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The Dental Amigos

The Dental Amigos•thedentalamigos.com
Business
Friendship, collaboration and education for the dental profession. Dentistry can be a lonely profession without good friends. The Dental Amigos hope to serve as a resource for dentists and those who like, love or spend time with dentists, and to bring the dental world together for the RIGHT reasons–fun, friendship and (practical) learning inside and outside of the operatory.
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Episodes

Episode 141 – Alex Nottingham: Reducing Turnover, Empowering Teams, and Leading with Intention

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Alex Nottingham, founder and CEO of All-Star Dental Academy, for a dynamic and thought-provoking conversation about what it really takes to build and lead a high-performing dental team. Drawing on his experience as a business leader, speaker, and coach, Alex shares practical insights on reducing costly staff turnover, improving team training, and creating a culture of accountability and care. Alex breaks down why dentists often get in their own way when it co...

Jun 18, 2025•43 min

Episode 138 - Harold Gornbein: Maximizing Practice Revenue

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Harold Gornbein, Co-Founder partner of Apex Reimbursement Specialists who has over 30 years of experience within the dental insurance industry. Harold has worked in sales and account management for Ameritas, Dental Benefit Providers, PacifiCare Health Systems, and United Concordia, as well as his own employee benefits agency. His wealth of industry knowledge, experience, and relationships provide Apex clients crucial strategic guidance on credentialing manage...

Apr 30, 2025•41 min

Episode 137 - The DSO vs. Private Buyer Debate with Brannon Moncrief of McLerran & Associates

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Brannon Moncrief, the Principal and CEO of McLerran & Associates, who specializes in providing sell-side advisory to large dental practice owners seeking to monetize their businesses in private buyer sales or DSO transactions. Brannon has personally facilitated the sale of over 1,000 dental practices and is widely considered to be an expert on DSO affiliations. In this episode, Brannon offers his insight on the “DSO vs. private doctor buyer” debate, empha...

Mar 28, 2025•52 min

Episode 136 - Cliff Moore, Dentist & Runner: Community Involvement & Thriving in Your Career

This week, coming back for his second show appearance, the Dental Amigos welcome Dr. Cliff Moore, a former Navy dental officer, dental practice owner and ultramarathon runner. For over 10 years, Cliff has dedicated himself to serving his community through his efforts giving back to veterans, providing over $35,000 in free dental care and raising more than $75,000 through an annual ultramarathon event. His passion for service, endurance sports, and dentistry reflects his lifelong commitment to ma...

Mar 25, 2025•47 min

Episode 135 - Mike Slattery of Crown Tenant Advisors

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Mike Slattery, a Managing Director at Crown Tenant Advisors, a boutique healthcare real estate firm. Mike has over ten years of experience in the healthcare industry working with young dentists to find the perfect location and space to start their dream practice and with assisting established dental practices relocate, expand, and purchase property. Mike offers a results-oriented approach through analysis, tenacity, strong negotiation skills, and customer foc...

Mar 12, 2025•47 min

Episode 139 - Wendy Castor Hess, Esq.: Navigating Immigration Law & Foreign Dentists

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome immigration attorney Wendy Castor Hess to explore how dental practices can navigate the complicated world of hiring foreign-trained dentists. Wendy is a partner at Landau, Hess, Simon, Choi, and Doebley, and has over 42 years of experience in Immigration Law. She is fluent in Spanish and serves as counsel to the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia. Wendy advises institutions across healthcare, education, and technology industries, and also represents individual...

Mar 09, 2025•58 min

Episode 134 - David Goodman, CPA: "Dental Practices by the Numbers"

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome David J. Goodman, CPA, a partner and Dental Practice Solutions Team Leader at PFK O’Connor Davies Advisory, LLC. David has over 35 years of experience working with a client base of individuals and closely held businesses. Before joining the PKFOD, David was Managing Director of LB Goodman. He is a member of the Academy of Dental CPAs and the Practice Valuation Study Group. He is a licensed CPA in New Jersey, New York and Florida, and a frequent contributor to...

Feb 20, 2025•49 min

Episode 131 - Alan Stern, D.D.S. on Empathy, Mentorship and Gratitude in Dentistry

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Alan Stern, D.D.S, recipient of the 2023 Nifty Award for “Most Inspirational Dental Professional.” Alan works with dentists who are looking to create a workplace that is productive and profitable and a life that is rewarding and meaningful. As a speaker, Dr. Stern conducts presentations for dental groups focused on redefining what it means to build a better team and rekindling a passion for what matters. Dr. Stern discusses his journey from disillusionment to...

Dec 18, 2024•43 min

Episode 130 – Valerie Woo, D.M.D. on Leadership & Practice Ownership

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Valerie Woo, D.M.D. entrepreneur, pediatric dentist, and dental consultant. She leverages her extensive experience to consult, guide, and mentor dentists, helping them transform chaotic practices into thriving, well-organized businesses. She integrates leadership, marketing and operational systems into customized programs, providing strategic guidance that is both practical and compassionate. Dr. Woo discusses her journey from the beginning of her career as a...

Nov 12, 2024•44 min

Episode 129 - Rebecca Herring: How Dental Offices Can Reach Their Full Potential

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome Rebecca Herring, a specialized dental coach and Vice President of the Denver Dental Professional Learning Network. With over 25 years of dental industry experience, Rebecca guides and empowers dental teams to unlock their full potential through developing office management systems and work environments. In doing so, Rebecca has transformed dental practices through her personalized coaching by improving workflow, strengthening team relationships, reducing erro...

Nov 05, 2024•38 min

Episode 127 – Paul Etchison, D.D.S. on Expanding Your Practice

Paul Etchison, D.D.S. is the author of two books on dental practice management, a dental coach, the owner of a $6 million group practice in the south suburbs of Chicago, and the host of the Dental Practice Heroes Podcast. This week, the Dental Amigos host Dr. Etchison and they discuss strategies for growing and expanding your practice. Through creative planning and scheduling, a practice owner can increase new patient flow and spend less time doing practical dentistry and more time running the b...

Oct 22, 2024•43 min

Episode 126 – Dr. Soraya Safi, “The Forever Associate Dentist”

Soraya Safi, D.M.D. is a coach and mentor to dental students and associate dentists. She helps associate dentists maximize the flexibility and freedom of choosing associateship over ownership and coaches them on how to overcome the isolation that often comes with such a challenging job, all while effectively navigating professional relationships and developing their dental skills after completing their formal education. While associateship may not be viewed as a long-term career choice for many ...

Oct 15, 2024•43 min

Episode 125 - Ideal Practice’s Stephen Trutter on the “Do’s and Don’ts” of Dental Start-Ups

This week, the Dental Amigos welcome returning guest Stephen Trutter, the CEO of Ideal Practices, a leading consulting firm for dental start-ups. Ideal Practices follows a proven process to guide dentists through every step of opening their start-up. Stephen Trutter has helped launch nearly 1,000 dental start-ups in his 20-year career. Stephen discusses how to position yourself for a smooth transition into practice ownership starting as early as when you are an associate. He emphasizes the impor...

Oct 08, 2024•50 min

Episode 124 - DDSmatch’s Joe McGonigal: How Brokers Add Value to Your Transaction

The Dental Amigos welcome DDSmatch’s Joe McGonigal, a dental industry veteran with over 20 years of experience helping dentists plan and execute successful practice transitions in both doctor-to-doctor and DSO affiliated transactions. As a “sell-side” advisor who focuses on the Greater Philadelphia area, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut, Joe helps clients maximize practice value, identify carefully vetted and qualified buyers, and efficiently manage the transition process. Joe McGonigal join...

Sep 30, 2024•47 min

Episode 123 - Recent Developments: Federal Non-Compete Ban? #s in the Current Market

The Dental Amigos are back! Rob and Paul discuss recent developments in the dentistry world regarding the prohibition of covenants not to compete in the employment context by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). This federal non-compete ban by the FTC has been controversial spurring lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of the ban, resulting in a court order that stopped the FTC from enforcing the ban. The FTC is considering an appeal. While some states have banned non-competes within t...

Sep 23, 2024•39 min

Episode 128 - Healers vs. Stealers: David Harris Protecting Your Dental Practice From Embezzlement

The Dental Amigos Rob and Paul are back, welcoming licensed private investigator, forensic CPA, and certified fraud examiner David Harris for a conversation about protecting your practice from financial crime. Returning guest David Harris is CEO of Prosperident, a firm dedicated to investigating financial crimes committed against dentists. Today, David walks the Amigos through the alarming danger financial criminals pose to practice owners, provides insight into the criminal’s thought process in...

Sep 23, 2024•43 min

Episode 122 - Assembling a Group Practice - “De Novo” v. Acquisition

n the fourth episode of The Dental Amigos’ fifth season, “Assembling a Group Practice,” Rob and Paul discuss key differences between growing a DSO “de novo” (as a start-up) and by acquiring existing practices. They dive into pros and cons of both strategies, such as how branding is often more consistent in a DSO that grows its practice “de novo” and how a DSO acquiring existing practices benefits from having an existing patient database. Then, the Amigos discuss external factors, like the econom...

Apr 27, 2023•20 min

Episode 121 - Assembling a Group Practice - Dentist/Associate Equity

In the third episode of The Dental Amigos’ fifth season, “Assembling a Group Practice," Rob and Paul discuss the logistics of offering an associate equity in a DSO. The Amigos begin by explaining the reasons why DSOs frequently offer associates equity, such as to increase associate retention and to garner associate loyalty. Then, they discuss considerations that associates should weigh prior to accepting an equity deal. Which type of equity is being offered? Is the compensation worth the restric...

Apr 20, 2023•29 min

Episode 120 - Assembling a Group Practice - Financing and Capital

In the second episode of The Dental Amigos fifth season, Assembling a Group Practice, Rob and Paul discuss different strategies that DSOs employ to acquire financing for their group practice ventures. The Amigos identify different factors that lenders consider when reviewing loan requests such as liability, risk of default and success with prior dental practice acquisitions. Finally, they discuss unique challenges that DSOs may face when searching for financing. Listeners who want to reach Paul ...

Apr 13, 2023•21 min

Episode 119 - Assembling a Group Practice - Forming a DSO

In the first episode of The Dental Amigos’ fifth season, Assembling a Group Practice, Rob and Paul explain the logistics of a dental support organization (“DSO”), and discuss the variety of ways that group practices are formed. Understanding that DSOs may seem complex and difficult to understand, the Amigos kick-off the season with a breakdown of what group practices are, which services they provide, and how to form them. Finally, Rob and Paul finish the episode with a discussion of the pros and...

Mar 30, 2023•25 min

Episode 118 - Buying a Dental Practice - The Transition

In the final episode of The Dental Amigos’ fourth season on buying a dental practice, Rob and Paul discuss critical issues buyers should consider when buying a dental practice and planning for the transition of the practice following the purchase. First, the Amigos outline strategies to help new owners facilitate a smooth transition for the remaining staff. Then, Rob and Paul elaborate on the seller’s role post-closing and during this transition period. Finally, they caution listeners on common ...

Mar 16, 2023•28 min

Episode 117 - Buying a Dental Practice - The Real Estate

In this episode of The Dental Amigos’ fourth season on buying a dental practice, Rob and Paul discuss common mistakes that buyers make with practice acquisitions regarding purchasing the real estate. While buyers often view the option to purchase real estate as an opportunity, the Amigos caution that it could be a liability. Tune in and learn why Rob and Paul suggest that buyers think twice before purchasing real estate and what buyers can do instead. Listeners who want to reach Paul can do so a...

Mar 09, 2023•19 min

Episode 116 - Buying a Practice - Negotiating the Agreement & How the Seller Can Impact the Deal

In this episode of The Dental Amigos' fourth season on buying a dental practice, Rob and Paul discuss how a buyer can create a healthy working relationship with a practice seller, the importance of establishing the seller’s role after closing, and the implications of certain terms that the seller may request or demand in a purchase agreement . How long should a seller stay on after the practice is sold? Will the seller come back after the sale of a practice to finish work that the seller has alr...

Mar 02, 2023•31 min

Episode 115 - Due Diligence: Financial, Operational, and Legal

In this episode of The Dental Amigos, Rob and Paul help listeners understand how to conduct due diligence when buying a dental practice. The Amigos know that due diligence can seem daunting to buyers and that it may be difficult for buyers to know where to start. With this in mind, Rob and Paul break due diligence down into three main categories: financial, operational, and legal. Using these three categories, The Amigos explain what to look out for during each stage of due diligence, identify w...

Feb 16, 2023•34 min
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