Dental A Team Podcast

Kiera is a guest on The Zero Balance Podcast with John Stamper! She and John discuss the advancement of software over the past few years, and why the current culmination — artificial intelligence — isn't something to be skittish around in your practice. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today we are sharing a guest interview I did on another podcast. And it was too valuable not to bring you guys here. this episode, you're gonna hear this host lead the conversation and then I'll wrap us up at the end. I cannot wait. It was truly one of my most incredible episodes and I truly hope you enjoy. John (00:19) What's going on everybody. Welcome to another episode here on The ZeroBalance podcast brought to you by the team at Quanta Suite. Very excited to keep this thing going. Uh, our last conversations and episodes crazy to think it's 2026 already were at the Dykma conference. And I had the privilege of spending time, not only with the Quanta Suite team, but also a lot of great individuals that came on the podcast and talked about what they were seeing in that case, it was in the DSO space. Uh, I'm very excited today to be with Kiera Dent from the Dental A team. I've known Kiera for many years. We were actually just talking before we came on here live. ⁓ she is doing a lot along with her team to help dental practices, take things to the next level. she's been in dental for many, many years. And so we're going to have a conversation today, ⁓ kind of around all things AI and automation and love to have her, you know, kind of share with all of you what she's seeing, you know, her and her team are working with dental practices on a daily basis. And obviously, you know, the Qantas suite team is, is creating. their software in an effort to be able to support practices in the RCM world. But Kiera, it's such great to have you here. How you doing? Kiera (01:26) Oh my gosh, John, it's great to see you again. And I love chatting about all things dentistry. I love having the last name dent. I love dental. love AI. love, um, it's crazy. Dental A Team hits 10 years old this year, which is like absolutely wild. Uh, 2026, I was getting ready to, know, writing my goals out and I was like, Oh my gosh, I turned 40. My husband turns 40. We've been married for 15 years and Dental A Team hits 10 years this year. So ⁓ and I bring that up only because like, it's like a trifecta of a cool year for me. ⁓ but I think as you were discussing, like being in dental consulting for 10 years, having worked in front office teams, having worked at a dental college, having owned dental practices, having bought and sold, having consulted like 300 plus offices physically, ⁓ watching the DSO emerge, watching AI come in. I just think it's really like such a fun time for us to be in dentistry and so many great advancements and, yeah. In Dental A Team, we are obsessed with doctors and teams, like getting them aligned, getting them streamlined, helping dentists be like CEOs and owners of their practices. We love ⁓ Josh, we love what he's building in DCS and now in Qantas. We think that they're doing some really fun, incredible things. And Dental A Team, we're just really big on, I think, streamlining dental practices, helping them say yes to more things. So getting them in their vision, getting financially free and profitable. and then getting systems and team development to support that. And AI is definitely being a big player. And I think dentistry is, it's so fun because it's been such a, like, I think slow roll on evolution in certain ways. Sometimes I think we are very archaic. My husband's in healthcare and medicine and he's like, wait, that's your guys' software. I'm like, don't judge. I know it's a little dated. He's like, they didn't even have that when I started my career 15 years ago. ⁓ But I think, to watch dentistry evolve into AI and automations and different things. I think we are in such a special time. So yeah, we work with solo practices. We work with multi practices. We work with emerging DSOs. We work with DSOs. We've got consulting for kind of a broad spectrum and kind of our sweet side, like two to five to $10 million practice. ⁓ We definitely have built a lot of things that can help multi offices, but yeah, we really love those offices that are obsessed about team, about culture and about. just positively impacting the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. So John, super excited to talk about it. I feel like we just have like so much knowledge to bring to the table and just rift and discuss and give your listeners hopefully a fresh, fun, positive perspective on the world of AI dentistry and of course bringing team and doctor perspectives to the table for you today. John (04:03) Well, thanks for sharing that. you can see, everybody, Kiera comes with a ton of energy,

Kiera and Dana dive into the hygienist's mindset (which tends toward patient care over business numbers) and how a doctor can get a full hygiene team on board with metrics and measurables. They touch on the hygienist drought, growing your practice without stepping on your hygienists' toes, setting expectations everyone can agree on, and more. Dana also touches on a hygiene team she worked with for a couple years that went from struggling to hit its goals to hitting even their daily goals 95% of the time. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is a great freaking day over there. I get the one and only Dana, Dynamite Dana over there. I did not say the other nickname. If you've been on the podcast for a while, you might know, but Dana, welcome to the show today. How are you? DAT-Dana (00:16) doing pretty good. Thanks so much for having me. It's not always that I get dedicated, you know, Kiera time. So I'm excited to be here. The Dental A Team (00:22) I know when Dana and I get a podcast, like it's not always common, but I mean, you guys might start seeing Dana a bit more. I've got a few plans and tricks up my sleeves for Dana. We've been together for a long time. Dana, like donuts with Dana tip. don't remember what that was like dentistry tips or something. You were on a roll. You used to, I think you still do them actually every single week. Um, but Dana, you were just a diehard dedicated and always without, will not share it. DAT-Dana (00:39) Yeah. The Dental A Team (00:49) but Dana always has the best story. So if you don't know Dana and you want like a good giggle in your life, you name it. And also Dana is the best with trivia. We do a company end of year party every year and it's always like trivia based. Dana whoops everybody. Like this woman knows facts and stats like nobody's business. So Dana, today's gonna be a fun day because not only is Dana dynamite this way, but we're gonna do a little bit of an office autopsy about a hygiene department. So if you don't know in Dana's Other Life, Dana used to work at a prison as a hygienist and Dana that still is a trip to me. Like, did you ever get nervous that they were going to take their shackled hands and like stab you with an instrument? I'm truly curious because that's my fear. Let's just talk about that for one second. DAT-Dana (01:27) Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of like protocols in place for protection and for safety. But at the end of the day, you knew where you were. you know, yes, there was always I think just a niggling element of I just need to be careful, pay attention beyond my toes. Yeah. The Dental A Team (01:44) Like you're working with sharp instruments. I mean, it's not like you doled them out to take them in there. Like we're not going to have a sharp scaler. You get a doled one. Like you got to be in there. But yeah, cause I remember I worked in an office and they would bring in inmates and they would be like handcuffed top to bottom. And the girl would always be like, so what were you in prison for? And I'm like, why are we, why are we poking the bear? Like, why don't we just keep them calm? And like, I don't even want to know. Like, but she did it every time. I was only up there a couple of times consulting them, but. DAT-Dana (02:04) Thanks. The Dental A Team (02:13) Anyway, beyond prison, also is an incredible hygienist. So today we wanted to kind of office autopsy because Dana had a practice that she worked with for several years on hygiene and their number one motive and their number one objective was hygiene. And I think that this is such a, it's very delicate because I think dentists want hygienists to produce and as a practice, we want hygienists to produce. And Dana, as a hygienist, you feel, I'm not gonna put words in your mouth, but the assumption I get from a lot of hygienists is We want to just do great work and we don't want to always have to be looking at numbers. Maybe that's true or not, but like Dana, I want to hear what's kind of like the mindset of hygienist and then how do doctors approach this? And then we'll dig into the practice that you worked with that like really freaking crushed it. But I think like, this is such a, I don't know. I feel like it's a sliver in a practice. Like no one wants to talk about it. Like let's just not touch it so it doesn't hurt. But then it like blows up and people are like, my freaking hygienist aren't producing and they don't want to like tick them off because no one's there. So let's talk about it, because is that how hygienists feel and how do you win over hygiene? DAT-Dana (03:12) Yeah, I think it's a mindset. I think it's a difference in mindset, right? I think dentists are always looking at the business side of it because oftentimes the dentists are the business owners and hygiene, their mindset is patient care. And

This episode is all about your vision for your practice, and how you can use it to propel growth and success. Tiff and Dana share how to create a vision that's true to you, how to get your team members bought in, how to set goals according to that vision, and so much more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. We are so excited to be here with you today. You know that the consultant takeover section here, I don't know if that's even still what we call it, but that's what we call it, Dana and I call it, because that's where OG status, know, like Donuts with Dana came on the other day. I was like, oh, I do miss Donuts. Anyways, we're here with you today, you guys. are, gosh, almost done with Q1 by the time this releases. It's wild. It's, you know, and I think we say this every year probably, I know January every year we're like, this is the longest month of our lives. But then we get to the end of January, we're like, that went so fast. Where did the time go? And then from there, just doesn't stop. It just doesn't stop. DAT-Dana (00:40) I know, feel like January is 12 weeks long and then the rest of the year is like two. The Dental A Team (00:43) Yeah, it's so true. Yeah, especially February, which I know February is quote unquote a short month. But I'm like, does that two days seriously mean we lost two weeks? Because that's what it feels like. I don't understand it. Time, it's all relative, right? We just make it up anyways. So that's why. That's why, because we just make it up anyways. So Dana, we just recorded a really fun podcast. I actually really, really loved that one on overhead. DAT-Dana (00:57) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The Dental A Team (01:13) listen to that one yet about why not to cut your team members. Go listen to that too. You don't have to listen to it first. You don't have listen to it today. I don't care. Just listen to it sometime. But I think that it really actually coincides really well with this podcast topic that we're talking about today as well. And on a side note to all of you listeners out there, if you ever have podcast topics, things that you want to hear about, please let us know. You guys, we create these. Actually, our marketing company creates these based on like, what's relevant in the dental industry right now, but you know, Kiera does a ton of podcasts. We do a ton of podcasts. We're always really happy to add things in that you feel you're seeing in your practice, because if you're seeing it, the likelihood is that other people are seeing it as well. And that's why we focus so heavily at the Dental A Team on community, because we really want you guys talking to each other. So that includes this. That's my little plug for Please Send Us Ideas. Thank you. Thank you. ⁓ But this one, this one's fun too. I think we do, honestly we do a lot of really fun things at the Dental A Team. ⁓ I think, I mentioned it on the last one, but Dana I think for me at least, focusing on the people first actually really, really drives me. It makes me feel like we're in we're in a stale business sometimes, you know? Like it's. ever-changing, dentistry grows and it changes, but kind of not at the same time. It's kind of also stale, especially when it comes to team members. DAT-Dana (02:41) And then it makes no teeth, right? And so it can only expand and grow so much and sure, has it made leaps and bounds? Absolutely. But again, it is still teeth and the business of dentistry. The Dental A Team (02:48) Yeah. I agree. So I think adding in that human side of it, the people side, gives us purpose. And I think probably in any business, right, I think Aaron's a financial advisor and if he didn't, he loves the people aspect of it. He really, he became a financial advisor to help people grow their finances, to help people retire successfully and he loves nothing more than being able to help someone see that path. And I know not all advisors are that way and not all consultants, dental consultants are that way, but I think that purpose driven piece is what separates any business from the other ones. Yeah. DAT-Dana (03:34) Yeah, and I think at the of the day, it's people taking care of other people. And so it is a people industry. I think we always think of it as, it's healthcare, right, for sure. But it really is people taking care of people, so. The Dental A Team (03:46) Yeah, yeah, good point. All right, well that's our philosophical piece. I loved it. And on that same vein though, that same note is really, ⁓ today we want to talk about vision-driven growth. And I think to me, Dana, when I saw this topic, I thought vision-driven growth, Realistically, it's just like, for me, it's having the map. It's kind like a treasure hunt. DAT-Dana (03:50) Okay. The Dental A Team (04:12) I feel like and it's having the map with that X on it, then I can say, okay, this is how I'm going to get there

Kiera is a guest on The Extraction, a podcast by TeamCare, to talk about accountability without the drama. She, along with co-hosts Kyle Bergman and Dr. Sharon Bleiler, discuss the sometimes difficult realities of what it takes to be a good leader versus a great leader. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today we are sharing a guest interview I did on another podcast. And it was too valuable not to bring you guys here. this episode, you're gonna hear this host lead the conversation and then I'll wrap us up at the end. I cannot wait. It was truly one of my episodes and I truly hope you enjoy. The Dental A Team (00:18) everyone and welcome back to The Extraction podcast. Your cohost Kyle here today with my cohost and the co-founder of TeamCare, Dr. Sharon Bleiler. And today we are joined by Kiera Dent, who is the CEO and founder of Dental A Team, a consulting and training company focused on profitability, systems, accountability. culture and leadership in dental practices. Kiera has worked nearly every role inside of a practice, which is a big part of why her content lands with both owners and teams. So in this episode, we are going to be riffing a little bit about everything and anything that goes into making a practice smarter, scaling from a leadership, bonding. We're going to talk a little bit about AI and efficiency. And so stick around. This is a good one. Kiera. Welcome to The Extraction. How are you? Amazing guys. Thank you so much for having me. I've been super pumped to get on the podcast. Definitely a big fan over here. Excited to just rift on all things dental. I mean, my last name is Dent. So it's definitely my cup of tea here and excited to be with you guys today. So thanks for the warm welcome. Absolutely. And thank you again for taking the time to join us. I know you're super busy and congrats on all the success you've had building dental. A team. One of the first questions I love to ask is what brought you to the dental industry? Not necessarily something that people grow up aspiring to be back when we want to be firefighters, astronauts or Olympians, but what brought you into it? Curious. mean, great question. It's funny. I remember in first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Larson had us like right out where we wanted to be. You guys, I have gone all over the map. I went from being like, I wanted to be a hotel cleaner. That was a big dream of mine. I was like, I want to be a hotel. cleaner mom, like it's gonna be amazing to wanting to be a vet. I don't even really like animals. Like you can judge me harshly right now. And I was like, vet all the way up to I wanted to have, I wanted to break the world record and have 99 kids because I was like, listen, and then I'll just have like, I had already thought in processes at that point in my life. Like if I just like meet with them like one day a year, I could see each of them three times a year to then being like, listen, I just want to like wear scrubs for my life. And so was either like be a nurse and learn the whole body or be a dental assistant and just learn the mouth. So that's actually what got me into dentistry was the desire to wear scrubs. Also, I became varsity tennis player, not because I love varsity, I just wanted to wear the cute skirt. Like that was really my motive in life. So I clearly am like a mixed bag over here of why I got here. But I actually then got into dental assisting. It was very fun, loved it. And then I went to college and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I settled on wanting to be a marriage and family therapist. And I remember I was sitting in my interview, I was in Oklahoma and I was interviewing to get my degree and master's get accepted to school. They asked me questions and I was thinking about my patients back at the dental office. And it was a, I call these like the pivotal moments where I sat there and was like, Keara, do you really want to be a marriage and family therapist? The fact that you're sitting in this interview, you've worked hard. mean, passing the GRE is freaking hard. So like even to get there, I was like, do you actually want to be this marriage and family therapist? And it was a moment where I was like, I think I actually absolutely love dentistry and that's where I'm meant to be and what I love to do. And then you fast forward a little bit further and now we're in consulting and I feel like I've been able to blend my love of the marriage and family therapy, of the love of people and wanting to solve problems, but I get to do it in a space of dentistry that I feel is just magical to change lives. So that's kind of my like roundabout random story of going from hotel cleaner to veterinarian to becoming a dental consultant. And I feel like I really did that like sweet landing of a space that I'm obsessed with of helping people. An