Podcast
The Thriving Dentist Show
Hosted by Thriving Dentist Show – Takacs Learning Center · EN
The Thriving Dentist Show by Gary Takacs guides dental practice owners and dentists in creating a profitable practice with financial independence while delivering hallmark-level quality of care.
Gary's lively discussions run the gamut from eye-opening lessons for you to become successful.
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Is Your Marketing Actually Working? The Few Numbers Every Owner Should Watch
1w ago00:42:32Tap to summarizeGary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah on the five marketing numbers every dental practice should track and most do not. The two-chasms model. The conversion grading scale: A is 70%, national average is 33%, failing is below 50%. A coaching client who went from 12 to 38 new patients per month with zero extra marketing spend after their team's first real phone training. Plus, the bonus problems: missed calls, stale reviews, broken booking links. Dr. Greg Toback on the iPhone Send Later feature that changed how he leads.
Transcribe →How to Make Your Hygiene Exams as Effective as Possible!
2w ago00:45:11Tap to summarizeIn 2025, 60% of all high-value cases across Gary Takacs's coaching client base came directly out of the hygiene exam. This episode covers the full system: intraoral camera protocol, verbal pass-off, the personal detail that makes patients feel remembered, AI-powered patient note preparation, and how to balance efficiency with genuine connection. Plus, Naren on the 40% of the population actively searching for a new dentist, what makes Google reviews produce patient acquisition, and how paragraph reviews written in the patient's own voice outperform any paid ad. Dr. Darryl Burke on ridge preservation and socket grafting decisions.
Transcribe →How to Become THE Practice for the Dentistry You Love
3w ago00:46:17Tap to summarizeGary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah on the one strategic move that separates the happiest dental practices from the rest: the signature service. How to choose it by following your heart rather than market data, build it through lab-fee cases and the right ambassador patient, schedule around it with a dedicated template, and market it through consistent organic search presence, landing pages, before and after photos, and paragraph reviews. A coaching client went from 3 Invisalign starts per year to 1 per week after making it his signature service. Plus, Naren on why organic SEO at $60 a phone call produces 6x more trust than a Google ad at $400. Worth a listen!
Transcribe →5 Specific Steps to Take Before You Resign from a Single PPO Plan
Jul 1500:46:35Tap to summarizeGary Takacs has coached dental practices in all 50 states through PPO resignation - and has seen what happens when it is done without preparation. One practice lost half its revenue. This episode is the checklist that prevents that. Five specific steps in sequence: know your numbers, assess your relationality, train every team member, find out the hygiene copayment plan by plan, and get your marketing producing results before the first resignation letter goes out. Plus Dr. Ekta Pandya on air abrasion and a 40% bond strength boost, and Naren on the review and phone conversion standards a practice needs before dropping any plan.
Transcribe →How to Build a Practice Growth Plan That Actually Works All Year
Jul 800:42:09Tap to summarizeMost dental practice growth plans fail by January 10th. Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah explain exactly why, and exactly what to do about it. Four specific rocks, individual champions, a three-meeting cadence, and the team incentive that took one practice from two Google reviews a month to twenty-six. Plus, Naren on AI search for dental practices, the five benchmarks that define a real patient acquisition engine, and cost-per-lead tracking that shows which channels to scale and which to drop. A mid-year reset episode with real time left in 2026 to act on it.
Transcribe →The Role of your Admin Team in a Thriving Practice
Jul 100:49:07Tap to summarizeMost dental marketing advice focuses on getting the phone to ring. This episode covers what happens next. Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah break down the admin team traits that drive dental practice growth, the hiring mistakes that quietly cost practices new patients, and the systems behind one practice's jump from 25% to 76% phone conversion, more than tripling new patient acquisition from the same marketing spend. A practical episode on dental practice management, hiring, and turning marketing investment into real results. Plus, a clinical tip from Dr. Jared Williams on protecting the nerve during wisdom tooth extraction.
Transcribe →Increasing Treatment Acceptance!
Jun 2400:53:02Tap to summarizeGary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah on the most requested topic from Thriving Dentist listeners: how to increase treatment acceptance. Three benchmarks, four common mistakes, the family member technique, Dr. Frank Spear's six photos, the hygienist script, the consultation room argument, the 60/40 split for high-value dentistry, and the stat that stops every practice owner: less than 6% of insurance patients ever accepted non-urgent treatment.
Transcribe →Find the Marketing Gap That Will Increase Your New Patient Flow — A 30-Minute Dental Competitor Audit
Jun 1700:45:04Tap to summarizeWant to know how your dental practice really stacks up against your local competition? Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah walk you through a 30-minute dental competitor audit you can run yourself, covering keyword rankings, Google reviews, local SEO, and service landing pages, so you can find the gaps that are costing you new patients. Plus Dr. Jeff Buske on why patients say no to how treatment is presented, not the treatment itself. Get your free Audit Report at ekwa.com/td
Transcribe →How to Make Every Year Your New Best Year!
Jun 1000:50:53Tap to summarizeGary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah reveal how to make every year your new best year, from the four reasons growth matters to the exact strategies that take a plateaued practice to record production. You will also hear why 2026 is the year to master local search and what an appropriate marketing budget really looks like.
Transcribe →How to Serve Patients Who Put Off a Visit to the Dentist Because of Fear
Jun 300:50:05Tap to summarize42% of Americans put off the dentist indefinitely because of fear and most of them are already in your market. In this episode, Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah unpack one of dentistry's biggest untapped opportunities: the anxious patient. They cover why fearful patients stay silent, the psychology of control and the simple "stop signal" that puts patients at ease, sedation options worth knowing, and the SEO and landing page strategy for reaching patients who search "afraid of going to the dentist." Plus, a live discovery - men are far more likely to avoid the dentist than women, an underserved segment hiding in plain sight. Want to know how many anxious patients you're missing and where your practice is leaving growth on the table? Book a free 30-minute Practice Growth Assessment with an Ekwa dental marketing advisor. You'll get a review of your new patient acquisition, an audit of your top 3 growth bottlenecks, and a simple action plan to keep. No pitch, no pressure. Book yours at ekwa.com/td
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