Dental CEO Podcast #62 - What It’s Like Building a Startup Right Out of Dental School

How Selling to a DSO Costs Dentists Millions (Scott Breaks Down a Real Offer)

A dentist got an unsolicited $9.8M offer to sell his practice — and on paper it looked incredible. So why is walking away the smarter move? Scott Leune breaks down the real offer line by line and runs the actual math, exposing the traps most dentists never see: the cash up front, the "rollover equity," the multi-year stay requirement that quietly erases years of owner profit, and the "hopium" of future multiples that rarely pay out. He shows how selling now nets roughly $9.4M while transitioning out first nets up to $14M+, and what to do instead if your practice is struggling. Whether you plan to buy, sell, or advise someone who will, this could save you millions. Subscribe for new episodes weekly.

The Husband-and-Wife Dentists Reinventing Themselves at 61

After 33 years of marriage and 33 years practicing side by side in 700 square feet, Dr. Elisa Mello and Dr. Ramin Tabib could have coasted to the finish line. Instead, at 61, they bet on themselves again and moved into a 2,500 square foot space built around a brand they just trademarked: The Smile Code. Scott Leune sits down with the New York City couple to talk about holding the line on fee-for-service when the pressure to take insurance felt relentless, what it really takes to work with your spouse for three decades without losing your marriage, and why the heart of a great practice is not the marketing, it is being able to say clearly who you are before you ever try to sell it. If you have ever wondered whether it is too late to reinvent your career, whether you could practice without insurance, or how to build a brand the world actually responds to, this conversation is for you.

Don't Take Startup Advice from a Lucky Dentist

There is a lot of bad location advice in dentistry. A dentist goes on a podcast, says demographics do not matter because they opened in a weak market and made it work, and suddenly "build it and they'll come" sounds like a strategy. It is not. It is luck, and as Scott Leune puts it, a blind man can hit a home run, but that does not mean the rest of us should swing blindfolded. On this episode of the Dental CEO Podcast, Scott sits down with Kent Miller, founder of Dentagraphics, to make the case for trusting the data instead of Dr. Facebook and one-off success stories. They break down what demographics actually tell you about a location, why the right market depends on the kind of dentistry you want to do, and how population, income, age, and competition take the risk out of opening or relocating a practice. The dentists bragging online about beating the odds are the exception, not the playbook. If you want a real shot at 2 million in collections with a healthy overhead, trust the data, not a hunch and not a lucky stranger on the internet.

222 Patients in Month One: Inside a Dental Startup That's Booked Out Two Months

Two married dentists. One startup. 222 new patients in their first full month. On this episode of The Dental CEO Podcast, Dr. Scott Leune sits down with Drs. Alex Hill and Kristina Slavik of Hill Dental Studio to break down exactly how they built the demand, why they're already booked out two months, and what Scott says they need to do right now to handle the success before it crushes them.

Dental CEO Podcast #66 - Your Website Is No Longer Your Biggest Marketing Asset

In this episode of The Dental CEO Podcast, Scott Leune is joined by Bill Donato, Founder of DentalMarketing.com, to break down why your website is no longer the biggest driver of new patient calls. As patient search habits change, Google My Business, local search visibility, reviews, hyperlocal content, and real-time search queries are becoming more important than ever. Scott and Bill explain what dental practice owners need to understand about the new rules of dental SEO and how practices can improve visibility, compete locally, and generate more new patient opportunities.