In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo sits down with a multi-million dollar a year dental practice owner operating in a typical PPO-heavy market. Dr. Mike's no-BS approach breaks down what actually drives growth inside a practice.

At first, it sounds like a straightforward conversation.

Production per visit. Case acceptance. Hygiene performance. Scheduling discipline.

But as the discussion unfolds, there’s a level of clarity… and consistency… that feels different.

Not theoretical. Not polished. Just… unusually precise.

The kind of perspective that makes you stop and think:

Why don’t more practices operate this way?

If you’ve ever felt like your practice should be producing more with the patients you already have, or that something in your system just isn’t clicking, this conversation will challenge the way you think about growth.

Listen closely.

Every dental practice invests time and money trying to attract new patients.

But what if one of the biggest growth opportunities in your practice isn’t marketing at all?

What if it’s simply answering the phone?

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo explores one of the most overlooked revenue leaks in modern dentistry: missed calls.

Research shows that up to 40% of business calls go unanswered, and dental practices are no exception. Yet when a potential patient calls your office, that moment often represents $3,000–$7,000 in lifetime patient value. If the phone rings and no one answers, the patient usually moves on to the next practice.

Dr. Grillo breaks down the Missed Call Revenue Leak Model, showing how even a small percentage of missed calls can quietly cost practices tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why the phone has become the true front door of the modern dental practice
• The real lifetime value of a new patient, and why most dentists underestimate it
• How missed calls quietly drain revenue without showing up on your reports
• Why many practices think they have a marketing problem when they actually have a capture problem
• Practical solutions, including two you probably haven't tried that ensure every opportunity is handled

If you want to understand one of the fastest ways to improve the economics of your practice without adding more dentistry to your schedule, this episode will change how you think about the ringing phone.

Because sometimes the biggest growth opportunity in dentistry isn’t finding more patients.

It’s making sure someone answers when they call.

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo sits down with Dr. Eric Nelson to unpack the emotional labor of dentistry, the invisible workload that comes from treating anxious, fearful, and vulnerable patients all day while still needing to perform with precision.

They break down why many dentists don’t burn out because they don’t care… they burn out because they care too deeply without the tools to protect their nervous system. Dr. Nelson shares the framework behind his CE course The Compassion Equation, including the critical difference between empathy (absorbing emotion) and compassion (caring with boundaries), how mirror neurons and stress chemistry can hijack decision-making, and simple in-the-moment resets that help clinicians stay calm, present, and sustainable over decades.

This isn’t a “wellness” chat. It’s a conversation about performance, longevity, and leadership—built for real clinical life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What “emotional labor” looks like in dentistry and why it’s uniquely intense

• The empathy vs. compassion reframe that prevents emotional depletion

• How stress impacts the prefrontal cortex and clinical decision-making

• Practical boundary language that preserves care without carrying outcomes

• Simple between-patient resets (breathwork + movement) for busy days

• Habits that protect the long game—physically and emotionally

Bonus: Dr. Nelson’s CE course The Compassion Equation: Sustaining Empathy Without Burnout in Dentistry offers 2 free CE credits. Find it HERE: https://ce.methodpro.com/course/the-compassion-equation-dentistry

If you’ve been feeling exhausted, irritable, numb, or “on edge” after work and can’t quite explain why—this episode will give you language, clarity, and a path forward.

Subscribe for more clinician-to-clinician conversations on leadership, profitability, and building a sustainable career in dentistry.