your PMS is giving a stranger the keys to your patient records — and most practices aren't asking the hard questions before they hand them over The right vendor criteria: U.S.-based, willing to build custom, and able to prove they can scale with you — not just make one location look good   💡 The "Ask Dallin" Question: "If you stepped into a struggling 3-location group tomorrow, what 3 data reports would you analyze first?" Dallin's answer: Start with the P&L — every other report you pull should be dictated by what you find there. Revenue problem? Pull production and collections. Labor bloat? Go straight to payroll. The P&L is your compass; everything else is the map.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.16) Will AI allow me to fire my RCM team?: Jonas & Luis, Kaylie.ai (E.23) AI Is Killing Patient Loyalty in Dentistry: JW Oliver - SupportDDS (E.25) The PMS Data Gatekeeping Scandal in Dentistry: Jake Larsen & Clint Berry - Kolla   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    22 min
  5. The 5 Pillars of a Thriving DSO (E.34)

    Apr 29

    The 5 Pillars of a Thriving DSO (E.34)

    Ash Toub, Co-Founder of Smile Data and Ponce Dental Studio, brings a rare dual perspective to dentistry, currently running both a dental group and a software company built for dental groups. After helping scale a 28-location DSO to $10–12M in EBITDA, he developed a proven 5-pillar framework for building dental groups that survive and scale. Most dental groups aren't failing because of bad marketing or poor clinical care. They're failing because they built a skyscraper on a house foundation — and didn't realize it until the cracks started showing.   Key Revelations: The 5 Pillars of a Scalable Dental Group Ash’s 5-Pillar Growth Framework: People → Data → Infrastructure → Revenue Cycle → Marketing. Miss one pillar, and growth becomes expensive chaos. Marketing Only Works on a Strong Foundation: More leads won’t fix broken operations. If your people, systems, and collections aren’t dialed in, marketing only amplifies inefficiency. Data Without Definitions Is Dangerous: Dashboards alone aren’t enough. If KPIs are unclear or inaccurate, you’ll make confident but costly decisions. Multiple PMS Can Limit Growth: Practice Management Software impacts workflows, reporting, collections, and scalability. Multiple systems create friction, messy data, harder training, and operational headaches.   💡 The "Ask Dallin" Question:  "What should I do if I have multiple Practice Management Softwares in my DSO?" Dallin’s answer: In most cases, moving to one PMS is the smarter long-term play. While the transition can be painful upfront, standardizing systems creates cleaner reporting, smoother operations, easier staff training, and stronger scalability. If switching isn’t possible yet, integration tools can help—but one unified system remains the gold standard.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.16) Will AI allow me to fire my RCM team?: Jonas & Luis, Kaylie.ai (E.2) Why High-Multiple Exits Are Bankrupting Dental Practices: AJ Peak, Health Wealth Capital (E.25) The PMS Data Gatekeeping Scandal in Dentistry: Jake Larsen & Clint Berry, Kolla   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    26 min
  6. Flying Blind: The Data Gap Killing Your DSO (E.33)

    Apr 22

    Flying Blind: The Data Gap Killing Your DSO (E.33)

    David Janash, Founder & CEO of Underbite Dental, built a 13-location DSO from the ground up in one of the most brutally competitive markets in the country: New York City.  He's made every expensive mistake in the book — and turned those mistakes into a data-driven operation that actually tells him what's going to happen before it does. David used to log into every single office manually, every single night, just to know how his business was doing.  Then he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars building a custom data warehouse and hiring software engineers to solve the problem.  He eventually scrapped all of it for a monthly software subscription that does it better. The lesson isn't just about wasted money — it's about what happens to your strategy when you're operating without real insight.  David coined it himself: "The map to that gap is your data" Key Revelations: The Gap Between Intention and Actuality Most DSO leaders are obsessing over last month's report — the operators winning right now are looking at next week Running multiple offices on different practice management softwares isn't flexibility — it's chaos disguised as convenience Special contracts, different hours, outlier comp plans — when things go wrong, you'll wish you'd standardized your DSO sooner   💡 The "Ask Ken" Question:  "Does my EBITDA look strong, but I still feel broke every month?" Ken's answer: A few things hide from EBITDA that devour your cash — debt service, capital expenditures, and cash vs. accrual distortion. Strong EBITDA and empty pockets aren't a contradiction. They're a signal. Here's how to read it.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.25) The PMS Data Gatekeeping Scandal in Dentistry: Jake Larsen & Clint Berry, Kolla (E.20) Fake Codes, Hidden Fraud & The Accounting Nightmare: Paul Lowry, Dental Menu (E.5) The DSO Valuation Crash No One Talks About: Gareth Petsch, pH Partners Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    30 min
  7. Group Size Obsession: Are We Growing or Just Keeping Up? (E.32)

    Apr 15

    Group Size Obsession: Are We Growing or Just Keeping Up? (E.32)

    Tonya Christal and Danielle Powell of Lee Dental Centers in San Antonio don't have a fancy training platform, a DSO war chest, or a playbook they borrowed from a conference stage. What they do have is something far rarer — a 40-year family practice, a sister who's also their business partner, and the hard-won clarity to know exactly who they are and who they're not. The hard truth? Most dentists are building their practice to look like someone else's. They're scaling because the seminar said to scale. They're chasing new locations because four feels small now when it used to feel big. And somewhere in that race, they stop asking the one question that actually matters — is this the life I actually want? Key Revelations: Designing Your Group on Purpose At four locations, you're constantly asking: Are we good? Do we need to get to ten? Are we just keeping up with the Joneses? Sacrificing EBITDA on purpose isn't a failure — sometimes it's the exact right move to protect your team, your time, and your sanity The "sell your house" exercise: go under the hood as if you're preparing to sell — you'll either fall back in love or finally get clear on what has to change   💡 The "Ask Dallin" Segment: "What AR data patterns signal a billing system problem before cash flow is affected?" Dallin's answer: Two things to watch. First, your total AR balance — some is normal, but if it's climbing month over month, something is broken. Second, your aging buckets — any meaningful amount sitting at 90+ or 120+ days is a warning sign you can't afford to ignore. Catch these patterns early, before the cash flow feels it.   Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.22)  The DSO Leaders' Imposter Syndrome Epidemic: Thomas Passalacqua,  Ascend Professional Pathways, LLC (E.12) Niche Down or Burn Out: Why Top Dentists Do Less and Earn More: Alex Sharp, Shared Practices Group (E.2) Why High-Multiple Exits Are Bankrupting Dental Practices: AJ Peak, Health Wealth Capital   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    23 min
  8. The Discount Trap: Why Your Marketing Is Attracting the Wrong Patients (E.31)

    Apr 8

    The Discount Trap: Why Your Marketing Is Attracting the Wrong Patients (E.31)

    Sean Hamel, Founder & CEO of Art of Dental Marketing, tears apart the broken cycle that's quietly draining dental practices dry — and most owners don't even know it's happening. Every dentist has hired a marketing company. Most have hired several. And yet the phone still isn't ringing the way it should. Sean reveals why the problem was never your marketing budget — it was the message. When every practice looks the same, sounds the same, and posts the same stock photos of people in scrubs, the only way to stand out is discounts. And discounts attract the wrong patients. And the wrong patients feed a cycle that burns through marketing companies, money, and momentum — over and over again. The hard truth? Patients aren't choosing you because you're clinically superior. They already assume you are. What they're actually buying is how you make them feel — and almost no one is marketing that. Key Revelations: What Patients Are Actually Buying When every practice looks and sounds the same, discounts become the only differentiator — and that's exactly where the damage begins The discount spiral: generic marketing → wrong patients → pressure on the practice → fire the marketing company → repeat When your promise and the patient's experience sync, discounts become unnecessary — referrals and advocacy do the work instead Patients aren't buying dentistry — they're buying the future version of themselves: more confident, better sleep, a better smile   💡 The "Ask Ken" Question: "When should a practice stop thinking like a practice and start thinking like a DSO?" Ken's answer: You never get to let go of the practices — they are everything. The DSO infrastructure means nothing without dental practices that run on repeatable, scalable processes. Get that right first. Then — and only then — think about buying more, doing de novos, and building a growth strategy around it. Top 3 Episodes of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now! (E.26) You Keep Losing Dental Team. Have You Asked Yourself Why?: Bonnie Thompson, Forest Family Dentistry (E.20) Fake Codes, Hidden Fraud & The Accounting Nightmare: Paul Lowry, Dental Menu (E.15) We Pulled Insurance Duty From Our Front Desk - Revenue Jumped 30%: Francesca Pregano - Smile Makers Dental Center   Got a burning question about dental finance? Submit your question, and it could be featured in a future episode. Ask Ken Form: https://resources.accrudent.com/ask-ken-form-the-dental-truth-project

    22 min
See All (38)

About

The Dental Truth Project No fluff. No spin. Just bold, unfiltered conversations about what’s really happening in the dental industry. Hosted by Ken Kaufman and Dallin Kaufman, AccruDent Co-Founders, this podcast dives into the mistakes, wins, and truths that DSO leaders, clinicians, and consultants usually avoid. Expect real talk, raw insights, and answers to the questions no one else is asking.

Information

  • Creator
    The Dental Truth Project
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Dental Truth Project

You Might Also Like