Dental A Team W/ Kiera Dent And Dr Mark Costes

Kiera shares the most common problems dental practices face — scheduling inefficiencies, high overhead costs, and patient retention — and how to fix them. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.93) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today, I just wanna come in here. I've been kind of doing a little bit of research out there and I wanted to help you see that every practice is facing challenges. And really the key is knowing how to turn those problems into opportunities. I love just thinking about, we've got to find ways to turn these problems into opportunities because it can be a problem or an opportunity, depending upon how you choose to view it.   And so today I wanted to just kind of dive into the most common problems that dentists face and actionable solutions for you to actually overcome them. Because reality is if you can know what they ar

Kiera and Britt continue their conversation from episode 958, Hiring Hygienists in Today’s Economy, by discussing the shifting landscape of hygiene. This includes the pros and cons of assisted hygiene, shortened appointments, practices without hygienists, and more. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.73) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and the one and only Brittany Stone coming back for part two of our hygiene conversation. welcome back. How are you?   Britt (00:09.332) It's always fun when you start off with my full name, so I'm like, alright, let's go!   Kiera Dent (00:12.304) It is funny. You do range from Britney, Britt, like no BS Britt to B. B has recently come in. How do you feel about just B? I hope it comes across as like nice, but then I realized like, B could be taken wrong. So I never say the, hey B.   Britt (00:28.75) You're not th

Tiff and Kristy talk about how doctors can get to that point where their practice can function with and without them, including taking a good and hard look at your numbers, dialing in your BAM, encouraging delegation and accountability, and more. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01.676) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. my gosh, I'm so excited for today. I know you guys diligently listen constantly that you're here, that you're here for us, and we just love you and we value you and we appreciate you. We recently had some virtual events and it's just been really cool to see the masses show up in such incredible support for who we are, what we do for this community, and just all of the outpour of love. So we want to say thank you guys for   being listeners for always showing up for us. We hope we do the same for you, that we always show up for you. And I'

Kiera and Britt have a deep discussion on the ins and outs of hygiene right now, including what’s on hygiene grads’ minds, the right ranges for skill sets, how different practices are staying scrappy amid the dearth of hygienists, and more. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript Kiera Dent (00:00.822) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I have Brittany Stone, the one and only No BS Britt. And today I'm asking her to play Hygiene Britt. If you didn't know, it's actually fun. It is. And it was funny because yesterday, Britt and I actually like had, we were heavy in Dental A Team mode. And then I called Britt back probably like a minute later and I said, Hey Britt, can you be Hygiene Britt for me? Cause I have a hygiene question.   Britt (00:26.988) you   Kiera Dent (00:29.102) So Britt, welcome to the show today. How are you?   Britt (00:32.308) I'm good, how a

It’s time for a Dental A-Team office spotlight! Dana shares with Tiff how she’s worked with a practice that started off with room for financial growth, and began adding in auxiliary procedures without losing control of the business. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript The Dental A Team (00:01.415) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here. This is, I think, Dana and I, we get our like, alone time, our us time when we come in here to podcast. So I love, and I love that it switched to videos, however long ago that was. I remember in the beginning I was like, dang it, I can't wear my like, comfy leggings anymore, but whatever. Here we are, we gotta have our hair done, we gotta have our makeup done, it's great. But Dana, I love getting the time with you, so thank you so much for being here with me today. How are you on this beautiful Friday?   in Arizona.   Dana (

Kiera walks listeners through easy but critical accounts receivable systems to implement in your practice so you never have to face a financial crisis again. Episode resources: Sign up for Dental A-Team’s Virtual Summit 2025! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript Kiera Dent (00:00.932) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today I just wanted to ask, are you struggling with cashflow because of overdue payments or you don't know how to do your AR or billing just fills out of hand? Well, great news. Healthy AR is an incredible way for you to keep your practice profitable and successful. And today we're going to dive into it and give you some really incredible systems to help you actually keep this on top so that way you don't ever feel like you're in a financial crisis again. So hooray, hooray. I'm so excited.   I hope you're ready for it. I hope you're just having an incredible day today. I know talking AR is not always super fun, but

It’s not difficult to enter a practice and feel whether a team is synergistic and they love each other versus if they have animosity and do not get along. Kiera gives advice for spreading love to team members and patients, and establishing a culture of appreciation beyond Valentine’s Day. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01.23) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and it is the season and the month of love. And honestly, Valentine's Day and February isn't just about hearts and chocolates. It's truly the perfect time to show appreciation to your team and patients if you desire. So today we're going to teach you some simple, impactful ways to spread love in your dental practice, because why not? One of my favorite quotes is to spread love like confetti. And I think in today's world and in Dental A Team's mission to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible,   Why not sprea

Kiera talks about the power of ‘state of the company’ meetings, how to set them up, how to roll them out, and how to continue having them quarter after quarter. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.802) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I just wanna ask you the question of does your team know where you're going and what you're trying to achieve as a practice? And if the answer is not absolutely 100 % yes, if you came into our practice, Kiera, and asked every person, then today this episode is for you. And it's something beautiful that we've just recently learned that I'm so excited to share with you to make your life easier, to get your team aligned, to get them all rolling in the same direction.   and I just tested it on my team and we're testing it with offices and the feedback has been outstanding of better team buy-in, more clarity and easier ability to row in the same direction. D

Tiff and Dana share common pitfalls that scale back your practice’s production — and what to do to address them. Included solutions are Dental A-Team’s scorecard and a fixed cost spreadsheet, which you can reach out to the DAT for help on: hello@thedentalateam.com.  Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01.967) Hello, Dental A Team podcast listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. This is Tiffanie. I never introduced myself, which is weird. Hopefully there's like some sort of intro that goes to that. just thought of that. Anyhow, here we are. Another day, another podcast. And first and foremost, I want to thank all of you guys who listen. I know we get a lot of practice assessment.   schedules from people who listen to our podcasts. That's how you guys are finding us. And it just means a lot to us that you're here, that you're with us, that you're supporting us. We want to support you and we a

Kiera is joined by Mike and Stephanie Walton of Walton Family Dentistry in Bardstown, Kentucky. For the past almost year, the Waltons have not had a hygienist in their office. They talk with Kiera about why they were struggling to keep one staffed, what led them to stop having one in the first place, and how they efficiently and profitably operate to this day without a hygienist. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:05.844) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and today is such a special episode. I am so excited. I am being joined by our incredible clients. I've got Mike and Stephanie Walton. They are running such an incredible practice. They are doing something so different, so unique, and I just wanted them to come on and share just about themselves. I think they're just a great example for so many offices out there. So Stephanie and Mike, welcome to the show. How are you today?   Mike Walton (00:30.

Artificial intelligence is steadily growing as a presence in our personal and professional lives. In this episode, Tiff and Dana talk about how AI can be used effectively in practices, game-changing technology in recent years, and the never-out-of-style human interaction among it all. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript The Dental A Team (00:01.681) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited. We are second month of a new year, and that means you should be tracking your goals. If you're a Dental A Team client, you have this amazing new scorecard that we've introduced that my personal clients have freaking loved. And being able to see where those goals are so quickly in the month and being able to track along and see what we need to do to pivot or change or continue growth has been really cool. So welcome to new month, new year.   knew you. Dana, thank you so much for being here with me. I know you have a ton of clients th

Do you ever feel like there’s too much happening in dentistry to keep your head on straight? Kiera talks about 4 ways you can stay up to date without being overwhelmed: Listen to podcasts Attend conferences Join a consulting group Find what you’re passionate about Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.554) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and welcome to the podcast. I hope today is just a magical day for you. I hope that you're having just a great time and I hope that you just remember that we're in the greatest space possible. We get to be in dentistry. We get to help people. We get to literally help people have greater smiles and greater happiness in life. And I think that that is one of the most incredible things that we get to be a part of. So thank you for being a part of our family. Thank you for being on the podcast with us.   Thank you for listening in, get ready. We're gonna ac

Did you know you’re losing $600,000 to $1 million by having open time in your schedule? Kiera talks about what is likely impacting your schedule and how to fix it (without working overtime). Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.974) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is just a great day and I hope you're having a great day. I hope that you remember you are changing people's lives through dentistry. Like what you're doing, know billing, hygiene, hygiene checks, dentistry, doing the exams, doing the numbers, looking at the profitability, running the business doesn't feel like you're changing lives, but you are. You're giving people the confidence of their smiles and their healthy mouths. You're helping them have long-term systemic health. You're saving them from period disease. You're helping them have like   preventing the risk of cardiovascular disease. You are doing such a great service

Kiera gives insight into how CEOs and office managers (or dreamers and task-drivers) can effectively work together to run the ideal dental practice — without stepping on each other’s toes. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01.646) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today I am so excited to be on the podcast. I'm excited to be podcasting with you. I hope that your new year is rocking and rolling and I hope that you are just enjoying your time working in dental practices because remember, we are so blessed and so lucky to be working in an industry that literally changes lives. I believe that dentistry is the best possible industry for us to be a part of and you get to make people's literal smiles come true. So as always,   Thank you for being a part of our Dental A Team family. Please be sure that you are always leaving us review, sharing us with other people. That is how you keep us as the top d

Tiff and Britt give tangible tips for creating a wealth plan of action. They cover everything from knowing what your ideal work-life balance is, when you hope to retire, the right systems you can create now to set you on your path, and a ton more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01.504) Hello, Dental A Team listeners and welcome back. I am here again with Miss Britt. Brilliant Brain Britt is what I've dubbed her today on some awesome business tips and insider tips, things that we've learned along the way, things that Britt has actually gone to school for. So welcome to that. Thank you, Britt.   Britt (00:19.787) Real life is cool, Cliff. Real life is cool, too.   The Dental A Team (00:25.935) Fair, fair. But I do love picking your brain for it on these pieces because little do many people know you do have a degree in healthcare management. I think it's really, really freaking cool. And not just any d

Kiera points listeners to where opportunity for hidden savings or additional value could be lurking in your profit and loss statements. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.942) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I just want to have a really fun podcast with you. I want to talk about some possible ways of hidden value, how to trim some fat in the practice. think these are just some fun things that I don't think we often think about that really can actually add pennies, dollars, Benjamins, thousands into your pocket with minimal effort. As always, thanks for being a part of our Dental A Team podcast family. I adore you.   I appreciate you. If I was with you right now, I'd be telling you, you're doing way better than you think you are. And my mission is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. Life is my passion. Dentistry is my platform. And I am here to infuse you wit

Tiff and Britt provide a play-by-play of what one practice did over the course of one year to go from producing $1.2 million to $2.5 million. This includes having the right systems in place and the right people in the right seats. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:02.09) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. We are doing something really exciting. I have Brilliant Brain Britt with me today. I'll say that three times fast. I love it. It's sticking today. It's sticking. But I'm super excited to do this podcast today. This is something we don't always do. We're just trying to mix it in for you guys so that you guys can really feel a connection to other   Britt (00:14.852) Thanks.   The Dental A Team (00:30.767) human beings. That is something that Dental A Team works really hard on and this year in 2025, it's a really, really major focus for us is to have all of our do

Kiera lists a series of questions listeners can ask themselves when they’re feeling a lack of passion for their job, life, relationships, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.994) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope today is just a great day for you. I hope that you're loving your life. I hope that you are enjoying being in dentistry. And if you're having a bad day, well, let's chalk it up. Hopefully you only have like 10 % of your days that are bad and 90 % of your days that are good. I believe that we are truly in the best profession. We get to change people's lives. We get to do dentistry for people. We get to help people in ways that they didn't know. The smile is the universal hello. And we're able to give people confidence where they didn't feel like they have.   We're able to give people a way to give nutrients to their bodies, a way to communicate with people. And we're

Kiera summarizes a practice that was struggling with cash flow. She breaks down what the Dental A-Team did to pull back the curtain and find out where cash was hiding, and what was done to fix the flow. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.814) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope today's incredible for you. I hope you are having the best life. I hope you're just enjoying everything and more. I really truly hope that things are just going so well for you. Don't forget guys, we truly live in the best industry, the best time, all the things are here for us. And so let's not forget how great things really are for us. As always, thanks for being a part of our Dental A Team podcast family. I adore you. I appreciate you. I respect you.   I look up to you. I want to be more like you, all the things. And I'm so, so, so, so, so happy that so many of you are a part of our family. If you guys remembe

Loneliness and social isolation are factors in an epidemic across the United States. Kiera takes the time to talk about ways to fight back the loneliness in our everyday lives. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00.9) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you're having a great day. I hope things are going so good in your world. I'm so grateful you're a part of the podcast family. I really enjoy podcasting. enjoy, gosh, we're coming up on what is it? Our fifth year. gosh. I think even maybe our sixth year. The podcast is released in 2019. So yeah, we're coming up on its sixth birthday this year. my gosh.   I'm gonna have to fact check myself. Let's just say, Dental A Team is gonna be six years old. That's insanity to me. Maybe it's five years. Might be five? It's gotta be six though. Happy birthday Dental A Team podcast. But if you've been with me, I've enjoyed it. I enjoy the time. I'm so gr