Thomas Passalacqua, Director of Business Development at The Smilist

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Episode: Thomas Passalacqua, Director of Business Development at The Smilist

Date: August 31, 2025
Host: Ariana Portolattin
Guest: Thomas Passalacqua

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth discussion with Thomas Passalacqua, Director of Business Development at The Smilist, a rapidly growing dental service organization (DSO) in the Northeast. Thomas shares insights from his multifaceted background in education, sales, and executive coaching, offering perspectives on the biggest issues affecting the dental industry in 2025, strategies for building company culture, the impact of new technologies like AI, and qualities needed for effective healthcare leadership in a time of ongoing change.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thomas Passalacqua’s Background and Role

[00:14 - 02:07]

• Thomas is the Director of Business Development at The Smilist, which has about 115 dental practices across several Northeastern states.
• Previously worked as a teacher (with a master’s in education) and as a successful dental device sales rep, later mentoring other sales professionals.
• His role centers on sales, marketing, and acquisitions: connecting with dental practices and educating them about The Smilist’s partnership model.

2. Major Industry Challenges in 2025

[02:07 - 03:42]

• Financial Market Uncertainty:
  “Interest rates have not really come down so that has been a challenge for spending acquisition dollars and structuring that offer to where we have a lot of capital to play with.” – Thomas [02:18]
• Staffing & Retention:
  • Continued pressure on compensation and demand for workplace flexibility.
  • Retention and recruitment remain challenging despite improved internal strategy.
  • Quote: “Making sure that we're trying to build a very strong company culture to retain staff, but also find and engage with high quality, skilled clinicians and support staff…” – Thomas [02:47]

3. Building and Maintaining Positive Work Culture

[03:42 - 05:30]

• The Smilist maintains a “partnership model,” keeping leading doctors as visible practice faces post-acquisition.
• Practices retain existing culture, with The Smilist enhancing operations and administration rather than imposing major cultural changes.
• Incentives for staff and doctors: career development opportunities, internal advancement pathways (including for hygienists).
• Quote: “We really do rely on the practice leaders, the staff that are there, to kind of continue to endure the culture that's already in place prior to affiliation.” – Thomas [04:22]

4. Industry Excitement & Anxiety: Technology and Markets

[05:30 - 07:34]

• Excitement: Rapid technological innovation, especially AI in dental imaging and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM).
  • The Smilist is early-adopting AI in clinical and administrative processes.
  • Quote: “Every year, if not every few months, there seems to be a shift in technology. Obviously AI is the latest and greatest...” – Thomas [05:41]
• Anxiety: Ongoing unpredictability in financial markets, uncertain outlook for the next year due to political and economic conditions.
  • Quote: “Just with the political climate and the financial climate, it's really hard to predict where things are going to be in three, six, nine months.” – Thomas [06:40]

5. Leadership Mindset in Times of Uncertainty

[07:34 - 09:25]

• Thomas emphasizes focusing on controllable factors (attitude, relationships, mission-focus).
  • Staying resilient and “future-forward,” not letting temporary difficulties derail progress.
  • Quote: “Focusing on the aspects you can control...My attitude towards business development, the ability to engage with high quality doctors...Every climate, every season is temporary.” – Thomas [08:05]
• Renewed attention to both inorganic (acquisitions) and organic (supporting current practices) growth.

6. Influence of Diverse Professional Experience

[09:25 - 10:41]

• Underlying passion for empowering and serving others, originating from teaching and coaching experience.
  • Quote: “A common theme that I always had throughout my career was helping others...If I can pay it forward with anyone I interact with, then I'm succeeding as a professional.” – Thomas [09:44]

7. Keys to Effective Healthcare Leadership

[10:41 - 11:41]

• Importance of embracing change—“the only consistency is change.”
• Organizations must remain nimble, flexible, and aligned from leadership down to support staff.
• Quote: “The only consistent aspect we can expect is things will change. So being nimble enough...to adjust, staying ahead of those challenges and try to set up your company and set up your business model so you can navigate change...” – Thomas [10:54]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ongoing industry challenges:
  “Interest rates have not really come down so that has been a challenge for spending acquisition dollars...” – Thomas [02:18]

• On culture and partnership model:
  “We still want them [doctors] to be the face of the practice, we still want the doctors to engage with their staff as the leader of the practice.” – Thomas [04:11]

• On technology and innovation:
  “It's just amazing of how quickly [AI] came on...and what challenges it can provide solutions for. Specifically on the RCM and insurance side, I think that's really, really unique.” – Thomas [06:09]

• On mindset for uncertainty:
  “Focusing on the aspects you can control...Every climate, every season is temporary.” – Thomas [08:05]

• Guidance for future leaders:
  “The only consistency is change.” – Thomas [10:52]

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Suggested Listening Timestamps

• Thomas’s personal and professional background ([00:14–02:07])
• Major challenges in the dental industry ([02:07–03:42])
• The Smilist’s approach to culture and attracting talent ([03:42–05:30])
• Excitement and nervousness about the future: tech and finance ([05:30–07:34])
• Leadership mindset during unpredictable times ([07:34–09:25])
• Building on experience from other fields ([09:25–10:41])
• Keys to successful future healthcare leadership ([10:41–11:41])

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Conclusion

This episode delivers concise, real-world insights into the state of dental practice management, highlighting both opportunities (tech innovation, internal talent development) and persistent challenges (economic pressure, staffing). Thomas Passalacqua’s perspectives, rooted in his multi-disciplinary experience, reinforce the value of cultural alignment, flexibility, and servant leadership in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, this is Ariana Portolattin with the Becker's Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Thomas Pasalacua, the Director of Business Development at the Smylst. Thomas, thank you so much for being here today. It's great to have you here.

[B]

Thanks Arianna, Great to be here too.

[A]

To start us off can you introduce yourself for our listeners and tell us a little bit about your background?

[B]

Sure, Happy to, yeah. So I am Thomas with the Smilist. Smileyst is a fairly fast growing and large DSO based out of New York and currently we have just about 115 practices that we own and manage between a few states in the Northeast. I've been with the company just about four years now and my role there as the Director of Business Development is really kind of the front end of our sales and marketing for acquisitions and I lead our sales strategy and market approach for connecting with all the fantastic practices that are in that Northeast market and educate them on what the SMILAS is doing, our philosophy and engaging with those doctors and educating them on, you know, what a partnership with us might look like. I have a sales and education background. I have been a teacher years ago, that's where I started my career. I have a master's in education and taught for a number of years throughout New York City but then segued into sales and was a fairly successful sales rep for a dental manufacturing company through New York City city and did fairly well there and navigated the challenge with COVID and you know, the territory shut down but was able to successfully manage growing that, that, that region and then started training and mentoring other sales reps as well. So I, I do have some experience with you know, education, sales training, executive coaching but, but more relevant to the smilist, the sales and marketing for our outbound approach for acquisitions.

[A]

Great, super interesting to hear about your background there. Thank you for sharing that first question here. What are some of the biggest issues that you're following in the dental industry this year?

[B]

Sure, yeah. The biggest concerns I think that many of us will agree upon is just the financial market. Interest rates have not really come down so that has been a challenge for spending acquisition dollars and structuring that offer to where we have a lot of capital to play with. So it has been definitely a challenge to navigate that dynamic. Secondly, staffing still seems to be a little bit of a challenge generally depending on what region you're in but you know, compensation cost has went up, staff demands a little bit more flexibility, turnover and staff Attrition is always a concern. So making sure that we're trying to build a very strong company culture to retain staff, but also find and engage with, you know, high quality, skilled, you know, clinicians and support staff to bring into the practices. One, one thing that we have navigated fairly well was building out a robust recruitment team and recruitment strategy. So we were able to kind of navigate that challenge a bit. But nonetheless it still definitely is a challenge with, you know, finding and retaining high quality staff, you know, where the salary demand is a bit of a challenge as well.

[A]

Yeah, super interesting there. I know. Culture and fostering a positive work culture at companies has been one of the most reliable solutions and successful solutions that companies have seen really work to attract and retain staff. Can you tell me a little bit more about what's some of the changes that have been made at the Smile list, what your culture is like, some of the things that you've been doing there to help attract talent?

[B]

Sure, yeah, great question. So we still have a very much a partnership model when it comes to how we are aligned in philosophy with our leading doctors who sell their practice with us. So we keep them on long term. We still want them to be the face of the practice, we still want the doctors to engage with their staff as the leader of the practice. We only want to enhance the practice where operationally and administratively it makes sense. We don't really want to adjust the culture in that, in that environment. So we really do rely on the practice leaders, the staff that are there to kind of continue to endure the culture that's already in place prior to affiliation. But we also have some great incentives for our staff and partner doctors where there's opportunities to train and mentor other staff members, managers to help monitor and manage other practices. So there are some career development opportunities as well as some internal pathways to move up within the company for hygienists to get more opportunities as well. So the Smilos is trying to build out that really supportive culture and opportunities for career advancement within the company as well.

[A]

Amazing. Thank you. I'm also curious, what are you most excited about when it comes to dentistry right now and what makes you nervous about the industry?

[B]

Yeah, two really interesting questions. Most excited, probably how innovative dentistry really is. Every year, if not every few months, there seems to be a shift in technology. Obviously AI is the latest and greatest, and it seemed that it came out of nowhere, but it's now. There's a few months of experience and a couple of years of application. So we're really seeing what the potential benefit of these AI platforms can do specifically on the RCM side is really, really exciting. Obviously clinical diagnosing and imaging is fantastic and the smilyst is including some of those processes and some of those services within our company as well. Like we're very cutting edge so we're staying on top of all the advancements but it's just amazing of how quickly it came on the experience the industry has gained so far and where it can go and what challenges it can provide solutions for. Specifically on the RCM and insurance side, I think that's really, really unique. What makes us nervous is the unpredictable financial market. We're halfway through this year already and there's been some stability in interest rates but just with the political climate and the financial climate it's really hard to predict where things are going to be in three, six, nine months a year. So navigating how we are balancing A P and L, how we are structuring acquisitions and spending money is definitely a challenge and I know we're not unique in that and many businesses and companies are struggling to find that stability as well.

[A]

Yeah, super interesting that you mentioned that. I know there's been so much going on this year, a lot of changes and back and forth just in the political climate and the financial market as well as you mentioned for someone in your background and in your role at the Smilist when there's so many changes in back and forth, how do you like, what's your mindset? How are you tracking all of these changes and what's really your approach to your day to day work when you don't exactly know what you're going to, what your day is going to look like and what decisions are going to be made.

[B]

Yeah, great question. For me in my perspective it's focusing on the aspects you can control so I can control the conversations I'm having. My attitude towards business development, the ability to engage with high quality doctors, really kind of narrowing down on what's my core mission, what's the core goal? Focusing on building really good relationships and understanding that every climate, every season is temporary. So we'll eventually get through this just like we have in the past and other difficult times. So how are you seeing past it and not allowing the temporary moment to derail you. So being future forward, thinking about your ultimate goals, controlling the conversations, controlling your attitudes and your mindset and thinking positively. So shifting to a positive mindset and solution oriented mindset has really helped and for the Smilist it's continuing to engage with really High quality doctors, but also going to our core mission of really supporting and developing our current practices. And we've put a lot of effort into that this year to making sure that not only we're growing really well inorganically, but our organic growth and our organic support is very, very strong.

[A]

Great advice there. Thank you so much. It's semi related question but I know you mentioned earlier your background in executive coaching, education, sales, very diverse background. Is there anything that you take from your past roles in those other industries into your work with the smilist?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I think a common theme that I always had throughout my career was helping others. Whether that's, you know, in a classroom, helping other sales reps, navigating challenges, helping an executive to, you know, find solutions, or helping doctors, you know, find a higher platform to build their practice on. It's really empowering other people. And I feel like that's kind of an internal drive for me of helping other people, helping those around me. If I can pay it forward with anyone I interact with, then I'm succeeding as a professional. So personally, professionally something that resonates with me is really helping other people find solutions and navigating challenges. So I'm here to serve here, to help and really trying to leave a positive impact on everyone I interact with.

[A]

Okay, great, great conversation so far. We have one more question here. What will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the next two to three years?

[B]

Yeah, I think trying to stay on top of the change. Right. One, one kind of mantra I heard this year was the only consistency is change. Right. The only consistent aspect we can expect is things will change. So being nimble enough and flexible enough to adjust, staying ahead of, ahead of those challenges and try to set up your company and set up your business model so you can navigate change, you can navigate when things get difficult. Your leadership team is very much aligned in the goals, your support staff understand the changes and understand what the mission really is. So alignment is a really big endeavor, is making sure that the company is fully aligned top to bottom.

[A]

Great advice there, but that's all I have here today. Thomas, thank you so much for joining us today. It was a great conversation. It's been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to connecting with you again in the future.

[B]

Yeah, that was very exciting, thank you so much.