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The Doctor Avi Show

The Doctor Avi Show

Avi Patel 9 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

Hosted by Dr. Avi Patel, this podcast brings together DSO leaders, solo practice owners, associates, and industry innovators to discuss what's working in modern dentistry. Topics include growth, retention, burnout, leadership, and influence. The show aims to provide honest conversations about the evolving profession and how to position oneself for success.

Episodes

Why Dentists Think DSOs Are Bad, and What Actually Makes One Good | Dr. Garg
Why Dentists Think DSOs Are Bad, and What Actually Makes One Good | Dr. Garg Aug 20, 2026 00:22:04 Dr. Garg spent 12 years as a dental attending at Bronx Care, running one of the hospital's satellite clinics. Then she left academia for a DSO. Five years later, she is still there.That is not a common story. Most dentists do not stay in one group that long.In this conversation, Dr. Garg walks through why she made the move, how she picked the organization, and what she looked for in the interv
How to Scale a Dental Practice Like a Real Business | Matt Coggin
How to Scale a Dental Practice Like a Real Business | Matt Coggin Aug 12, 2026 01:11:00 Matt Coggin did not come up through dentistry. He came up fixing businesses.He spent most of his career on mergers, integrations, and go-to-market work. He ran a specialty pharmaceutical business. Then he led the ortho and clear aligner businesses at Dentsply Sirona as Chief Strategy Officer. About three years ago he became CEO of Spear Education.When he looked at dental practices, he saw somethin
The Mentorship Crisis in Dentistry | Dr. Ray Scott
The Mentorship Crisis in Dentistry | Dr. Ray Scott Aug 5, 2026 00:52:20 There is a "secret handshake" in dentistry. Dentists listen more to other dentists.Dr. Ray Scott has built his whole leadership career around that truth. His job, as he learned early from a mentor, is to be the translator. He takes what is happening at the chair and explains it to the operating team. Then he takes what the business needs and explains it back to the doctors.The organizations that d
How to Buy a Dental Practice (What Nobody Warns You About) | Dr. Donnie Wiggin
How to Buy a Dental Practice (What Nobody Warns You About) | Dr. Donnie Wiggin Jul 29, 2026 00:37:32 Dr. Donnie Wiggins worked at seven practices in his first year out of residency. Then he bought his own. This is how he decided he was ready, and what he learned once the keys were in his hand.We get into the real parts of practice ownership. Why acquiring a practice means acquiring someone else's problems. How he picked a location by the type of dentistry he wanted to do and the economics of
Are DSOs Actually Bad? A Dentist Partner Responds | Dr. Kush Parikh
Are DSOs Actually Bad? A Dentist Partner Responds | Dr. Kush Parikh Jul 23, 2026 01:10:20 Dr. Kush graduated top of his class at Temple. He says his career looked almost exactly like what he pictured in dental school. In this episode we get into how that happens on purpose, not by luck.We talk about the habits underneath it. Waking up early. Treating time like the one currency you cannot get back. Surrounding yourself with different kinds of people, not just five sharks, so you grow in
She Couldn’t Practice Dentistry Anymore. Here's What Happened Next | Dr. Mariz Tanious
She Couldn’t Practice Dentistry Anymore. Here's What Happened Next | Dr. Mariz Tanious Jul 10, 2026 00:42:24 What happens when a dentist can no longer practice?In this episode of The Dr. Avi Show, Dr. Avi Patel sits down with Dr. Mariz Tanious, Chief Dental Officer at Affinity Dental, to discuss an unexpected career pivot that transformed her perspective on dentistry, leadership, and the future of DSOs.After being diagnosed with arthritis, Dr. Mariz Tanious was forced to step away from clinical dentistry
From Broke Dentist to 10 Practices | Dr. Hardik Chodavadia
From Broke Dentist to 10 Practices | Dr. Hardik Chodavadia Jun 26, 2026 00:54:37 Dr. Hardik Chodavadia co-founded Enamel Dentistry, growing it from a single startup practice with no formal business plan into a 10+ location dental group across Austin and McKinney. In this conversation, he's refreshingly honest about how much of that journey came down to timing, taking calculated risks, and what he jokingly calls a "dangerous level of lack of risk tolerance."In thi
How 25 Years at Heartland Dental Changed My Dental Career | Dr. Anna Singh
How 25 Years at Heartland Dental Changed My Dental Career | Dr. Anna Singh Jun 12, 2026 00:45:04 25 years ago Anna Singh was a new grad with no map. Today she's Senior VP of Clinical Operations at Heartland Dental, overseeing care across nearly 2,000 practices. In this episode, she breaks down the systems behind that growth: why "bread-and-butter" dentistry beats chasing big procedures, how time studies transform efficiency, why the doctor-PMO partnership makes or breaks a pract
The 3 Promises Every DSO Should Make Before You Sign | Dave Gaspar
The 3 Promises Every DSO Should Make Before You Sign | Dave Gaspar May 29, 2026 01:02:49 Dave Gaspar, CEO of Smile Partners (120+ practices), pulls back the curtain on what it actually looks like to lead a DSO without a clinical background and why that forces better decisions.In this episode, Dr. Avi and Dave break down the three promises every DSO should make before a doctor signs, why clinical autonomy is only meaningful when you're willing to sacrifice for it, and how grit — no
Why Oral Care Hasn't Innovated in 50 Years — Until Now | Gulshan Kumar
Why Oral Care Hasn't Innovated in 50 Years — Until Now | Gulshan Kumar May 15, 2026 00:49:36 What happens when a serial CPG entrepreneur meets a disrupting dentist — and they start building together? In this episode, Dr. Avi sits down with Gulshan Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Swishables, the portable mouthwash brand disrupting oral care. From his roots building Pathwater to identifying a massive white space in dental wellness, Gulshan breaks down how curiosity, strategy, and imagination d
I Built a DSO the Hard Way — Here's What I'd Do Differently | Dr. AJ Acierno
I Built a DSO the Hard Way — Here's What I'd Do Differently | Dr. AJ Acierno May 1, 2026 00:51:12 Dr. AJ Acierno built a 27-location dental group while still practicing four days a week, and he's not sugarcoating what that actually took. In this episode, he breaks down why dentistry is falling from within, what standard of care really means in today's climate, and how AI is reshaping diagnostics and accountability.He also shares the leadership lessons he learned the hard way scaling De
Hard Truths About DSOs | Brian Colao
Hard Truths About DSOs | Brian Colao Apr 17, 2026 00:54:46 Brian Colao has spent 31 years at the intersection of law and dentistry — and in that time, he's watched the DSO industry go from a misunderstood concept to the most powerful force reshaping the profession.In this episode, Brian breaks down why most dentists still don't know how to leverage technology for same-store growth, what the biggest mistake is when selling a practice (hint: it'

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