OR Access, Therapy Dogs, and Becoming an Empty-Nester

Dr. Amy Jones is a pediatric dentist from Mississippi. She comes on the show to talk about a variety of topics including:- How many chairs to have in a dental office- Medicaid limiting access to GA/OR in her state, and they combat this "scoring system"- Burnout and working 5 days a week- How to incorporate a therapy dog into the office- Challenges of taking time off for vacations as a practice owner

Dr. Jim Coll is a legendary pediatric dentist. With a career that spans 40 years in both private practice and academics at the University of Maryland, he has invested his time becoming a leading publisher of systematic reviews regarding pulpal therapies in primary and permanent teeth. Said another way... he's the guy authoring all of the papers in the AAPD journal with updated clinical trials and what the latest literature says about how we should be doing pulpal treatments on primary and permanent teeth. I was impressed at his level of knowledge, and how he was able to quote different studies supporting the effectiveness of indirect pulp caps, bioceramics, and Hall crowns.

Dr. Jessica Sliger is a former teacher who went back to school to become a pediatric dentist. She practices at a group practice in Arkansas where she is passionate about TOTs, seeing patients with special needs, using AI to help present treatment plans, and recently teaching new restorative techniques with the Bioclear method. She also helped Arkansas establish a dental school, with the goal of improving access to care in the state. Jessica shares her journey as a pediatric dentist on social media with the Instagram handle, "@dentistmama."

Dr. Tiffany Green is a pediatric dentist from the Jackson, Mississippi area. We have a great lunchtime conversation regarding a variety of topics including:- Why dropping Delta Dental was the right move for her practice- How her love for running keeps her sharp as a pediatric dentist- Why DSOs are struggling- Dr. Green's experience and appreciation for Invisalign First, and how she incorporates ortho into her practice

Dr. Stefanie Meek is a pediatric dentist and partner at a large group practice in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is currently on maternity leave with a new baby, so we took the opportunity to have a discussion about all things pediatric dentistry. We talk about how much time to take off after having a baby, what her oral sedation cocktail consists of, and how her partnership buy-in was structured prior to COVID hitting. This is a great episode for anybody wanting to hear a partnership story and the benefits of working in a large group-practice setting.

This episode is all about improving communications skills and becoming a better leader. This is a topic I haven't focused on with any previous episodes, so I'm excited to bring my listeners something a little different. Dr. Randy Weinshel is a pediatric dentist with a career that expands to include military service, academics, and private practice. Health issues forced him into an early retirement from private practice, allowing him to shift gears and to focus on consulting and helping other pediatric dentists lead and operate at their highest level. Randy reviews his six fundamental principals for good leadership. We also discuss examples of what he sees with poor leaders, and where many dentists go wrong when it comes to setting a good example for their dental team.

We are joined today by The Kindness Bro himself... Dr. Glenn Canares. Glenn is an academic pediatric dentist and the program director at the University of Maryland. Glenn shares his story of how he experienced bouts of panic attacks while in clinic, and he knew he needed to make some radical life changes. He talks about how he found success with weight training, giving himself grace, and expanding on what it means to be kind to yourself. We talk about how we all can strive to reach a "black belt level" state of nirvana in pediatric dentistry where we can disconnect ourselves from our outcomes, and focus on the aspects of pediatric dentistry that we love. Glenn was a fantastic guest and I encourage listeners to follow his social media as he has several speaking events and messages that help promote kindness and wellness in our profession. Coaching available (online group and one-on-ones)Email: [email protected] or DM through Social Media PlatformsSocial Media to follow:Instagram: @kindnessbro (https://www.instagram.com/kindnessbro/)TikTok: @kindness.bro (https://www.tiktok.com/@kindness.bro)YouTube: @thekindnessbro (https://www.youtube.com/@thekindnessbro)Speaking Available:Kindness Curriculum: A New Model for Sustainable Dental EducationKeynote for the ADEA Fall Conference in Colorado Springs, CO (Oct 15 - Oct 17) Email: [email protected]

70,000 SDF applications and 11,000 ART fillings. Dr. Jonathan Norris and his partners own 10 practices across Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. They have built their entire practice philosophy on being minimally invasive. I love having these conversations because its so interesting to see how different pediatric dentists can practice. We have a great conversation and discuss:- Their protocol for SDF and SMART fillings, when it works and when it doesn't- Why they only use glass products- Hall crowns vs modified Hall crowns- Papacarie for ART fillings- How is minimally invasive dentistry perceived by referring GPs?

Dr. Lizzy Standish is a pediatric dentist from Lafayette, Indiana. We met at AAPD when she was telling me about her involvement and passion for comedy, specifically improv. I invited her on the podcast to learn more about how this skillset improved her communication with parents and made her a better pediatric dentist.

Dr. Diana Pelzer is a pediatric dentist and owner of The Nest Pediatric Dentistry in Waukee, Iowa. She opened the practice from scratch in 2020 in a large modern building that she constructed at the same time. After just 5 years of being open, she added an addition on the building along with a bringing on a new associate.Dr. Pelzer has a virtual adult beverage with me as we discuss start-ups, commercial real estate as a new pediatric dentist, developing a great brand and reputation in the community, and dealing with the highs and lows of managing employees.