The Thriving Dentist Show

Recent Episodes

1. Dental IT, Cybersecurity & HIPAA Essentials with Dr. Lorne Lavine

   Aug 26, 2026

   Dr. Lorne Lavine, founder of Digital Dentist, discusses dental practice cybersecurity, HIPAA compliance, and AI adoption. A periodontist-turned-IT specialist with 25+ years in dental technology, he explains why ransomware is classified as a HIPAA breach, the three-pronged approach to security (prevention, recovery, insurance), and critical AI safety warnings about patient data in public-facing tools like ChatGPT.

2. Startup vs Acquisition, Which Path Actually Wins?

   Aug 19, 2026

   Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah discuss the startup versus acquisition decision for dental practice ownership, outlining three specific scenarios where startups make sense (underserved markets, available marketing capital, or spousal income) and why most dentists should pursue acquisitions instead. They analyze a real client who grew collections from $700,000 to $1 million in year one by replacing $300,000 in PPO write-offs with $15,000 in SEO marketing, and share a 35-year case study on why connecting with patients before renovation is critical. The episode includes clinical tips from Dr. Darryl Burke on CBCT imaging for implant planning.

3. The Strategic Planning Episode

   Aug 12, 2026

   Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah discuss strategic planning as the foundation for building an ideal dental practice. Through three detailed case studies—growing Invisalign cases from 3 to 29 annually, transitioning a solo practice to a two-doctor operation, and successfully transitioning from PPO-dependent to fee-for-service—they demonstrate how proactive planning beats reactive management. Arulrajah shares marketing strategies for attracting quality patients, including dominating Google search, leveraging landing pages and before-and-after photos, and converting Google reviews into multi-channel marketing assets.

4. Is Your Marketing Actually Working? The Few Numbers Every Owner Should Watch

   Aug 5, 2026

   Naren Arulrajah, co-founder of EKWA, discusses the five critical marketing metrics every dental practice owner should track monthly: potential new patient contacts, cost per channel, conversion rate, new patient value, and monthly search visibility. The episode covers the "two-chasms model" explaining why practices struggle to convert calls into patients, and features a real-world case study of a practice that increased new patients from 12 to 38 monthly through improved phone conversion training without additional marketing spend.

5. How to Make Your Hygiene Exams as Effective as Possible!

   Jul 29, 2026

   Gary Takacs, founder and co-host of the Thriving Dentist Show, discusses strategies for making hygiene exams more effective and impactful for case acceptance. The episode covers intraoral camera protocol, verbal hand-offs between hygienist and doctor, AI-powered patient note preparation, and the importance of personal connection. Takacs shares data showing that 60% of high-value cases in his coaching client base originate from hygiene exams, and explores how effective hygiene exams drive patient reviews and new patient acquisition.

6. How to Become THE Practice for the Dentistry You Love

   Jul 22, 2026

   Naren Arulrajah, co-host of the Thriving Dentist Show and founder of Equa Marketing, discusses how dental practices can differentiate themselves by developing a signature service—the one thing they become known for. The episode covers selecting a signature service based on personal passion rather than market data, building it through lab-fee cases and ambassador patients, scheduling it with dedicated templates, and marketing it through consistent organic SEO, landing pages, before-and-after photos, and patient reviews. A coaching client increased Invisalign starts from 3 per year to 1 per week after implementing this strategy.

7. 5 Specific Steps to Take Before You Resign from a Single PPO Plan

   Jul 15, 2026

   Gary Takacs, a dental practice coach with 30+ years of experience helping practices in all 50 states, outlines five critical steps for successfully resigning from PPO plans. The episode provides a practical checklist to prevent common pitfalls like revenue loss and patient attrition, covering financial analysis, patient experience enhancement, team training, copayment structures, and marketing readiness before any resignation letters are sent.

8. How to Build a Practice Growth Plan That Actually Works All Year

   Jul 8, 2026

   Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah discuss why most dental practice growth plans fail by mid-January and provide a framework for building plans that actually work year-round. The episode covers four specific 'rocks' (focus areas), assigning individual champions, establishing a three-meeting cadence, and designing team incentives—including a real example where a $100-per-person incentive for Google reviews increased one practice from 2 reviews monthly to 26. Arulrajah also addresses AI search optimization for dental practices, the five benchmarks of a functioning patient acquisition engine, and cost-per-lead tracking to identify which marketing channels to scale.