What would actually change in your practice… if someone with fresh eyes took it over tomorrow?

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo breaks down exactly what he would do in the first 30 days of owning a dental practice; no fluff, no theory, just real-world execution.

From hidden production leaks to underperforming hygiene systems, weak case acceptance, and inefficient schedules, most practices aren’t broken. They’re leaving massive opportunity on the table. The problem is, these gaps are often invisible to the doctor living in it every day.

This episode walks through a clear, week-by-week plan to uncover what’s really happening inside your practice and fix the issues that are quietly costing you growth, profitability, and time.

If you’ve ever felt busy but not as productive or profitable as you should be… this will hit home.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most practices misdiagnose their real problem
• Where $300K–$1M in lost production is hiding
• How to immediately improve hygiene performance and diagnosis
• The biggest breakdowns in case acceptance and follow-up
• What separates a full schedule from a truly productive one

This isn’t about working harder or chasing more new patients.

It’s about fixing what’s already there, and finally running your practice like a CEO.

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.

Artificial intelligence is not coming to dentistry. It is already here. And it is quietly reshaping how patients search, think, and choose their dental providers.

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo explores one of the most important shifts facing dental practice owners today: the rise of AI as the new gatekeeper of patient decision-making. Search engines are evolving into answer engines. Patients form opinions before they visit your website. And zero-click results are changing the rules of dental marketing.

Dr. Grillo breaks down the implications for private practices, groups, and emerging DSOs. He explains why traditional SEO is no longer sufficient, how AI-driven summaries influence trust, and why practices must rethink their digital authority to remain visible in an AI-powered healthcare landscape.

You will learn:

• Why “dentist near me” searches have surged over the last decade and why that trend is now evolving
• How AI-generated answers are reducing website traffic and reshaping patient behavior
• What zero-click search means for your new patient flow
• Why authority and trust signals matter more than ever in healthcare
• The dual-layer strategy every dental CEO should implement: education plus local conversion
• How Gen Z and younger millennials are changing expectations around elective dentistry

This episode is not about hype. It is about strategy.

If you are a dentist, practice owner, or dental executive who wants to stay competitive in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace, this conversation will help you think differently about visibility, credibility, and long-term positioning.

Because in modern dentistry, it is not just about being found. It is about being trusted before the first click.

Subscribe to CEO Chairside for strategic insights on leadership, profitability, and the future of dental practice growth with Dr. Greg Grillo.

How does a “regular” dentist build a thriving, people-first practice in just a few years? In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo talks with Dr. Karl McMillan of Honest Care Dental about his journey from treating underserved communities in Harlem, to practicing in Hawaii, to launching a fast-growing, comprehensive practice in Salem, New Hampshire.

Dr. McMillan shares how authenticity, intentional patient experience, and a grounded philosophy of care shaped Honest Care Dental’s rapid growth. They discuss practice culture, systems, community connection, and what today’s patients really expect from a modern dentist.

A must-listen for dentists who want real-world insight into building a successful practice rooted in trust and humanity.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday practice in dentistry. Many dentists are already using tools such as ChatGPT and other AI platforms to answer questions, clean up notes, analyze data, and make faster decisions.

But here’s the problem: just because AI gives a good answer doesn’t mean it understands your practice, or that it was built for healthcare at all.

In this solo episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo takes a deeper look at the growing use of generic AI in dentistry and the risks most practice owners don’t realize they’re taking. From HIPAA considerations and data privacy to AI tools being integrated directly into practice management systems, this conversation explores how good intentions can quietly lead to exposure.

Dr. Grillo explains why consumer-grade AI tools are not designed for personalized dental expertise, why “removing patient names” doesn’t eliminate compliance risk, and why practices need to understand the difference between AI that simply answers questions and AI engineered to function as a true advisor in healthcare.

This episode also explores emerging trends in dental AI, real-world operational risks, and why today's leadership should be intentional about the technology they allow into their practice.

If you’re a dentist, practice owner, or dental leader navigating AI, or thinking about using it, this episode will help you slow down, ask better questions, and make smarter decisions before convenience creates consequences.

Subscribe to CEO Chairside for thoughtful conversations on leadership, profitability, technology, and what it really takes to run a successful dental practice in a rapidly changing world.

What actually drives sustainable growth in a dental practice?
Not hacks. Not trends. And not more chaos.

In this episode of CEO Chairside, Dr. Greg Grillo sits down with Rachel Marks to unpack what real growth looks like from the inside out—through leadership, systems, and execution that actually work in the day-to-day reality of dentistry.

Rachel brings a rare depth of hands-on experience. She began her career in dentistry at age 16, went on to help lead a 19-office group practice, trained more than 500 dental teams, and served as a founding team member and Chief Growth Officer at Swiss Monkey. Her perspective is grounded, practical, and shaped by years spent in real dental offices—not theory.

Together, Dr. Grillo and Rachel explore what separates thriving practices from those that feel perpetually busy but stuck. They discuss why marketing alone doesn’t create growth, where most practices unknowingly leak profit, how leadership and operations must align, and what high-performing teams consistently do differently.

This conversation marks Rachel’s introduction as a new member of the Method Pro team and highlights why her operations-first lens pairs naturally with Dr. Grillo’s dentist-coach approach. It’s an honest, insightful discussion for practice owners, office managers, and leaders who want clarity instead of complexity.

If you’re navigating growth, team dynamics, or the pressure of scaling a dental practice, this episode will resonate.

Subscribe to CEO Chairside for real conversations about leadership, profitability, and what it actually takes to build a practice that works—for patients, teams, and doctors alike.