The Patient Experience Blueprint

Serving the Patients Most Practices Can't

What does it take to get a patient into the chair when fear has kept them away for years? In this episode of The Patient Experience Blueprint, host Josh DeVries sits down with Dr. Neal Johnson — a board-certified dental anesthesiologist, founder and CEO of UIS Health, and host of the SMILES & AI podcast. Dr. Johnson has spent his career serving the patients most practices struggle to treat, and he's built the tools, technology, and training to help the rest of dentistry catch up. What we cover: * How dental anesthesiologists work alongside practices to serve some of the most complex and anxious patients in dentistry * What the patient journey around sedation looks like from the first conversation to the chair * How AI and technology are changing the way practices build patient trust and case acceptance * Why patient communication before and after a sedation appointment is just as important as what happens in the chair * What every dentist working with anxious or complex patients should understand about sedation, whether they're administering it themselves or not Connect with Dr. Neal Johnson: * SMILES & AI with Dr. Neal Johnson on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SMILESAIwithDr.NealJohnsonPodc [https://www.youtube.com/@SMILESAIwithDr.NealJohnsonPodc] * UIS Health (Unified Intelligent System): https://uishealth.com/ [https://uishealth.com/] * SmileSphere Academy — a subscription platform for practices to access and white-label patient education videos, including a pediatric library: https://www.smilesphereacademy.com [https://www.smilesphereacademy.com] * The Efficiency Catalyst: https://www.theefficiencycatalyst.com/ [https://www.theefficiencycatalyst.com/] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealjohnsondds/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealjohnsondds/]

Care More, Make More: The Business Case for Patient-Centered Dentistry

What if the biggest barrier to better patient care wasn't clinical skill – it was the fact that your software can't talk to anyone else's?  In this episode of The Patient Experience Blueprint, host Josh DeVries sits down with Dr. Bryan Laskin, a Minnesota-based dentist, Co-Founder and CEO Toothapps and Cair, and Chair of the Dental Standards Institute. Dr. Laskin has spent decades building technology and standards that connect dentistry to the broader healthcare ecosystem – and he's just getting started.  What we cover: * Why patients care about convenience above everything else – and what that actually means for how you run your practice * The Google review that changed the way Dr. Laskin thinks about the patient experience * How to build systems that make patients feel cared for without relying solely on individual charisma * Why the lack of data standards in dentistry is the biggest public health crisis you've never heard of * Why oral health data connected to overall health records isn't just convenient — it's life-saving Connect with Dr. Bryan Laskin: * The Bryan Laskin Podcast on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN_2ZmtaS0X5stGgUen8HwA] * Website: https://bryanlaskin.com/ [https://bryanlaskin.com/] * Toothapps: https://www.toothapps.com/ [https://www.toothapps.com/] * If you want to get involved in dental standards go to dentalstandards.org [http://dentalstandards.org/] to have a say. * Cair app: https://cair.net/ [https://cair.net/] * Book: https://unfaircare.com/ [https://unfaircare.com/]

Strategy First: How to Build a Practice That Works for You with Dr. Todd Snyder

What if the key to a better practice wasn't seeing more patients, but being more intentional about the ones you do see? In this episode of The Patient Experience Blueprint, host Josh DeVries sits down with Dr. Todd Snyder, a cosmetic and restorative dentist, lecturer, inventor, and founder of the Legion education platform. Dr. Snyder has been in practice for 32 years and runs two private offices built around one core belief: strategy matters more than volume. What we cover: * Getting clear on your strategy is the single most important thing you can do for your practice * How to build an online presence that attracts the patients you actually want * Why the patient experience begins long before they walk through your door * The common mistake dentists make when adopting new technology – and the simple fix * Why sometimes the best move is doing the opposite of what everyone else in your area is doing * The mindset shift that helps you stop reacting to your schedule and start leading your practice * What inspired Dr. Snyder to build Legion and how it helps dentists implement what they learn * Why genuine human connection is one of the most underused tools in dentistry today Connect with Dr. Todd Snyder: * Website: DrToddSnyder.com [http://drtoddsnyder.com] * Legion Education Platform: LEGIONdentist.com [http://legiondentist.com] * Practices: AestheticDentalDesigns.com [http://aestheticdentaldesigns.com] | ConciergeCosmeticDentistry.com [http://conciergecosmeticdentistry.com] * Podcast: Delusional: Winning the Weekly War of Dentistry – available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms

What Separates Great Dental Practices from Average Ones

Trust isn't something you can script. But it is something you can build — deliberately, consistently, and at every single touchpoint. In this episode, Josh DeVries sits down with Dr. Mark Costes, founder of the Dental Success Institute, co-founder and CEO of the Dental Success Network, and host of the Dentalpreneur Podcast. With 16 practices built or acquired across California and Arizona, an international keynote career spanning 80 cities a year, and a nonprofit — Smile Outreach International — delivering an estimated $2 million in charitable dentistry across seven countries this year, Mark brings hard-won perspective on what it actually takes to build a practice that thrives. What we cover: * Why the best clinicians aren't always the most successful practice owners — and what the missing skill actually is * The patient touchpoint framework: 8–10 intentional moments that define how patients feel about your practice * How to train your team to build trust consistently — even when you're not in the room * The attrition problem: why tracking new patients without tracking lapsed ones is leaving money and relationships on the table * How to reactivate patients who haven't gone anywhere — they've just been forgotten If you're a practice owner, office manager, or clinician who knows the clinical side is solid but something in the patient experience isn't landing, this episode gives you the language, the framework, and the mindset shift to fix it. Connect with Dr. Mark Costes: * Website (Dental Success Institute): https://www.truedentalsuccess.com [https://www.truedentalsuccess.com] * Dentalpreneur Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@markcostes/podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@markcostes/podcasts] * Dr. Mark Costes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@markcostes [https://www.youtube.com/@markcostes] * Dental Success Network: https://dentalsuccessnetwork.com [https://dentalsuccessnetwork.com] * Book – Pillars of Dental Success: Available on Amazon and Indigo * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-costes-dds/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-costes-dds/] * Instagram & TikTok: Search Dr. Mark Costes Books Mentioned: * Unreasonable Hospitality – Will Guidara * Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh

Uncomplicate to Accumulate: Why Subtraction Is the Real Growth Strategy with Dr. Howard Farran

Most dental practices aren't failing because of a lack of patients or marketing. They're failing because complexity got baked in early – and no one stopped to ask why. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Howard Farran, founder of Dentaltown.com, and author of Uncomplicate Business. With nearly 40 years in dentistry and a platform that reaches hundreds of thousands of dental professionals, Howard brings his signature candor to the questions every practice owner should be asking but isn't. What we cover: * Why growth doesn't create chaos – it just reveals the chaos that was already there * How AI is about to do in 20 years what the Industrial Revolution took 200 years to accomplish * How phone conversion – not marketing – is the fastest way to double a practice * Why making an exception three times means you have a broken system, not a compassionate one * Fraud prevention in dentistry: why 25% of dentists are stolen from and how to protect yourself * The owner-carry model for selling a practice and why it beats a DSO buyout * Revenue per location vs. number of locations: the metric that actually matters From the danger of confusing busyness with productivity to the case for building a lean, high-margin single-location practice, Howard challenges dentists to stop multiplying chaos and start engineering clarity. If you're a dentist, practice owner, or operator who suspects your systems are working against you, this episode is the honest gut-check you've been waiting for. Connect with Dr. Howard Farran: * Ask Howard questions directly on Dentaltown.com [http://dentaltown.com] * Book: Uncomplicate Business – Website [https://www.howardfarran.com/product/uncomplicate-business/] | Amazon [https://www.amazon.ca/Uncomplicate-Business-Takes-People-Money/dp/0998971901] | Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23214152-uncomplicate-business] | Audible [https://www.audible.ca/pd/Uncomplicate-Business-Audiobook/B072L9ZVRH] * YouTube: Dentaltown’s “Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran” podcast [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7gcEkH_PR-hfvfOYtEkz89qnts4fUY4] * LinkedIn: Howard Farran  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardfarran/]