We're thrilled to welcome our newest partner to The Lifestyle Practice — Dr. Raheel Haider! In this episode, Derek Williams, Matt Vogt, and Steve Van De Graaff sit down with Raheel to talk dental practice ownership, financial freedom for dentists, and the mindset shifts that took him from a burned-out associate with imposter syndrome to a confident practice owner growing his dental practice 50% in under a year.

Raheel shares his journey from growing up in Dallas, Texas, with immigrant parents who pushed dentistry as "the way out," to discovering personal finance and financial literacy in college after a missed car payment wrecked his credit score. He walks through his dental school strategy at UNLV, why he prioritized clinical volume over grades, how he found and negotiated his first dental practice acquisition, and the exact playbook he used to grow collections without adding new procedures — renegotiating insurance, fixing front desk phone answer rates, and pricing corrections.

If you're a dental student, associate dentist, or practice owner interested in dental practice ownership, financial independence for dentists, or scaling a dental practice through better systems (not more chairside hours), this episode is packed with practical lessons.

Connect with Dr. Raheel Haider: 📘 FREE EBOOK — "How to Achieve Financial Freedom in Seven Years or Less": https://the-lifestyle-practice.com/home-page-page

🔗 Coaching & TLP Academy → https://thelifestylepractice.com

📩 raheel@thelifestylepractice.com

👥 FB Group: Financial Freedom, Retire Early for Dentists → https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18C1jHTJb6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Connect with us:

• Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/
• Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy
• Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801
• Email Derek at derek@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Matt at matt@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Steve at steve@thelifestylepractice.com

82% of dentists report major stress. 60% have considered changing careers or retiring early. If you've felt that way, you're not alone — but selling the practice isn't the only exit.

In this episode, Dr. Steve Van De Graaff breaks down a practical framework for beating dental burnout and rediscovering satisfaction in your work, without blowing up everything you've built:

• Get specific — Burnout isn't one giant issue. It's several small triggers left unresolved. Make the list, then attack them one by one.
• Fix the team tension — There's usually one person weighing the doctor down. Set expectations, have the conversation, make a plan.
• Stop doing dentistry you hate — The pediatric appointment that changed everything, and why cutting the work you dread can transform your week.
• Move away from low-fee dentistry — Renegotiate PPO fees, drop your worst plans, raise out-of-network fees, and stop getting paid nickels on the dollar.
• Work less — Why dropping to a 3 or 3.5-day week almost never lowers income, and how two clients redesigned their schedules around their lives.

You are not trapped. Your practice should support your life — not the other way around. Dentistry is challenging, but it shouldn't be miserable.

Connect with us:

• Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/
• Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy
• Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801
• Email Derek at derek@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Matt at matt@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Steve at steve@thelifestylepractice.com

Dr. Matt Vogt is back for another episode of The Lifestyle Practice — and this one gets personal. After a chance dinner conversation with a pre-dental student staring down a $650K tuition bill, Matt found himself revisiting his own $450,000 student loan journey and asking a simple question: if he had to pay it all off again, what would he do differently?

In this episode, he breaks it down into three hard-won lessons:

🦷 Start or buy a practice sooner — ownership (in the right opportunity) is one of the biggest drivers of freedom and wealth in dentistry. 📈 Invest more heavily in yourself and your practice early — the CE, the hygienist, the growth moves that compound before life gets busier. 💸 Attack the debt even faster — delay gratification, stay hard-headed, and chase that indescribable moment when the balance hits zero.

Connect with us:

• Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/
• Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/
• Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy
• Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801
• Email Derek at derek@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Matt at matt@thelifestylepractice.com
• Email Steve at steve@thelifestylepractice.com

Grow smarter. Practice better. Live more.

#DentalPodcast #PracticeOwnership #DentalStudentLoans #DentistryBusiness #TheLifestylePractice #DentalEntrepreneur #FinancialFreedom