The Down Economy: Prepared Not Panicked
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Release Date: 04/14/2025
Plan Forward: A Smarter Alternative to Insurance
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Exploring Dental Membership Plans: A Smarter Alternative to Insurance In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Salisbury and Sandy Pardue are joined by Meg Lohman from Plan Forward to unpack why in-house membership plans are becoming a go-to solution for dental practices looking to grow and better serve their patients. They discuss how these plans help identify patients who are overpaying for insurance, simplify preventive care, and strengthen patient loyalty. The trio also explores the power of proactive marketing and the importance of educating patients ahead of open enrollment...
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Marketing Your Practice to Top Talent
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Summary: In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury tackle one of the most underestimated tools in the hiring process—your job ad. They explain why hiring should be treated like a marketing campaign and how your job postings either attract or repel the very people you are trying to hire. From crafting compelling headlines and utilizing creative job titles to understanding hiring psychology, Sandy and Dana share strategies to elevate your job ads and recruit with intention. They also explore the power of nontraditional hiring sources and the importance of...
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Job Descriptions Might Be Costing You Great Hires (Part 3: Creating Job Descriptions)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Summary: In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury explore the often-overlooked power of a well-crafted job description. They explain why generic or outdated descriptions can set your practice up for failure—creating confusion, legal risk, and missed hiring opportunities. You’ll learn what must be included, how to stay compliant, and why being transparent about your expectations (including physical demands and performance metrics) is key to attracting the right candidates. If you're serious about improving your hiring process and retaining top...
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Why Working Interviews Don't Work
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
In this episode, Sandy Pardue kicks off a powerful conversation about the most overlooked step in fixing front desk chaos: assessing your team’s current morale, mindset, and motivation. Before you implement new systems or pile on training, you’ve got to address the emotional temperature of your practice. Is your team ready for change? Or are they quietly resisting it? Sandy lays out practical ways to reframe, re-energize, and reset expectations—ensuring your next move is a lasting one. If you want real ROI from your front desk, start here. What You'll Learn: Why morale must be...
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RERUN: The Real Reason Your AR Is Out of Control (And It's Not Insurance)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
In this eye-opening episode, Sandy digs into one of the most overlooked contributors to rising accounts receivable (AR) in dental practices—abandoning mailed statements too soon. You may be emailing and texting patients about balances, but do you actually know how many patients you're reaching? Sandy breaks down the data and shares real stats from dental dashboards, showing that many practices have incomplete contact info for 20–40% of their patients—and it’s costing them tens of thousands. Whether your AR is creeping past $100,000 or you’re trying to build a smarter collection...
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The Truth About Dental Marketing
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
What if your marketing isn’t the problem—but your expectations are? In this episode, Dana and Sandy welcome Grace Rizza, the powerhouse behind Identity Dental Marketing, to break down why most dental campaigns fall flat—and what actually works. From unethical agencies to underfunded ad budgets, Grace unpacks the truth most marketers won’t say out loud. If you've ever felt burned by a marketing agency, overwhelmed as a startup, or scared to go fee-for-service—this one’s for you. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Spot the difference between strategic marketing and expensive guesswork ✅...
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Hiring or Hustling Backwards? (Part 2: Leadership, Metrics & the True Cost of Delay)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Hiring is never just about plugging a hole. It’s a strategic leadership move—and when rushed or mismanaged, it can quietly sabotage your entire practice. In Part 2 of the Hiring Series, Dana and Sandy dive deep into what happens between identifying a hiring need and getting the green light to bring someone on board. From pecking orders to prep work, leadership courage to legal compliance, they unpack everything you should have in place before you hit “post job ad.” They also share formulas and benchmarks to help you bring data—not just emotion—into your hiring decisions. Because...
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Hiring or Hustling Backwards?
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
A growing team sounds like success, but adding the wrong hire too soon can wreck morale, raise overhead, and increase chaos. In this kickoff to the Hiring Series, Dana and Sandy break down how to assess whether your practice truly needs to hire or if it’s time to get serious about systems, training, and communication first. They walk through real-world scenarios (yes, including a team walking out!) and offer tools to help you make strategic hiring decisions instead of emotional ones. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Recognize signs of burnout and bottlenecks ✅ Use patient flow (not just...
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Meetings That Matter: Turning Staff Time Into Practice Power
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
A dental team without effective meetings is like a GPS with no signal—lost, frustrated, and going in circles. In this episode, Dana and Sandy dive into the often-overlooked power of consistent, structured team meetings. From setting agendas and reviewing stats to celebrating birthdays and avoiding gum-chewing drama, they lay out the exact formula for turning “just another meeting” into a high-impact tool for team alignment, accountability, and growth. This episode is inspired by a post in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group (thanks, Heather!), and it answers all your questions about...
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Marketing Can't Save You From a Bad Phone Call
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
📣 Identity Dental Marketing – The industry’s go-to for branding, SEO, and growth. Discover how they can elevate your practice at 📲 Join the conversation! Drop your favorite phone call tip or share a “worst call ever” moment in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group—your post could inspire our next episode! Let me know if you’d like a shortened version for social, or if this episode will also be linked to a specific event or download!
info_outlineWhen the economy starts to shake, most dental practices start to shrink. But Sandy says now is the time to lean in and level up—and she’s sharing exactly how to do it.
In this episode, Dana and Sandy break down what it takes to recession-proof your practice before anything happens. From tightening your finances to training your team, maximizing re-care systems to building patient loyalty, this episode is your no-fluff guide to keeping treatment plans up—even when wallets are down.
Whether you’re nervous about the future or just want to boost production now, this conversation will help you lead with confidence, stay consistent, and find opportunity where others see obstacles.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
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Why mindset matters more than market trends
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The first two things to do when the economy dips
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How to avoid becoming your own worst enemy in front of the team
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The real cost of third-party re-care systems that leave you in the dark
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A simple report to pull that could reactivate hundreds of patients
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Why untrained phone calls = missed treatment acceptance
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How to double down on marketing without wasting dollars
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Why patients need more than just a reminder—they need to feel missed
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How membership plans keep the back door closed and loyalty high
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The forgotten art of verbal skills and how they change everything
📅 Upcoming Event:
🗓️ Front Desk Pro – Philadelphia
📍 May 9, 2025
🎟️ Use promo code SECRETSAUCE (capital S in Secret and Sauce) to save $100 per person
🚨 Seats are limited and these events always sell out!
🙏 Thank You to Our Sponsors:
➡️ Plan Forward
Plan Forward makes membership plans easy. Their revolutionary platform helps you grow your dental practice, improve patient loyalty, and create predictable recurring revenue. Learn more at planforward.io.
➡️ Mango Voice
Mango Voice is a cloud-based phone system built for dental offices. It’s packed with smart features that help your front desk perform at its best—from call recording and routing to texting and integrations. See it in action at mangovoice.com.
➡️ Identity Dental Marketing
Your marketing firm should tell you who’s landing on your website and what they’re doing there. Identity Dental Marketing does that—and more. From website strategy to SEO and patient attraction systems, they help you grow smart and stay visible. Explore at identitydental.com.
📌 Subscribe & Share:
Love what you’re hearing? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with a dental friend who could use a boost in strategy—and mindset. Let’s recession-proof your practice together.