The Authentic Dentist

🙌 Exciting Episode Alert!  Join hosts Shawn Zajas and Allison House as they dive into the world of high performance and uncover actionable insights that have propelled Olympic weightlifter Sarah Davis. Discover the power of quality sleep in unlocking peak performance.  Learn how Sarah's disciplined sleep routine contributes to her growth and recovery, setting the stage for success in every area of life. 

Building Trust Through Micro Transactions: Ted Lasso Leadership Lessons for Authentic Dental PracticeIn a world where dental practice leadership often focuses on metrics and management techniques, what if the secret to building an extraordinary team culture lay in something much simpler—and much more profound? In the latest episode of The Authentic Dentist Podcast, Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas explore the concept of "microtransactions of trust," drawing powerful leadership lessons from the hit series Ted Lasso that every authentic dental practice should embrace.The Power of Authentic Vulnerability in Dental LeadershipOne of the most striking moments in the episode comes when Dr. House admits to struggling with dental practice leadership during her first decade. "The first 10 years of my practice, I just did a terrible job of it," she shares candidly. "I wasn't confident in myself, and so I didn't want to share that I was struggling."This vulnerability isn't weakness—it's the foundation of authentic dental marketing and genuine team connection. When dental professionals try to maintain a perfect facade, they miss opportunities to build the trust that creates extraordinary dental team culture building.Finding Your Authentic Voice in DentistryThe hosts emphasize a crucial principle: authentic leadership must align with who you truly are. As discussed in the episode, "It has to be a playbook that starts off with who you are. I don't think you could take that page out of someone else's playbook, if it wasn't in alignment with who I am."This insight is particularly relevant for dentists seeking authentic leadership development. Too often, dental professionals try to emulate leadership styles that don't match their authentic selves, leading to exhaustion and disconnection from their teams.Micro Transactions of Trust: Small Actions, Big ImpactThe concept of "microtransactions of trust" offers a practical framework for dental practice team development. These aren't grand gestures or expensive team-building exercises—they're the small, consistent actions that demonstrate integrity, vulnerability, and genuine care.Examples of Trust-Building Microtransactions:Honest Communication About Struggles: When Dr. House experiences inconsistent energy levels, she addresses it directly with her team, acknowledging her human moments rather than pretending perfection.Ethical Decision-Making: The hosts share powerful examples of choosing integrity even when no one is watching—from returning unearned charges to acknowledging mistakes openly.Transparent Goal-Setting: Dr. House's annual team meetings at her home, where personal and professional goals are shared openly, create a culture of mutual investment and growth.The Ethics Foundation of Sustainable SuccessA particularly compelling segment explores how ethical decision-making serves as the bedrock of dental practice authenticity. The story of Kelly Zajas calling to pay for an item she received but wasn't charged for illustrates a profound truth: "Your team is always watching."This principle extends beyond business ethics to every aspect of leadership. As the hosts note, "I think your kids are always watching how you treat your parents too." The integrity we demonstrate in small moments creates the culture that defines our practices and our lives.Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Dental PracticeThe episode tackles the common challenge of overcoming imposter syndrome in dentistry. Shawn reflects on his own experience: "I thought people expected me to just be at my best all the time... me almost playing along or trying to assume that role wasn't really fooling anybody."This insight is crucial for dental professionals who feel pressure to maintain a perfect image. Authentic leadership actually comes from acknowledging our humanity while maintaining our commitment to excellence and growth.Creating Psychological Safety in Dental TeamsDrawing from Ted Lasso's approach to team building, the hosts explore how vulnerability from leadership creates dental team culture building that extends far beyond the workplace. When leaders share their struggles appropriately, they give permission for team members to be human too.This doesn't mean oversharing or making team members responsible for a leader's emotional well-being. Instead, it means modeling the kind of authentic, growth-oriented culture where everyone can bring their best selves to work.The Authenticity Advantage in Modern DentistryIn an era where dental practice branding strategies often emphasize polish over authenticity, this episode makes a compelling case for a different approach. As one host observes, "No one's going to care about you getting to the top of the mountain if they don't know your journey."This principle applies not just to internal team dynamics but to how dental professionals show up in their communities and industry. Authentic dental marketing means letting patients and colleagues see the real person behind the pro

In this podcast episode of The Authentic Dentist, hosts Shawn Zajas and Dr. Allison House discuss how personal brands evolve over time while still staying true to who you are.  They draw examples from musicians like Meghan Trainor and Pink who have been consistent with their brand, despite evolving over time.

Join us as we discuss mental health, burnout, and the devastating reality of suicide among dentists. It's time to shed light on this important issue and start having real conversations.

In this podcast, Dr. House and Shawn discuss the importance of reassessing goals and ensuring they are scheduled in order for them to happen. They discuss their own experiences with procrastination and perfectionism, and how they have had to learn to get out of their own way.

Dr. Allison House sits down with Dr. Maestras, host of "New Dentist on The Block" podcast, to discuss her journey to becoming a dentist and the inspiration behind her new podcast. @newdentistsontheblock Dr. Maestras shares her experiences working in public health and how that led her to start a podcast that focuses on sharing the stories and experiences of new dentists.

👉Check out the latest episode of our podcast where Dr. House & Shawn interview Katie and Steve from @dental.intelligence They discuss the importance of using data analytics and goal-setting tools to improve dental practice performance.  Learn how to gather and analyze metrics like new patient growth, hygiene hours, and cancellations, and set actionable goals based on data.  With the help of Dental Intelligence software, practices can track metrics and make informed decisions about their operations.  

Dedicated sleeping implants overcomes the financial barrier, of patients who desperately need sleep treatments.  It’s a specialty Medical Group, which is unique and available in all 50 states. We have board-certified sleep physicians and board-certified oral surgeons who are on our team and they oversee and oversight, all of the cases.  

Dr. Avi Patel is a man on a mission, and his passion for dentistry is contagious. He has been making waves in the industry, and at the Voices of Dentistry conference, he caught the attention of Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas with his impressive story and personable nature. Let's take a closer look at Dr. Patel's journey and the valuable lessons he has learned along the way

Dr. Chris Majors, a dentist who graduated in 1998, spoke to Dr. Allison and Shawn at the Voices of Dentistry conference. During their conversation, Dr. Majors emphasized the importance of having margin in one's life, including emotionally, physically, and financially. Margin is the leeway space between our load and our limits, and it applies to all aspects of life. Dr. Majors stated that dentistry is not a game of volume but of margin, and spending more time with patients often leads to better dentistry. He also discussed how young dentists need permission to know that they can be successful without overworking themselves, as overworking can lead to physical and emotional breakdowns. Dr. Majors is now focused on creating a digital platform for an alternative to dental insurance and coaching both young and senior dentists on investing in people beyond their dental career. 

At the Voices of Dentistry conference, Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas met up with Dr. Richard Lowe. Dr. Lowe, has been podcasting since 2016 and he was inspired by other great podcasters in dentistry and today owns eighteen dental practices. Listen along and pick up the keys to success that he shares here.

Overjet is an artificial intelligence company that automatically analyses radiographs in real-time, with really three main goals; we want clinicians to be more confident, more accurate, and more clinically precise. So, they want to improve patient outcomes by helping clinicians evaluate the radiographs more consistently and they do that in real-time as X-rays are taken. It's a cloud-based platform, so everything lives in a browser tab, super easy to integrate.Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they explore this technology.

As a dentist you can get rich, but can you truly attain wealth? The basic form of leverage a dentist can employ is the leverage of human labor... but true wealth is now built on code and media. How can dentists use these new forms of leverage to transcend riches and become wealthy?Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they explore this topic.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they explore the challenging waters of how to deal with difficult employees. We've all had them - how do you navigate the challenge and lead your practice towards success this year in spite of difficult team members?

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they explore the recent holiday meltdown that Southwest Airlines experienced. Discover what went wrong and how you can take the lessons learned to help your dental practice grow in 2023.

Michael Dinsio is a Dental Practice Consultant and Strategist that has helped over 500 doctors start, buy, and grow their practices for almost a decade. He is a leader, Speaker, Consultant, and Advocate in the Dental Industry. Michael is the Founder & Co-Owner of Next Level Consultants where he and his team can help new dentists become owners or ready to grow an existing dental practice.  For a Free, Business Assessment reach out to him at Next Level Consultants and schedule a 45-minute call.  In Shawns interview with Michael Dinsio, we uncovered three bites of knowledge:  Creating a CEO mindset.  “In general, most dentists don’t like numbers they are clinical and money freaks them out. They have to learn how to manage the business through money and also learn how to influence people in a positive way to lead. A great leader is someone who can teach someone to be a good leader. Three levels deep...so think about how you can make your team members phenomenal leaders.” - Dinsio    2. Embracing risk is the name of the game.  Good dentistry is all risk. Business is about risk management. Risk is inevitable but your mindset must allow you to have a good relationship with risk management. “As a dentist, in someone's mouth, you don’t want to play games...but in business, you want to experiment and see what patients respond to when it comes to running your business” Zajas. “When it comes clinical be 100% but when it comes to business, fail all day long” - Dinsio.   3. Experiences for your patients have to be true and authentic. “Dentistry is a people-to-people business, every 15 minutes in a dental office is crazy...but the reality is, if you’re not creating experiences with the people that are walking through your door, then you are treating them like cattle...fake smiles, everyone is pleasant but if you aren’t creating experiences for your patient, you’re not growing, your kind of existing and need to really make impacts with the people that you’re serving” - Dinsio. “Dentistry is in the business of dealing with people. If your patients are opening up their mailbox and see the rock bottom specials from other dentists in the hood, that is probably working with an agency to break patient loyalty...if you are a commodity to them then lowest price wins. But if they think of the face of the hygienists, dentist, and they feel a connection and feel engaged, and have a sense of belonging... then they aren’t going anywhere” - Zajas   Dinsio thinks “the future of dentistry is all about the private practice...making a personal touch, that compassion, the communication, the community” this is what is going to set you apart from the corporate dental companies and private practice.  We would love to know your thoughts and encourage your feedback on this podcast and what else you would like to hear about in dentistry.   For more interviews and ideas to grow your dental practice, connect with us at myzana.com or email us at [email protected].  Connect with Michael DinsioConnect on Instagram: @nxlevelconsultantsConnect on Facebook: Next Level ConsultantsConnect on YouTube: Next Level Consultantshttps://www.nxlevelconsultants.comConnect with ZanaConnect on Instagram: @zanadentalConnect on Facebook: ZanadentalConnect on YouTube: Zanahttps://myzana.com/

Ever struggled with a bad mindset that held you back from the success you wanted in Dentistry? How about one that was flat out embarrassing? Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they share the embarrassing mindsets that they've personally struggled with in their pursuit of excellence in both dentistry and business.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they discuss the current recession and how to recession proof your practice.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they share some of the unique benefits they've both personally received from having a business coach. Let's face it, Dentistry is challenging, especially building and growing your own practice. In this episode you'll discover that a coach does more than just provide accountability, they will help you uncover foundational aspects of running your dental practice that may not even be on your grid.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they share all about how to create an indemnity group, a great safety net for your dental practice.Ever wondered what would happen to your practice if you personally experienced a negative health event that caused a short term disability? What do you do with all of the scheduled patients that you are legally required to treat if you aren't able to treat them? Listen to this podcast to discover one of the greatest safety nets you can create for your practice!

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they discuss the ethics of Dentistry and share a specific and current case study in Dr. Houses practice.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they share about the struggle that dentists encounter when faced with unfair 1-star reviews from Google or Yelp.Has the power shifted too much in favor of the patient? If you've been wrongfully reviewed, what are your options?Check out this episode as Allison and Shawn explore these questions and more.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn as they discuss the technology you absolutely must embrace in Dentistry today - and enjoy their candid discussion about some of the challenges that come with it.

Join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they explore the value of your team and leadership lessons from the hit show Ted Lasso.

You have goals. Very ambitious goals, not just for this year, but also beyond. How to you not only set out to achieve those goals, but incorporate strategic learning paths to set yourself up for sustainable success in your career.Listen as Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas share insights on how to set and achieve goals that are worth pursuing - so you can climb the right mountain that has both success and fulfillment.

In this episode of The Authentic Dentist podcast, join Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas as they interview special guest Dr. Jessica Metcalfe, who is The Alchemist Dentist. Listen and get inspired as Dr. Metcalfe shares her story of burnout and depression as a dentist that eventually led her to create The Alchemist Dentist, which is on a mission to empower dentists to overcome the challenges of burnout, perfectionism and depression.

Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas discuss not only how to avoid burnout, but also how to recognize if you are headed for burnout in your personal and professional life. Enjoy this candid and vulnerable discussion about a challenge that all of us achievers have to learn to overcome.

In this episode of The Authentic Dentist, Shawn and Allison have a special guest on the show – Allison’s long-time friend and mentor, Steve Anderson. Steve helps kickstart practices and guides practice owners on how to be the best at what they do! Listen in as Allison and Shawn talk with Steve and pick his brain on this episode of The Authentic Dentist podcast.

Implementing change of any kind, whether it be new software, a new profession, or even a new lifestyle can be slow, painful, and daunting. However, not allowing yourself to grow and change can be detrimental to your success.In this episode of The Authentic Dentist podcast, Shawn and Dr. House talk about how change can be scary, but how vital it is to your practice’s growth. Listen to their real stories about how they were faced with decisions to either change or remain the same, and how their decisions took them to new heights!

What does it take to level up personally and professionally? How important is coaching to you and your practice?We all have gifts and strengths that we can play on and excel at. However, it takes focus, effort and discipline. Having a coach who is 30 levels higher than you in a specific area is incredibly valuable, whether it’s in the realm of marriage, finances, physical health, or anything else.What does it look like to be coached? What does it look like to be a coach? Join Shawn and Dr. House today as they talk about their personal experiences with coaching and how much it has benefited them on this episode of The Authentic Dentist!

In the last episode, Shawn and Allison talk about how Tom Brady cultivated the right mental attitude, and how he focused on key fundamentals which contributed to his success.In this episode, Shawn and Allison talk about how he brings these same traits to his team. When his team was in conflict with each other, it showed in their performance. After buckling down and taking corrective action, they saw improvement every single time.Tune in today and learn how you can take your office to a whole new level!

What are the mindsets, habits and lifestyles of winners? Success leaves clues, and on this episode of The Authentic Dentist, Shawn and Dr. Allison talk about the one and only, the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady!From starting off as a nobody to winning his 7th Superbowl, Tom focused on key fundamentals which launched him to being one of the greatest players in football history – and he’s still going!Learn how you can apply the same principles as Tom Brady in order to take your practice to a whole new level!

In this episode of The Authentic Dentist, Shawn and Dr. House dive into the importance of tracking finances and understanding profit and loss for your company.It’s important to remember that in order to keep a practice afloat, finances must be utilized efficiently and effectively – and it doesn’t need to be hard!From setting up simple budgets to allocating a certain percentage of profits, Shawn and Dr. House talk about how they manage their finances and how you can too!

In this special episode of The Authentic Dentist podcast, Shawn and Dr. Allison give you a game plan that you can use to give an outstanding annual team meeting! They discuss 5 things to implement in your meeting, as well as give you real examples from their years of experience! What should you say? How do you approach certain topics? What expectations should you set?Shawn and Allison answer all of these and more in this episode. Listen, learn and lead your practice to greater heights!

How do you remain professional when tragedy happens in your life? Where do you draw the line of communicating with your team or Choosing to still show up to work?Tragedy happens to all of us, regardless of our profession. It’s an unspoken rule that when tragedy strikes, it’s okay to step back and respond to it accordingly. However, when facing tragedy becomes reality to us, we don’t always know the appropriate way to respond even if it seems simple.In this episode of The Authentic Dentist podcast, Shawn and Allison talk about their experiences with tragedy, how they handled their individual circumstances, what they learned, and what they could have done better. Join us today and get an inside glimpse of how real professionals handled real tragedy.

In today’s episode of The Authentic Podcast, Shawn Zajas and Dr. Allison House, DMD, talk about “The Missing Piece”, what that looked like in their lives, and what it might look like in yours.The events of 2020 caused many people to step up in ways that they never had to before, which proved to be beneficial in many ways. From a simple code saving 10 hours a week to picking up extra administrative work outside of the typical Dental Professional’s job, Shawn and Allison talk about how excited people were to step into new responsibilities.In order for a muscle to grow, it must undergo stress. 2020 has been a year full of unbelievable stress. Now we are beginning to see unbelievable growth.

In this episode of The Authentic Dentist, Allison shares a story of her friend, Jessica. Jessica is a world-class athlete who was invited to go to the Colorado Olympic Weightlifting Training Center. Along the way, she was faced with a choice; she had to decide if she was going to just be a fan of the other world-class athletes there or if she was going to become one herself. The story tells of a shift in mindset, and how crucial it was for her to decide before she became.Shawn and Allison dive into the power of decision and how crucial it is to see success in any area of life, particularly in the realm of dentistry. From running Track and Field to stepping into the role of presidency for the Arizona Dental Association, they discuss how making a decision led them to see greater success and share their stories of the journey along the way.

Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas are back with another noteworthy episode. In this episode, they discuss the three things you can do to prepare for an extraordinary 2021.  Write a patient letter. Include oral care regimens related to overall health and immunity. Start gathering data for your 1st of year meeting. What kind of things do you want to do for your practice to grow it?  Take time to reflect on how you can be at your best. What are some little things you can do on a daily basis that will make you feel healthy? Amidst a pandemic, it can be difficult to stay motivated and easy to lose sight of what’s important and necessary to have a successful practice. Shawn and Allison talk about how to take adversity and turn it into a productive asset, as well as the importance of your health and how it directly affects your performance and practice.  

Right now more than ever, dental professionals have found themselves at a crossroad. Is this the time to keep moving forward and doing business-as-usual, or amidst this current pandemic, is the timing right for a career pivot?Join Allison and Shawn as they interview Tonya Lanthier, founder of DentalPost, and hear her remarkable journey from Hygienist to Founder of an employment staffing company with nationwide impact in Dentistry. Learn from Tonya as she shares about her early childhood and the events that shaped her to be the influencer that she is today. Also, tune in as she shares the mindset necessary to create value in Dentistry today!For more information about what Tonya does, visit https://www.dentalpost.net/.

If you ever struggle with feeling like you aren't enough or feeling the tendency to hide or be timid about your strengths - chances are you could grow in authenticity! Join Allison and Shawn as they explore what authenticity is and why it's the most important strategy for success in your dental practice today!

In this episode Allison and Shawn share how to find the new opportunities that exist because of the recent shifts in Dentistry. Not only will discovering these areas for growth help your practice thrive, but they will also equip you personally with mindsets to overcome any challenging situation or season.

Things have changed. The normal we've all been accustomed to before the pandemic isn't coming back. Some of your team may not have come back.Join Allison and Shawn as they discuss how to reimagine your team for this new era of Dentistry.

We are all living out a story... a personal narrative that greatly affects our day-in-and-day-out decisions and outlook. In this podcast, listen as Allison and Shawn share about how to challenge your current narrative and change it so you can overcome!

Join Allison and Shawn as they discuss the importance of rediscovering your passion for dentistry and how to elevate your presence in your practice to connect authentically with your patients.

For many Dentists around the country, the new normal is here. However it's not easily defined, as it's in a constant state of evolution. More than ever, Dentists are faced with the challenge of constant adaptation as they must learn to trust their professional judgement to be a guide during these unclear times.Join Allison and Shawn as they discuss some of the challenges in the new normal and some of the best ways Dentists can face these challenges to setup their practice for success.

The "new normal" either is upon you, or will be shortly depending upon where you live. The fallout from COVID-19 is real, and can be real scary because of the uncertainty that is shrouding dentistry.How do you rebuild what has been broken? In this episode, Allison and Shawn encourage listeners to not cling to what dentistry was, but rather to reimagine a new era of dentistry that can be more fulfilling than ever.

Many states where shelter and place orders have been issued are lifting the ban and allowing dental practices to get ushered into the "new" normal.What will it be like trying to reopen your practice? What about your employees that are scared to be around patients? In today's podcast with Labor Law expert Denise Blommel, Allison and Shawn explore these topics and what to do about the PPP loan.

Difficult conversations with employees or those close to you are always a challenge. That was before the current crisis. COVID-19 has created an environment ripe for miscommunication at a time when clear communication is more important than ever.Listen as Allison House DMD and Shawn Zajas share some tips from their experience and business best practices, about how you can enhance your communication during this crisis.

If you are like most dentists right now, you want Dentistry to return to normal... the way it was before COVID-19. But that normal may never return.Join Allison House DMD and Shawn Zajas as they discuss the opportunity for innovation amidst the current crisis, and the mindset you need to be ready for the new era in Dentistry.

Are you wondering what your options might be financially as you try and defer payments and survive during this crisis? Listen as Allison House DMD and Shawn Zajas interview banker Ryan Parker from Midfirst Bank - and share what your best options are right now to overcome the current financial challenges in your practice.