2002: Creating A Leadership Team Pt. 2
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
Release Date: 06/07/2024
2571: Training the Next Generation of Dental Assistants
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes welcomes back Dr. Heather Dawn Lawson Myers for an inspiring conversation about leadership, mentorship, team development, and the future of dental assisting. Dr. Lawson Myers shares her journey from Howard University to practicing in Maryland and later building a career in Kingston, Jamaica, where she has served in private practice, dental association leadership, dental council governance, and mentorship for young dentists. She also discusses her work as a John C. Maxwell leadership team member, her passion for helping dental teams understand their...
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2570: Better Patient Care Starts With Better Questions
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Michelle Strange, MSDH, RDH, live from Thrive Live 2026 in Las Vegas. Michelle shares her unconventional path from dental assistant to hygienist, educator, entrepreneur, speaker, and now independent hygiene practice owner in Colorado. She discusses what it was like to sell everything, travel the country with mobile dental equipment, and eventually step into ownership of a hygiene practice where she can practice prevention-focused care on her own terms. Michelle and Mark dive into guided biofilm therapy, minimally invasive products like...
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2569: What High-Level Dental Operators Do Differently Pt. 2
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Part 2 of the same keynote, Dr. Mark Costes continues his tactical playbook for building a more effective, systemized dental practice. He breaks down the five core steps of leadership, explains how to set clear expectations, and shares practical frameworks for accountability, team meetings, performance reviews, feedback, and KPI tracking. Mark also covers the hidden cost of turnover, how to evaluate culture and alignment, why organizational charts matter, and how tools like time journals, end-of-day protocols, and downtime systems can help a practice run more...
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2568: What High-Level Dental Operators Do Differently Pt. 1
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Part 1 of a two-part keynote, Dr. Mark Costes shares a tactical playbook for leading and operating a high-performing dental practice. Drawing from his experience owning 16 practices—and from the mistakes he made along the way—Mark explains why a practice that cannot run without the owner is ultimately just a job with overhead. He breaks down the current state of dentistry, including workforce shortages, rising operating costs, declining practice ownership, burnout, and the growing pressure on dental leaders. Mark also introduces the leadership, systemization,...
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2567: Collective Intelligence-Unlocking Growth Through AI, Marketing & Operations
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Ryan Gross speaks during the Dental Success Summit about how AI, marketing, and operations must work together to help dental practices grow more effectively. Ryan explains that AI is not a magic fix, but a powerful tool that can help teams become more efficient, recognize patterns, and make better decisions when the right people and culture are already in place. He breaks down the critical five-minute window when patients choose a dental office, why phone answer rates matter, and how missed calls can quietly cost practices thousands in lost production. Ryan also...
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2566: How Dentists Can Build Wealth With Intention
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Matt Mulcock, CFP and Managing Partner at Dentist Advisors, for a practical conversation on financial planning throughout the full arc of a dentist’s career. Matt breaks down how new graduates should think about student debt, liquidity, retirement savings, and preparing for practice ownership without rushing the process. He and Mark also discuss mid-career priorities like emergency funds, maximizing retirement accounts, profit sharing, and building liquidity both personally and inside the practice. Later, they explore what...
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2565: The Real Talk Behind Surgical and Prosthetic Complications
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes is joined by Dr. Dan Briskie and Dr. Thomas Fow for a practical conversation on surgical, prosthetic, and patient management complications in implant dentistry. Together, they discuss what to do when an atraumatic extraction does not go as planned, including how to manage a fractured buccal plate during immediate implant placement. They also break down common prosthetic challenges like stripped or broken implant screws, when to stop troubleshooting, and why having the right tools and protocols matters. The conversation also dives into managing...
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2564: Building Better Dentists Through Better Education
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Dr. Lou Graham live from Thrive Live 2026 in Las Vegas. Lou shares the story behind Catapult Education, the independent education-based company he founded 23 years ago, and how it has grown into a powerful platform with speakers, evaluators, and tens of thousands of subscribers. He and Mark discuss the evolution of dental education, the growing demand for hands-on learning, the challenge of keeping teams engaged in a distracted world, and how technology, AI, digital workflows, and customized education are shaping the future of the...
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2563: The Blackbelt Standard
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
Dr. Mark Costes presents the 2026 Golden Rhino Award case studies, honoring two standout transformations: Dr. Blake Hamlin and Dr. Collin Myrick, both UT Houston grads who joined DSI feeling successful but stuck and isolated. He walks through their application letters and financial scorecards, showing how each more than tripled their practices in three years—Hamlin from $1.6M to $5.37M, and Myrick from $2.2M to nearly $10M—largely by clarifying their model and vision before scaling. The two then join Costes on stage to unpack how they did it. Hamlin credits a relentless focus on a few core...
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2562: The Back Office Automation Every Practice Owner Should Understand
The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes
On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Seth Hamson, Head of Customer Experience at Lassie, to explore how AI is changing the way dental practices manage revenue cycle operations. Seth shares how his background in financial technology led him into dentistry, where outdated insurance systems, paper EOBs, manual posting, and overwhelmed billing teams continue to create major bottlenecks for practice owners. He explains how Lassie is using AI agents to automate payment posting, retrieve EOBs, support free direct deposit setup, reconcile payments, and help practices reduce the...
info_outlineOn today’s episode, Dr. Summer Kassmel continues her discourse on empowering leadership within dental practices from her presentation at DSS 2024. She delved into the importance of audit systems in maintaining the integrity of office protocols, stressing the need for regular checks to ensure consistency and accountability. Dr. Kassmel explained how rotating audit responsibilities among dental assistants (DAs) not only helps in maintaining standards but also cultivates a culture of peer-to-peer accountability.
Expanding on leadership development, she advised against hastily assigning titles to emerging leaders, emphasizing instead the observation of their ability to manage projects and uphold standards consistently. This approach, she suggested, prepares them for leadership by gradually increasing their responsibilities, thereby diffusing power within the practice and strengthening team dynamics.
Dr. Kassmel also discussed the identification and nurturing of potential leaders, focusing on traits like high accountability, internal motivation, and healthy empathy. These qualities, she argued, are crucial for leaders who can sustain high standards without constant external motivation. She highlighted the importance of humility and active listening in leadership, skills that enhance team communication and effectiveness.
Towards the end of her talk, Dr. Kassmel touched on the concept of "disciplined empowerment," which involves trusting leaders to make decisions and holding them accountable for results rather than processes. She shared personal experiences and insights into the challenges of leadership, including the need for honest communication and maintaining high standards to ensure patient care quality.
Dr. Kassmel concluded by reflecting on the personal and professional growth that comes from creating a leadership team that not only meets but exceeds the cultural and operational goals of a dental practice. She offered her leadership packet for further guidance, reinforcing her commitment to developing effective leaders in the dental industry.
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