Bulletproof Dental Practice

15 episodes scanned. 65% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. If AI Doesn't Recommend You, Patients Won't Find You

   Nov 3, 2026

   Michael Notbohm, founder of Dental Mentions, joins Dr. Peter Boulden to explain how patients now ask conversational AI tools like ChatGPT for dentist recommendations, shifting dental marketing from traditional SEO toward Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). They discuss how AI draws on patient reviews, directory consistency, and content, why generic AI-written blog posts hurt authority, and the risk that autonomous AI agents will soon price-shop and call dental offices for patients. The episode closes with an announcement of an upcoming in-person AI marketing workshop in Atlanta and how listeners can book a consultation.

2. You Don't Need Marketing, You Need To Check Your P&L

   Oct 29, 2026

   Dr. Craig Spodak, Dr. Peter Boulden, and Ian de Jongh discuss dental practice overhead, identifying team payroll and benefits (roughly 25-32% of revenue) as the largest cost, followed by labs, supplies, and facility costs. They argue that most dentists lack timely, accurate bookkeeping and a clear P&L, so marketing is often the wrong diagnosis for an empty schedule. The conversation also covers using AI tools as a fractional CFO, membership plans, and how AI may change patient discovery and trust.

3. The Math of Going Multi-Location

   Oct 27, 2026

   Hosts Dr. Peter Boulden, Dr. Craig Spodak, and Ian de Jongh respond to a My Story submission from Dr. Dixie Jernigan, a solo dentist who grew an acquired practice from about $1.2M to roughly $4M in three years. She is building a 13-operatory flagship and debating whether to keep her existing five-operatory suite as an associate-run second location and whether to reduce her clinical hours. The discussion covers overhead and profit math, associate productivity assumptions, mentorship, financing, and whether expansion aligns with her time, money, and emotional freedom goals.

4. $1M EBITDA: Mega Practice or Multiple Locations?

   Oct 21, 2026

   A dentist who bought his first practice about three years ago and now runs two downtown locations, each with two associates and seven-figure EBITDA, asks whether to deepen those two sites into large practices or open more locations. Hosts Dr. Peter Boulden and Dr. Craig Spodak, with Ian de Jongh moderating, argue for maximizing existing footprint first, citing chair utilization, production per visit, and the operational difficulty of a third location. They also discuss owning real estate versus leasing, concentration risk, and whether expansion serves the owner's lifestyle goals.

5. Feeling Lost With AI? Start Here

   Oct 20, 2026

   Dr. Peter Boulden, a dentist and leader of an AI mastermind group for dental practice owners, joins hosts Ian de Jongh and Craig Spodak to discuss how dentists can start using AI. He recommends organizing personal digital data into a clean "corpus" that AI agents can work from, and handing everyday tasks to agents before deploying AI in the practice. The conversation also covers the shift from search engines to AI answer engines, the decline of IP value, and the move from the Information Age to a "Processing Age."

6. 350,000 Surveys: What Drives Five-Star Reviews?

   Oct 13, 2026

   Opencare CEO Cameron Howieson joins Dr. Peter Boulden and Ian de Jongh to discuss data from 350,000 patient surveys and more than 69,000 appointment requests on what drives five-star reviews and patient retention. The conversation covers response speed to new patient inquiries, the economics of new patients versus existing ones, online booking and AI scheduling, and how staff communication shapes patient experience. Howieson also explains Opencare's pay-per-patient model for dental practices.

7. Rent or Own Your Practice Building?

   Oct 5, 2026

   Chandler Wrightenberry from Live Oak Bank returns to discuss the financial realities of commercial real estate ownership versus leasing for dental practices. The episode explores SBA lending, real estate financing, and why dentists often avoid ownership despite the long-term financial advantages of building equity rather than paying a landlord's mortgage through lease payments.

8. Selling Your Practice: What the Math Really Says

   Oct 1, 2026

   Dr. Peter Boulden, Dr. Craig Spodak, and Ian de Jongh dissect the financial reality behind dental practice sales, challenging the myth that selling a practice yields the retirement windfall most dentists expect. Using real-world valuation math, they demonstrate how a $1M practice sale nets only $40K annually in post-tax yield—far less than the $250K+ annual cash flow from ownership—revealing that selling rarely makes financial sense unless the sale price reaches $5M+. The trio explores the psychological drivers pushing dentists toward exit (comparison, burnout, broker incentives) and argues for alternative wealth-building strategies including diversified investment, the high-producing associate model, and intentional hybrid approaches rather than the false binary of owning a mega-practice or selling out.

9. Why a $15M Dental Group Owner Isn't Selling (And Why You Shouldn't Either)

   Sep 24, 2026

   Dr. Zachary Kingsberg, owner of a five-practice dental group in Dallas generating over $15M in annual revenue, returns to discuss why he's reconsidering his earlier stance on selling for a "stupid multiple" of 13-15x EBITDA. After running the actual financial math—including taxes and the challenge of deploying sale proceeds—Zach realizes that exiting his cash-flowing business would actually reduce his lifestyle and that he has no clear alternative use for the capital. The hosts help him audit what he actually wants: not freedom (he already has it), not cash flow (it's strong), and not a solved problem—just occasional boredom and the itch to keep growing.

10. Build a Practice You Don't Need to Escape | Dr. Richard Low

    Sep 22, 2026

    Dr. Richard Low shares his journey from podcast founder to CEO of 35 dental offices, and his decision to walk away from eight figures to save his marriage and mental health. The conversation explores the hidden costs of practice expansion, the distinction between loving dentistry and loving business ownership, and how building a life dependent on a future exit is ultimately unsustainable. Low and hosts Craig Spodak and Ian de Jongh discuss first-principles thinking about what practitioners actually want their lives to feel like, rather than chasing growth narratives.