Your schedule is full, your team is working harder than ever, and yet profitability continues to shrink. The problem may not be your production. It may be the insurance contracts attached to it.

In this episode, Dr. Greg Grillo examines dentistry’s growing “fiscal squeeze,” including rising wages, stagnant reimbursement, hidden write-offs, leased networks, claim friction, and the wave of dental insurance reform now sweeping the country. He explains why a busy practice is not necessarily a healthy practice, how low-margin appointments can quietly consume your most valuable capacity, and why more dentists are reconsidering their network participation.

This isn’t an argument to abandon insurance or patients. It’s a framework for evaluating each contract objectively. And building a practice where excellent care, a supported team, fair compensation, and financial sustainability can coexist.

Every month, dental practices diagnose thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in treatment that never gets scheduled.

Not because patients don't need it.

Not because they don't trust the doctor.

Often because life gets in the way... and the follow-up simply isn't there.

In this follow-up episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo welcomes entrepreneur and dental technology innovator Devyn Grillo back to continue one of the podcast's most talked-about conversations. After building and selling a seven-figure dental marketing company, Devyn discovered an uncomfortable truth: generating more leads isn't the biggest challenge for most practices. Converting the opportunities they already have is.

Together, Greg and Devyn explore why treatment acceptance has become one of the most overlooked drivers of practice growth, why most offices unintentionally allow patients to fall through the cracks, and how AI can strengthen—not replace—the human relationships that build trust.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why treatment acceptance may be a more important KPI than new patient numbers

• The hidden revenue sitting in unscheduled treatment reports

• Why patients who say, "I need to think about it," are rarely saying "no"

• The surprising data behind why major purchasing decisions require multiple follow-up touchpoints

• How personalized, AI-assisted communication can help practices stay connected without adding more work for the team

• Why the future of dentistry belongs to practices that master both technology and human connection

If you've ever wondered whether your practice is investing too much in attracting new patients—and not enough in helping existing patients move forward with care—this conversation will change how you think about growth.

Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn't finding another patient.

It's helping the patients you've already diagnosed say "yes."

Learn more at www.caselift.io

Not every season of life or practice is meant for growth.

Some seasons are for building. Others are for pruning, recovery, harvest, or finally confronting what has been quietly ignored. The challenge is recognizing what season you are actually in—and having the courage to do the work that season requires.

In this midyear episode, Dr. Greg Grillo reflects on leadership, change, time, and the danger of carrying old strategies into a new season. Drawing from dentistry, Stoic wisdom, and the ancient stories of Heraclitus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Cincinnatus, he explores why success is not always about doing more and why some of the most important progress remains invisible for a long time.

This is a thoughtful summer reset for practice owners who want to lead with greater clarity, protect what matters, and enter the second half of the year with intention rather than momentum alone.

Neck pain, shoulder tension, headaches, and lower back discomfort have become so common in dentistry that many providers accept them as part of the profession.

But what if the conventional advice is incomplete?

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo talks with Dr. John Besharse, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and founder of The Dental Physical Therapist.

Dr. Besharse challenges some of dentistry’s most common assumptions about posture, stretching, massage, and ergonomic equipment. He explains why static positioning is so physically demanding, why a “tight” muscle may actually need activation rather than more stretching, and why even the best loupes or saddle stool cannot compensate for a body that has not been prepared for the demands of the operatory.

The conversation also explores simple movements dental professionals can perform between patients, the areas of the body most commonly neglected, and why dentists, hygienists, and assistants should begin viewing themselves as occupational athletes.

You’ll learn:

• Why perfect posture may not be the answer
• How static positioning contributes to pain and fatigue
• Why temporary relief does not always address the root problem
• The difference between stretching a muscle and activating it
• A simple exercise that can be performed inside the dental office
• Why physical resilience affects focus, productivity, team reliability, and career longevity
• What practice owners can do to help protect their entire clinical team

Dental professionals invest heavily in technology, equipment, education, and their practices. This episode is an important reminder to invest in the one piece of equipment every procedure depends on: your body.

Most conversations about work-life balance assume that life can be divided into neat, equal portions. But dentistry, business ownership, leadership, marriage, and parenting rarely work that way.

In this reflective monologue, Dr. Greg Grillo explores a different way to think about a sustainable and fulfilling life: not as a perfectly balanced scale, but as a wave with natural periods of effort, momentum, resistance, and recovery.

Greg examines why so many driven professionals find themselves living from vacation to vacation, physically leaving work while remaining mentally trapped there, and confusing collapse with genuine rest. Drawing from his own experience as a dentist and practice owner, workplace research, and the wisdom of the Stoics, he explains how ambition and delayed gratification can quietly become the habit of delaying life.

This episode offers practical ways to create a healthier rhythm, including measuring the real sources of energy loss, establishing a recovery floor, building intentional transitions out of work, and separating personal responsibility from outcomes that cannot be controlled.

The goal is not to eliminate life’s peaks and valleys. It's to make the movement between them less destructive, while building ordinary days that feel meaningful enough that we no longer need to escape our lives in order to feel alive.

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo sits down with entrepreneur and dental growth strategist Devyn Grillo for a candid conversation about one of the most overlooked challenges in dentistry: conversion.

Devyn built and sold a seven-figure dental lead generation company after starting his marketing career as a teenager. After helping more than 100 dental practices generate thousands of patient inquiries, he discovered something surprising: practices receiving the exact same leads often produced dramatically different results.

The difference wasn't marketing.

It was what happened next.

Together, Greg and Devyn explore why practices lose opportunities after the phone rings, how consumer expectations have changed, why speed-to-lead matters more than most dentists realize, and where AI may help practices improve communication, follow-up, and case acceptance.

Topics include:

• Why lead generation is only one piece of the growth equation

• The hidden revenue leak inside many dental practices

• What separates high-converting offices from low-converting offices

• Why front desk conversations matter more than most dentists think

• The role of trust, empathy, and patient psychology in case acceptance

• How AI can support teams without replacing the human element

• Why dentists must begin thinking like business owners as well as clinicians

Whether you're spending heavily on marketing or simply trying to help more patients move forward with treatment, this conversation will challenge how you think about growth.

Because sometimes the biggest opportunity isn't finding more patients.

It's serving the ones already raising their hands and asking for help.

NOTE: Do NOT attempt AI analysis as described in this interview without HIPAA-compliant steps in place. The system Devyn describes includes vital safeguards every dentist must have when using AI.

Learn more at: https://www.theimplantinitiative.com/

Dentistry is changing fast, and many practice owners can feel it.

In this solo episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo explores a growing reality inside the profession: the “middle-class” dental practice is getting squeezed.

Rising overhead. Flat insurance reimbursement. Staffing instability. Operational complexity. More competition. More pressure. And yet many dentists are producing more than ever while feeling less profitable, less clear, and more exhausted.

This episode takes a deep dive into why the traditional “comfortable” private practice model is under pressure — and what separates the independent practices that are still thriving from the ones quietly struggling behind the scenes.

Dr. Grillo breaks down:

• Why being “busy” no longer guarantees profitability
• The hidden operational leaks hurting many practices
• How hygiene instability affects the entire business
• Why patient expectations have changed dramatically
• The growing divide between intentional practices and reactive ones
• How DSOs and sophisticated groups are reshaping competition
• Why independent dentistry still has a massive advantage — if practices evolve strategically

This is not a doom-and-gloom episode about private practice dying.

It’s a conversation about leadership, clarity, systems, patient trust, and the future of independent dentistry.

If you’ve felt like dentistry has become heavier, more complicated, or harder to navigate than it used to be, this episode will probably resonate deeply.

Because the future may not belong to the biggest practices.

It may belong to the most intentional ones.

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo sits down with Dr. Doug Sandquist for a raw, honest, and deeply practical conversation about what it really takes to build a successful, and sustainable, dental practice.

This is not another discussion about doing more dentistry, chasing production, or scaling at all costs.

Instead, Dr. Sandquist shares the hard-earned lessons from nearly three decades in practice, including how he transitioned from chasing “what works” to building a model rooted in clarity, confidence, and fulfillment. From walking away from implant surgery to redefining case acceptance through trust, not pressure, this episode challenges many of the assumptions dentists are taught early in their careers.

You’ll hear how slowing down can actually accelerate growth, why multiple consult visits can outperform same-day closes, and how defining non-negotiables, both clinically and personally, can transform not just your practice, but your life.

This conversation also goes beyond dentistry. It dives into burnout, identity, and the reality that success is not just about profit; it’s about profit plus fulfillment. From the “10 summers with your kids” mindset to designing a practice that aligns with your values, this episode is a powerful reminder that you have more control than you think.

Key Takeaways:

• Why the best dentists focus on trust-building, not speed

• The hidden downside of “strike while the iron’s hot” case acceptance

• How to design a practice around your strengths—not industry norms

• The real difference between fee-for-service and PPO stress

• Why taking more time off may actually increase productivity

• The importance of defining personal and professional non-negotiables

• How discovering your “why” can reshape your entire career

If you’ve ever questioned whether the traditional path in dentistry is the right one, or felt the tension between production and purpose, this episode will hit home.

Listen now and rethink what success in dentistry really looks like.