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The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

By: ACT Dental
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Summary

 Welcome to The Best Practices Show, hosted by Kirk Behrendt, founder of ACT Dental (https://www.actdental.com/) and a leader in dental practice coaching. This podcast is your gateway to discovering the hidden gems and tactics used by the most successful dental practices worldwide. At ACT Dental, we have meticulously curated strategies that have consistently proven effective in elevating dental practices. Our podcast, The Best Practices Show, extends our commitment to sharing this wealth of knowledge. Each episode features interviews with renowned dental professionals and industry leaders who have made significant strides in their practices. They share their experiences, insights, and the challenges they've overcome, offering a unique perspective that you won't find anywhere else. Why should you listen to The Best Practices Show? Whether you're a seasoned dentist, a new practice owner, or somewhere in between, this podcast is tailored to inspire and educate. Our goal is not just to provide you with information but to transform the way you think about and run your dental practice. We delve into topics ranging from advanced clinical techniques and practice management to leadership skills and personal growth. Kirk Behrendt, a respected figure in the dental community, brings his vast experience and infectious enthusiasm to each episode, making complex topics both understandable and engaging. As the CEO of ACT Dental, Kirk has helped countless dental practices thrive by focusing on holistic development - professionally, personally, and within their community. Our commitment to authenticity and practical advice sets The Best Practices Show apart. We don't just talk about theories; we dive into real-life applications you can implement immediately in your practice. Our community-centric approach means we're always listening to our audience and constantly evolving our content to meet your needs. In addition to the invaluable insights from our guests, we also provide access to exclusive resources available through ACT Dental. These resources complement the podcast topics and give you a more comprehensive understanding and practical tools to apply in your practice. By subscribing to The Best Practices Show, you're not just gaining access to a podcast; you're joining a community of like-minded professionals committed to excellence in dentistry. So, are you ready to transform your practice and be the best version of yourself? Join us on this journey, and let's grow together. Hit subscribe and never miss an episode of The Best Practices Show – where we uncover the secrets to the success of the world's best dental practices, one episode at a time. Subscribe to The Best Practices Show on Apple Podcasts Join our community and start your journey towards a more innovative, more successful dental practice today!Copyright 2017-2025. All rights reserved. Economics
Episodes
  • 1043: Don’t Lose the Why: Leading Through Service in Dentistry - Miranda Beeson

    1043: Don’t Lose the Why: Leading Through Service in Dentistry - Miranda Beeson
    May 6 2026
    Do you ever catch yourself thinking, “Why am I even doing this?” When dentistry becomes all noise—production goals, staffing issues, and nonstop mental load—it’s easy to lose your purpose and drift into burnout. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back practice coach Miranda Beeson to explain how reconnecting to service—without sacrificing yourself—restores energy, strengthens leadership, and makes the work meaningful again. You’ll learn how service applies to patients, your team, your profession, and your community, plus practical ways to re-anchor your mindset through daily habits and better language around numbers. Listen to Episode 1043 of The Best Practices Show!Main Takeaways:Dentistry is a helping profession, and burnout grows when purpose gets replaced by task-focus, noise, and transactional thinking.Service is not self-sacrifice; you have to protect boundaries and run a strong business to serve appropriately.When patients become “appointments” or “dollar signs,” fulfillment drops and emotional fatigue increases for both doctors and teams.Serving your team means creating an opportunity for financial stability, fulfillment, and development—not just expecting performance.Leadership is a mindset, not a title, and anyone can lead by showing up with an others-focused approach.Serving the profession and community through mentorship, study clubs, and giving back can restore meaning and re-energize seasoned dentists.Re-anchoring daily to purpose and gratitude helps reset mindset, improves team language around metrics, and supports healthier leadership.Snippets:00:00 Burnout And The Why01:23 Meet Coach Miranda03:02 Dentistry Noise Overload04:22 Service Fuels Purpose06:22 Serve Without Sacrifice09:06 When Service Gets Lost14:10 Serving Patients Deeply16:50 Serving Your Team20:52 Leadership Without Titles22:21 Serve Dentistry Community24:15 Community Service Mindset24:32 Mentorship Stories25:34 Giving Back Fuels Joy27:12 Keep the Fire Lit27:25 Margin and Mindsets29:07 Practical Reset Tips30:16 Purpose in Huddles31:41 Gratitude Over the Gap33:38 Reframing Numbers as Care35:03 Accountability and the Right People37:14 Final Takeaways on Service41:28 Core Purpose and Resources42:41 Podcast FarewellGuest Bio/Guest Resources:Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaBest Practices Resources:https://www.actdental.com/free-resources/Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.comSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com
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    43 mins
  • 1042: Metric Mondays: The Hidden Cost of Letting Insurance Set Your Fees - Robyn Theisen

    1042: Metric Mondays: The Hidden Cost of Letting Insurance Set Your Fees - Robyn Theisen
    May 4 2026
    Letting insurance fee schedules become your “real” fees creates bad data, bad decisions, and an unnecessary production treadmill. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt coaches with Robyn Theisen on why every practice — even PPO-heavy practices — must use a master fee schedule, bill full fees, and track adjustments correctly so you can see the true gap between UCR and contracted rates. You’ll learn how insurance-driven fees distort write-offs, inflate gross production, hide profitability, and anchor patients to allowance instead of clinical value — plus what to do today to start fixing it. Listen to Episode 1042 of The Best Practices Show!Main Takeaways:If your practice management system uses insurance fee schedules instead of a master fee schedule, your production, adjustments, and write-offs become inaccurate.Without regularly comparing UCR to contracted fees, you can’t see the true adjustment gap or make good plan-by-plan decisions.When practices bill contracted fees, gross production may look strong while net production tells a very different story.Insurance-driven fees can force doctors to produce more volume to reach the same results, creating scheduling and profitability challenges.Billing full fees and categorizing adjustments by insurance plan allows you to identify where discounts are coming from and how large they are.Getting granular with adjustment categories can reveal hidden issues, like different doctors operating under different insurance fee schedules.Auditing a small sample of EOBs weekly helps you validate whether adjustments and payments match what you think is happening.Snippets:00:01 What “the hidden cost of letting insurance set your fees” actually means.03:00 What it looks like when practices get this wrong: distorted adjustments, write-offs, and inflated gross production.05:40 Why not using a master fee schedule creates “fake news” everywhere in the practice.06:30 What it looks like when practices get it right: billing full fees and tracking adjustments by plan.08:50 How granular write-off categories reveal deeper problems — including huge write-offs and mismatched fee schedules.11:10 What you can do today: check how adjustments are entered and get more specific by insurance company.12:20 Why anchoring patients to allowances instead of clinical value hurts your practice long-term.Guest Bio/Guest Resources:Robyn Theisen brings an entire life and legacy of dental experience to the team and every team with which she works as the daughter and sister of dentists. With almost 20 years of experience in dentistry, her roles ranged from practice management to operations at Patterson Dental to coaching teams. Robyn’s passion is empowering teams to realize that they can dramatically impact the lives of the people they serve by implementing skills and systems to remove barriers to life-changing dental treatment. She has done it for decades and does it every day with dental teams.Outside of coaching, she enjoys time with her husband, Rob, and two daughters, Emerson and Ruby. She loves traveling, music, fitness, and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaUpcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.comSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com
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    15 mins
  • 1041: AI & HR for Private Dental Practices - Alan Twigg

    1041: AI & HR for Private Dental Practices - Alan Twigg
    May 1 2026
    AI is showing up everywhere in dentistry, but how far should you go with it in HR—and where does it create risk? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Alan Twigg, HR professional and leader at Bent Ericksen, to unpack practical, low-risk ways to use AI in a private dental practice, where it can backfire, and why compliance and culture still require trained human judgment. You’ll learn what AI does well today, what it gets wrong, how employees may use it against you, and how to protect your practice while staying efficient. Listen to Episode 1041 of The Best Practices Show!Main Takeaways:AI can summarize information confidently even when it is wrong, so you should not use it as a source of HR compliance guidance.Employees and patients can use AI tools to research employment and practice issues faster, increasing the need for accurate HR compliance.Using AI to write or review policies can miss common real-world scenarios and still requires significant human time to verify and maintain.AI’s default “agreeable” responses can be risky in HR decisions like termination because it may not challenge high-risk choices.Useful AI applications in HR are generally administrative or creative support, not legal interpretation or employee-relations decision-making.Culture and trust remain key differentiators for private practices, especially as larger organizations pursue efficiency through automation.The real value of technology should be freeing time for human connection, not compressing more tasks into the day.Snippets:00:00 AI is everywhere—would you use it for HR?01:00 Alan explains what he does and why HR support matters in dentistry.04:00 Kirk on “this will change everything” predictions and why trust still runs dentistry.08:00 The five Cs that differentiate humans from AI: communication, compassion, curiosity, creativity, courage.11:00 Why AI can be dangerous for HR compliance information, with real examples of errors.14:00 The Workday lawsuit and what it could mean for AI-driven hiring tools.17:00 What happens when a practice tries to use AI to build policies and procedures.22:00 How AI’s “agreeable” nature can increase risk in terminations and employee conflict.25:00 Safer, practical uses of AI: UEP drafting, appreciation ideas, and reducing admin drudgery.28:00 Five years out: efficiency vs. work intensification, and the hope for more human connection.32:00 Final cautions: don’t let AI change your vision, and don’t use it for compliance decisions.Guest Bio/Guest Resources:Alan Twigg is the president of Bent Ericksen & Associates. For over 10 years, he has guided thousands of clients and consultants through the ever-changing world of HR and employment compliance. He is a speaker, consultant, and author who is passionate about bringing education and peace of mind to such a confusing topic.As a strong proponent of symbiotic employer-employee relations, Alan is passionate about teamwork and positive work cultures, with an emphasis on long-term personnel retention and employment compliance, where his solutions-oriented outlook excels.Resources mentioned:https://bentericksen.com/More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaUpcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.comSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
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