Leslie Espinola on Why Most Dental Practices Fail for Business Reasons Not Clinical Ones

With 35 years in the dental industry, Leslie Espinola has seen practices thrive and fail from every angle. In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with Leslie—fractional COO, executive coach at the Dental Entrepreneur Organization (DEO), and founder of High Peak Dental Advisors—to unpack why most dental practices fail for business reasons, not clinical ones. From the org chart structures that break down at scale, to the accountability gaps dentists never learned in school, to the ROI of clinical voice technology, Leslie brings boots-on-the-ground wisdom earned from dental assisting all the way to the C-suite. This is the conversation every practice owner needs to hear before opening their next location. #dentaleconomist #dentaloperations #practicemanagement If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, like, and comment📱

With 35 years in the dental industry, Leslie Espinola has seen practices thrive and fail from every angle. In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with Leslie—fractional COO, executive coach at the Dental Entrepreneur Organization (DEO), and founder of High Peak Dental Advisors—to unpack why most dental practices fail for business reasons, not clinical ones. From the org chart structures that break down at scale, to the accountability gaps dentists never learned in school, to the ROI of clinical voice technology, Leslie brings boots-on-the-ground wisdom earned from dental assisting all the way to the C-suite. This is the conversation every practice owner needs to hear before opening their next location.

#dentaleconomist #dentaloperations #practicemanagement

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, like, and comment📱

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction & Meeting Leslie Espinola

02:00 From Dental Assistant to Fractional COO

05:00 Why General Dentistry Is the Hardest Model to Scale

07:45 Culture & Customer Service as Your Competitive Edge

09:00 Why Practices Fail: Administrative, Not Clinical Failures

12:00 Building the Right Org Chart for Your Practice Size

15:15 The DEO’s 50% Profit Promise—and Why Some Members Fall Short

20:00 Benchmarks That Move the Needle: AR, Supplies & Labs

28:00 The ROI of Clinical Voice Technology

40:00 Why Leslie Is Still Bullish on Dentistry After 35 Years

Connect with the team:

👉 Mike Huffaker on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/huffaker/

👉 Leslie Espinola on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leslie-espinola/

👉 DEO Website: https://www.deodentalgroup.com/

👉 Planet DDS Website: https://planetdds.com/

You can also listen to our podcast here:

👉 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3SeeOfY

👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3tMmaO7

👉 Fame Host: https://bit.ly/4aQNQ51

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