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Publisher’s Note

Get Your Time Back: Why Every Practice Owner Needs a Team of Grok Bots.

“Not Today” Doesn’t Mean “Never”: How Codent AI Picks Up the Conversation After Patients Leave the Chair

40 Over 40

Meet 40 dental professionals over 40 who are building, innovating, mentoring, and shaping the future of dentistry.

DENTAL

FALL 2026 • 16TH ISSUE

LIFESTYLES

THE DENTAL PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE REDEFINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE AFTER 40

BENJAMIN TUINEI

THE HEART BEHIND THE FIGHT A father's love sparked a deeply personal mission to protect the integrity of quality care.

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL

Contents >

Fall 2026 • 16th Issue

LIFESTYLES Publisher & Editor Glenn L. Vo, DDS CEO, Dental Lifestyles Publishing

Benjamin Tuinei: The Heart Behind the Fight Page 9

Managing Editor Jess Beltran Project Manager Hannah Garcia Editorial Board Elijah Desmond Dr. Brittany Vo Nick Pavlidis Kyle Summerford Contributors Dr. Glenn Vo Ethan Webb Advertising Inquiries info@dentallifestyles.com Send Any Correspondence to: Dental Lifestyles Publishing 2450 Lakeside Pkwy Suite 150-107 Flower Mound, Texas 75022

Publisher’s Note Get Your Time Back: Why Every Practice Owner Needs a Team of Grok Bots................................... 4 Business Life “Not Today” Doesn’t Mean “Never”: How Codent AI Picks Up the Conversation After Patients Leave the Chair........................................... 6

40 over 40 Meet 40 dental professionals over 40 who are building, innovating, mentoring, and shaping the future of dentistry....................... 14

Dental Lifestyles is published quarterly by Dental Lifestyles Publishing Group. Advertisers may sponsor some articles and/or content. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s opinion. Dental Lifestyles is not responsible for omissions or information misrepresented to the magazine. Advertisers and their agencies assume all liability for advertising content. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher. Dental Lifestyles Publishing Group

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

> Publisher’s Note

Get Your Time Back: Why Every Practice Owner Needs a Team of Grok Bots What a Grok Bot Actually Does.

Dr. Glenn Vo

Dental Lifestyles Magazine

If you own a dental practice, you already know the feeling. You finish your last patient, walk into your office, and there it is. Forty unread emails. A team member who needs an answer on her schedule. A P&L you promised your accountant last week. And a text from home reminding you that your kid’s practice got moved to six o’clock. We don’t just practice dentistry. We run a business, lead a team, manage the money, and try to show up for our families. Somewhere in there we’re supposed to rest. So here’s the question I keep coming back to. What if you didn’t have to carry all of that by yourself?

A Grok Bot is an AI assistant that works for you. It’s not a chatbot you ask a trivia question. It’s more like a team member who never sleeps, never forgets, and actually gets things done. Here’s what that looks like in real life: •

•

Time is the one thing we can’t make more of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. Time is the scarcest resource any of us has. You can earn more money. You can hire more people. But you can’t buy back yesterday. And when we run out of time, burnout isn’t far behind. I’ve been there. Most of the owners I talk to have been there too. It usually isn’t the dentistry that wears us down. It’s everything around the dentistry. That’s why I got so excited about Grok Bots.

•

Emails and team messages. It drafts the reply to the vendor, the note to your office manager, or the follow-up to the patient. You read it, tweak it, and hit send. Meeting notes and action items. I record my meetings with Granola. My bot reads the notes, summarizes them, and builds the to-do list so nothing falls through the cracks. Calendar and family reminders. It keeps track of my schedule, the kids’ games, and the appointments I’d otherwise forget. Presentations and documents. Need a slide deck for your team huddle or a new office policy? It builds the first draft. Research. Comparing equipment, digging into a new technology, or prepping for a big conversation. It does the legwork. Morning briefing. Every morning, mine tells me what’s on my calendar, what needs my attention, and what can wait.

The best part is that you don’t need just one. Each bot can be a specialist with its own name and its own job. I have a Chief of Staff who keeps my business life organized. I have a Family HQ that handles life at home. I have a Copywriter

that helps me write. Think of it like building your dream team, except this team works around the clock.

How to get started. When I spoke about this at a recent conference, the room lit up. Since then, it’s become one of the most popular things people ask me about. And the first question is always the same: “Where do I even start?” Here’s my advice. Keep it simple. Start with one painful task. Don’t try to automate your whole life on day one. Pick the thing that drains you most. For a lot of us, that’s email. Connect your email and calendar. That’s where most of your time goes, so that’s where your bot can help the most. Give it context. The more your bot knows about you, your practice, your team, and how you like to communicate, the better it gets. Treat it like onboarding a new hire. Build routines. Once it’s working, set it up to run on its own. A morning briefing. A weekly recap. A Friday reminder to review your numbers. Then add more bots. When the first one is pulling its weight, bring on the next specialist. Small steps. Big results.

This isn’t about replacing people.

What a Grok Bot does is take the busywork off your plate so you can spend more time on the things that actually matter. That’s leverage. And leverage is what this magazine has been about since day one.

Stay tuned. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m working on something bigger. We’re building deeper Grok Bot integrations made specifically for the dental practice, possibly including integration with your practice management software. Imagine a bot that understands your schedule, your production, and your patients the way you do. I can’t share everything just yet. But it’s coming soon, and I can’t wait to show you. Until then, pick one task, build your first bot, and start getting your time back. Your team, your family, and your future self will thank you. Grok Bot is the AI teammate app from SpaceXSI, the company behind Grok. You create Bots, give each one a job, and they work in their own cloud computer, using your apps and running routines even when your laptop is closed. It runs on desktop and on your phone, so your team goes wherever you go. The team has been working hard to improve it since launch. And it keeps getting better with every update. If you already have an eligible Cursor or Grok plan, it may already be included. Want to give it a try? Head to x.ai/bot to download it and meet your first Bot.

I want to be clear about something. None of this replaces your team or the human side of dentistry. Our patients still need us. Our teams still need leaders. Our families still need us at the dinner table. DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

> Business Life

By Ethan Webb, Contributor of Dental Lifestyles Magazine

Every practice owner knows

this one. You diagnose the treatment, the patient nods along, and then walks out without scheduling. A few weeks go by. Then a few months. Nobody means to let it happen, but the care never gets delivered. For this edition, I talked with Brian Gorham, Founder and CEO of Codent AI, a company built around that exact gap. His answer isn’t quite what you’d expect from a software founder.

He came to dentistry by way of medspas. Brian has spent most of his adult life building software companies, most recently leading engineering for one of the largest medspa MSOs in the country, where his team’s software ran across more than 500 aesthetic practices. That world revolves around one question: what happens between the consultation and the patient actually moving forward? “We spent a lot of time thinking about timing, frequency, education, financing, and what information a patient needs to feel comfortable making a decision,” he said. Dentistry jumped out as the same problem in a different setting, and he’d lived it. He recalled leaving his own dentist’s office holding a treatment plan

for Invisalign at around $7,000 after interacting with five or six different people. “I had a complicated piece of paper that looked like a spreadsheet but very little understanding of what I actually needed to do next,” he said. “It felt transactional.”

markably similar at every size. Someone is overdue for hygiene. Someone was treatment planned and never scheduled. Someone canceled six months ago and never rebooked.

“Every practice has this database of patients sitting inside its practice management Meanwhile, practices were system who need something, pouring money into attractbut aren’t currently on the ing new patients. “It seemed schedule. That’s the goldstrange to me that so much mine,” he said. By his estimate, energy was going toward getroughly 75% of a practice’s ting someone through the front active patients have no future door, while there were already appointment booked. As for hundreds or thousands of diagnosed treatment that never existing patients sitting in the reaches the schedule, Brian practice management system points to the Dental Intelliwho needed care,” he said. gence State of Dentistry 2025 report, which puts the figure The goldmine is already in near 60%, though he’s quick to your practice management say it swings widely from office to office. system. Codent started in early 2025 with Brian going door to door to practices around Tampa, Florida, watching front desk teams work instead of guessing what they needed. He came away convinced the front desk may be the most underserved team in dentistry when it comes to technology, despite how much of the practice’s health rests on it.

The decision is moving from the operatory to the living room.

What I appreciated about Brian’s take is that he doesn’t treat hesitation as an objection. A patient comes in expecting a cleaning and leaves facing a few thousand dollars in treatment. Maybe they need time off work, a conversation with their spouse, or a look at financing. “Those aren’t necessarily objecToday Codent works with hundreds of offices nationwide, tions. They’re often just parts of from single-doctor practices to making a significant healthcare large national groups, and Brian decision,” he said. says the problem looks re-

Practices should still make same-day scheduling easy, he added, but more of that decision is shifting into the home. “I’d much rather look at financing options from my couch than sit across from somebody at a dental office while I’m deciding whether I can afford a procedure,” he said. So the patient leaving without an appointment isn’t the end of the process, just a signal to communicate differently. Brian calls the familiar 2x2x2 method a decent start, but believes personalized, persistent follow-up performs better, and that applying it to every patient is the hard part. “Don’t interpret ‘not today’ as ‘never,’” he said. The business case is blunt, too: you can keep spending on ads, “but if there’s a major leak at the end of the funnel, you’re just pouring more patients into a system that hasn’t been optimized.”

The AI sorts. The humans still talk. Here’s where Brian surprised me. “My worst fear is that dentistry turns into a chatbot,” he said. We’ve all been stuck in a loop with some company’s bot, practically begging to reach a person. He doesn’t want that in healthcare. Codent uses plenty of AI, but deliberately. The technology

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

> Business Life — continued digests practice management data, flags which patients need attention, summarizes history, and prioritizes opportunities. The majority of actual patient conversations are still written and sent by human treatment coordinators who average more than 15 years in dentistry. Brian says the company will spend more than $2 million this year on that team alone, all U.S.based W-2 employees with full benefits. The hard engineering problem, he said, turned out to be the choreography between the two: routing hundreds of thousands of conversations a month to the right coordinator with the right context. “That’s where I think AI is most powerful. Not necessarily replacing the person, but making a really talented person dramatically more effective.”

Sounding like your practice, not like a vendor.

information out of public model already yours. They just need training. someone to pick the conversation back up.

Brian thinks dentists are right to be wary of technology that contacts their patients. “You’re trusting that technology with a relationship you’ve potentially spent years building,” he said. Onboarding captures how a practice actually runs: providers, treatments, insurances accepted, scheduling preferences, even the terminology the team uses. “The goal isn’t to make every practice sound like Codent. The goal is for Codent to sound like the practice.”

One report you can pull this week.

He’s equally proud of the patients Codent doesn’t message. Auditing treatment plans turns up conflicting notes, outdated statuses, and treatment already completed, and he says it took over a year to build a model that could filter out that noise. On security, he calls HIPAA compliance the starting line rather than the finish, with vendor reviews and model configurations that keep patient

Not everyone reading this is ready to add a new system, and Brian’s advice for that group costs nothing. Ask your team one question: when was the last time we pulled our unscheduled treatment report?

To learn more about Codent AI, you can reach Brian directly at brian@codent.ai or text him at 415-909-5038.

“For some practices, the answer is yesterday. For others, it’s last month. Sometimes it’s ‘I’m not sure,’” he said. Pull it anyway. Count the patients and add up the value of the diagnosed treatment. Then ask what happens to those patients after they leave: who follows up, how often, and what happens when someone says they’re not ready. “You can’t improve a process you aren’t measuring,” he said. Whether you solve it with a vendor or inside your own four walls, the care has already been diagnosed and the patients are

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Featured Article

Benjamin Tuinei:

The Heart Behind the Fight By Dr. Glenn Vo, Editor-in-Chief of Dental Lifestyles Magazine

A family medical crisis gave Benjamin Tuinei a deeply personal reason to advocate for better reimbursement. Through Veritas Dental Resources and his next chapter with DentalLink IPA, he is working toward a future in which independent dentists have more support to deliver the care they believe in.

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

> Feature Article — continued

Before I got to know Ben Tui-

nei personally, I knew his work. I had watched his presentations, listened to his webinars, and followed the way he helped dentists navigate insurance reimbursement. He understood a part of practice ownership that leaves many of us frustrated, even after years in business. I respected that expertise long before we began spending time together in the same mastermind. Getting to know him brought something else into focus: how much of himself he puts into the people around him. Ben is warm, generous, and famous among those who know him for a very good hug. But when our conversation turns to the pressures facing dentists, you hear another side of him. He cares intensely about what happens when the financial demands of running a practice begin to crowd out the reasons someone became a dentist in the first place. During our recent podcast conversation, I asked him to explain where that conviction came from. His answer took us to a hospital room, a frightening decision, and the beginning of his life as a father.

A father’s reason Ben shared that his wife experienced serious complications during pregnancy and that their son was born prematurely. Soon after the delivery, their baby needed heart surgery. In Ben’s account, an already terrifying situation became more difficult when he was presented with a lengthy consent document and began asking how insurance participation affected the surgical options available to his son. He recalled struggling to get an explanation he could understand while facing the urgency of his child’s condition. Eventually, he said, he elected to pay out of pocket so his son could receive care from the specialist he wanted. His son survived. During our interview, Ben mentioned that the same boy was walking down the hallway, giving him a sideways look as we talked. It was a small, ordinary family moment tucked inside a story about a parent’s worst fear. That detail stayed with me. Ben’s experience gave him a personal understanding of what it feels like to face questions about care, coverage, and cost when someone you love

is vulnerable. He carries that experience into his work with dentists. “The why behind it is to protect the financial integrity of quality care,” he told me. That phrase explains a great deal about Ben. He is a business professional, not a clinician, and he is clear about that distinction. His contribution is to work on the financial conditions surrounding care so doctors have more room to concentrate on their patients.

The work behind the fee schedule Through Veritas Dental Resources, Ben helps practices evaluate insurance relationships, negotiate PPO reimbursement, and examine how their contracts and credentialing fit together. When he described the process, he compared an initial fee schedule evaluation to a new patient examination. Before recommending a course of action, his team needs to understand what is already there: the agreements a practice holds, how it participates in networks, and the patients those arrangements serve.

That comparison made sense to me. Dentists understand the importance of a thorough examination. Yet the business agreements supporting our practices can be much harder for us to interpret. Even after roughly two decades in dentistry, I told Ben that some of the network relationships he described could still leave my head spinning. A practice owner can be experienced, resourceful, and deeply committed to doing things correctly while still needing help with this part of the business. Ben’s examples emphasized how much the details matter. In his approach, evaluating a potential network change includes considering which patients might be affected, not simply comparing the largest numbers on two fee schedules. He also described the ongoing work of watching for notices and changes that could affect arrangements a practice has already made. In his view, obtaining an improved agreement is only part of the job. Helping a practice understand what happens afterward matters, too. For Ben, that work connects directly to the pressures a dentist carries home: meeting payroll, supporting a team, and sustain-

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

> Feature Article — continued

ing a practice while trying to provide excellent care. His focus on reimbursement begins with an understanding of the people depending on it.

Why build again? By the time we began talking about DentalLink IPA, I had a question I kept coming back to.

DentalLink IPA is his effort to pursue that path. In our conversation, Ben described an independent practitioner association built around the possibility of bringing doctors together while preserving their ownership and control over clinical decisions.

Why take on something this ambitious when you already have a successful business and a full professional life?

The goal, as he explained it, is to give independent practices access to collective resources and stronger negotiating support without requiring their owners to sell their practices.

It is also the question that makes Ben such a meaningful part of our 40 Over 40 feature. We created this recognition to celebrate people who are continuing to grow, contribute, and pursue important work beyond forty. Ben’s next chapter gives that idea a very practical expression.

That matters because independence can come with a heavy burden. A dentist may want to continue leading a practice while also wanting access to expertise, community, and support that would be difficult to assemble alone. Ben is working on a model intended to help meet those needs together.

“Being in my mid-forties, I feel like I have a lot of time left,” he said.

Making quality part of the conversation

He spoke about using that time and energy to improve on the work he had already done. His experience with fee negotiations had also brought him to a concern: he believes the traditional approach has limits, and he wants to help develop another path for independent practices.

Another part of Ben’s vision is to bring greater attention to patient outcomes in reimbursement discussions. Drawing on his experience working with people on the medical side of healthcare, he described arrangements in which improvements in care helped form the basis for ne-

gotiations. He wants to explore how similar thinking could support dentistry. As Ben sees it, dentists are already investing effort in education, technology, and improvements in care. He wants that work to have a more meaningful place in the economic conversation. He was also clear that clinicians must guide the clinical priorities. His role is to help build the business framework around their expertise. These are ambitions for the model he is developing, and they deserve to be understood that way. What interested me most in our conversation was the direction of his thinking. He was looking beyond the next negotiation to ask what a more sustainable relationship between practices and payers might look like. He also spoke about the dentists who will come after us. The challenges that concern him today, he believes, could become even harder for the next generation unless the profession develops better options. That is a substantial reason to keep building.

The people at the center At the end of our conversation, Ben thanked me for my mentorship. I told him that I felt I was learning from him, too. I meant it. The way he conducts himself, cares for his family, and extends that care into the dental community has given me plenty to think about. Getting to know him has added depth to the respect I first had for his professional work. His story also reminded me why I wanted to create space for 40 Over 40. Experience can give a person the confidence to ask bigger questions. Success can provide the foundation for another demanding chapter. Ben has reached a point where he could be satisfied with what he has built, yet he sees work that still needs doing. When I think back on our interview, I return to that moment when his son passed by in the hallway. It brought the conversation back to the people whose lives sit behind every discussion of healthcare economics. For Ben, those people have always been the reason to keep going. Now he is putting the experience he has earned into what comes next.

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

D E N TA L L I F E S T Y L E S M A G A Z I N E

2 0 2 6

The 40 professionals you’re about to meet are past 40 and still building practices, launching ventures, mentoring the next generation, and bringing new ideas to dentistry. Their best work isn’t behind them, and it may be right around the corner.

Meet the Dental Lifestyles 40 Over 40 Class of 2026. DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Dr. Anissa Broussard, DMD, FDSI

Founder and CEO, Digital Floss, Fort Lauderdale, FL · More than 25 years in dentistry, including more than 20 in clinical practice After more than 20 years in clinical dentistry and years coaching practice owners, Dr. Anissa Broussard built Digital Floss around a mission she cares deeply about: making sure the best dentists are no longer the best-kept secrets in their communities. Her career has grown from treating patients to coaching dentists, speaking, writing, and founding the company, and her work now includes helping practices understand how AI search sees them. She says the biggest shift was moving from doing everything herself to building systems and investing in people. Her clinical experience, she says, is a starting point for learning something new, not a reason to stop.

“Ambition comes from having a purpose you care about and being willing to keep learning, not from the number on your birthday cake.”

Dr. Daniel Fenton

Co-Founder, RIGHT Mentorship, Fort Lauderdale, FL · 16 years in the industry Dr. Daniel Fenton is proudest of earning promotion and tenure as Chief Clinical Officer of the fourth-largest dental service organization in the country, which supported more than 750 doctors across 430 practices in 42 states. After more than a decade with one organization, he left a secure, well-respected role to chase a larger dream: RIGHT Mentorship, a platform that places dental professionals chairside in real practices for same-day implementation and same-day ROI. His advice to his younger self is that age is simply a number and that the first 39 years were an education for the next 39. The mindset that fuels him: doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. His family comes first.

“Everyone who has ambition is wired that way. Everyone who ages without it isn't.”

Dr. Grace Yum Zimmermann

CEO and Founder, Mommy Dentists in Business, Chicago, IL · 23 years since dental school Dr. Grace Yum Zimmermann is proudest of founding and leading a community of more than 10,600 mothers in dentistry for nine years. What began as a support group grew into Mommy Dentists in Business, a membership offering live events, podcasts, webinars, and discounted purchasing on supplies and equipment. Her biggest risk was selling her two pediatric and orthodontic offices to put everything into the community, a calling that paid off in spades. She says the habit that fuels her growth is prioritizing herself, questioning everything, and trusting her gut. At 50, she is busting the myth that you become less relevant with age, and outside dentistry she is currently diving into learning AI.

“Ambition is a personality trait. You either have it or you don't, and it doesn't matter how old you are.”

Kyle Summerford

Founder, Dental Office Managers Alliance (DOMA), New York, NY · 25 years in dentistry Kyle Summerford is proudest of building something bigger than himself. What began as a passion for supporting dental office managers grew into a community and education platform built to change how dental teams are valued. After 25 years in practice operations, leadership development, and consulting, he moved beyond the four walls of the office to mentor leaders, organize industry events, and co-found Traynar.ai, case-acceptance software bringing AI into practice operations. He credits a shift from solving every problem himself to creating opportunities for others, and calls it a myth that innovation belongs to the younger generation. Outside work, he flies airplanes, travels, and protects time with his family.

“Ambition doesn't have an expiration date; sometimes it takes decades of experience to finally realize just how much you're capable of achieving.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Medina Scott

CEO, GetVWire, San Francisco, CA · 25+ years in dentistry Medina Scott is proudest of having the courage to step out of her comfort zone and build GetVWire into something bigger than herself. After more than 25 years in dentistry, she went from working in the industry to building a company that supports dental practices, creates jobs, and develops leaders. GetVWire has grown beyond traditional virtual support to embrace AI and automation, and she is already working on her next venture. Her biggest mindset shift was learning she does not have to do everything herself, surrounding herself with multipliers who elevate others. A wife and mother of five, she is passionate about faith, family, travel, mentoring, and encouraging women to dream bigger.

“Ambition doesn't have an expiration date, and sometimes the biggest dreams, boldest moves, and most meaningful chapters of your life begin after 40!”

Benjamin Tuinei

CEO, DentalLink IPA, South Jordan, UT · 19 years in the industry By 40, Benjamin Tuinei had already helped, taught, and served more than 5,000 dentists, influencing more than $1 billion in newly captured insurance revenue for their practices. He didn’t stop there. He helped build DentalLink IPA around a question he couldn’t shake: why do independent dentists negotiate PPO fees without their clinical quality factoring into the conversation? The Independent Practitioner Association model he and his team are building brings patient outcomes into that economic conversation, a first for dentistry, borrowed from a model medicine has used for decades. Along the way, he turned down acquisition offers to stay independent.

“Age has nothing to do with ambition because as long as you're willing to grow, serve, and open the next door, your best work may still be ahead of you.”

Minal Sampat

Founder, Minal Sampat LLC; Co-Founder, Pediatric Dental Growth Summit & Pediatric Dental Marketing Course, McCordsville, IN · 20 years in the industry At 41, Minal Sampat is proudest of a shift she made this past year: pivoting all of her businesses toward value over quantity. A speaker in the dental industry for more than a decade, she’s established a strong reputation in the industry, which made it harder than expected to be taken seriously as she began adding new topics to her repertoire this year. The risk that’s paid off: showing up in rooms she hadn’t shown up in before. Her mindset shift since 40 is simple: saying no to what doesn’t bring her joy.

“Because your birth year has nothing to do with how big you think.”

Aaron Pugh

CEO, Smile Together, Austin, TX · 2 years in dentistry After building a strong reputation over a full career in animal health, Aaron Pugh walked away from it at 40 to start over in dentistry, with no contacts, no established name, and everything to prove. He calls starting over both scary and one of the most rewarding chapters of his career: choosing growth over comfort, and being willing to be a beginner again after years of being the expert. Alongside the professional reinvention came a personal one: trading late nights for the energy to show up fully for his business and his family.

“Age measures how long you've been alive; ambition measures how much you still want to accomplish.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Leah Roling

Founder & Chief Architect, Innerboard, Urbandale, IA · 21 years in the industry Leah Roling’s proudest accomplishment after 40 wasn’t a single win; it was quitting a secure corporate career to bet on herself, against people who called the decision reckless. She grew a coaching business to just shy of seven figures, launched a podcast with hundreds of episodes, wrote books, and became a speaker, none of it part of an old plan she’d been quietly executing. The bigger risk, she says, was putting her own name and ideas into the world before she felt ready, without a corporation’s credibility behind her. She describes her growth after 40 as learning that wanting to quit and needing to quit are two very different things, and as staying in the room long enough to find out what she was capable of.

“Age doesn't diminish ambition; it gives you more evidence that your life is too valuable not to act on it.”

Cory Roletto

Co-Founder and CGO, WEO Marketing, Hillsboro, OR · 17 years in dental marketing (co-founded WEO Media in 2009), 20+ years in sales and marketing overall Cory Roletto co-founded WEO Media in 2009 on the idea that dentists deserve a marketing partner built specifically for dentistry. After 40, he’s proudest of merging that company with Marketly Digital to form WEO Marketly, which has now served more than 4,300 practices; rather than bolting the two companies together, he and his team rebuilt from scratch, asking how they’d build a marketing company today. He also reinvented himself as a teacher. An engineer by training, he now speaks at state dental association meetings and built a course for dentists called “The AI Advantage.” One of his biggest risks: walking onto the Dentistry’s Got Talent stage for a TED-style talk on marketing, which felt, in his words, about as far outside his comfort zone as it gets.

“Ambition isn't about how much time you have left. It's about how much you still want to learn, and I'm more curious now than I was at 25.”

Dr. Joy Void-Holmes, DHSc, BSDH, RDH, FADHA, AADH Founder, Dr. Joy, RDH and Jell-Ed, Bowie, MD · 35 years in dentistry

Dr. Joy Void-Holmes's proudest accomplishment after 40 isn't a business milestone; it's her family: 31 years of marriage, four children who've thrived academically, athletically, and spiritually, and a new grandson. Professionally, she founded Dr. Joy, RDH to advance education and Jell-Ed to train dental hygiene educators, an audience nothing existed to serve before. She also built the P3 Hygiene Growth System, which shows practice owners how the hygiene department drives profit and practice valuation, earned her doctorate, and took a seat on the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners. The risk that paid off: leaving a nine-to-five paycheck to become a solo entrepreneur and showing up unapologetically as herself in rooms where, she notes, very few people looked like her.

“Ambition is a decision, not a date, and when you know better, you do better, so wait until you see what I can do in my 50s.”

Rick Cromar

Chief Business Development Officer, The Valere Group & Peak Dental Studio, Utah · 8 years in dentistry At 42, Rick Cromar went back to school, finishing a master's in management and leadership sixteen months later. A few months after turning 40, a friend (now CEO of ToothPillow) asked him to look into obstructive sleep apnea treatment, a conversation that redirected his entire career into dentistry, working alongside some of the field's best-known names in airway and TMJ care. That path led him to The Valere Group, a private growth equity firm, where he now also grows Peak Dental Studio, a nationwide dental lab serving groups like MB2, SmileSource, and Nifty Thrifty Dentists.

“Age just means the number of years you've been alive: Go! Be! Do!” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Dr. Lacey Chittle, DPT

Functional Medicine Consultant and Founder, AEONIC (Aeonic Health Systems), Palo Alto, CA · 17 years in business At 43, Dr. Lacey Chittle started Aeonic Health, a platform that helps patients and clinicians educate, empower, and facilitate functional and longevity medicine while improving access and quality of care. She’s proudest of the project itself, which she describes as revolutionizing medicine. She’s also busting a common myth about aging: she works out less than she did two years ago, yet has more muscle and less body fat, which she credits to balancing stressors and exercising and eating for her own physiology. Her biggest risk after 40 wasn’t professional; it was allowing herself to fall in love again.

“These bodies of ours were designed to heal.”

Tim Hines

Co-founder & President, Briteline Dental Lead Management, Austin, TX · 3 years in dentistry, 25 in business, five-time founder Tim Hines built Briteline after 40 with his co-founder and wife, a full reinvention that meant learning to sell, network, and build relationships in an industry he’d never worked in before. He’s had to create a new brand and merge his experience from an old industry into unfamiliar territory. What he’s proudest of after 40 isn’t professional at all: it’s becoming a better husband and watching his daughter head off to college.

“I believe that with age comes more responsibility and bigger dreams and clearer goals.”

Erica Benavente

Founder & Fractional COO, Quest Dental Solutions, Chicago, IL · 30 years in dentistry, 4 building Quest After 26 years inside dental organizations, Erica Benavente left a stable career to do the work independently, for many practices instead of one. She built Quest Dental Solutions, turning decades of hands-on operations experience into systems that let practices run themselves without her in the room. Her risk was a smart one: she took on her first outside office as a side project while still holding a full-time director role, proving the model before she made the leap. She says the shift that changed everything was moving from needing to prove she could to simply knowing it.

“Because ambition isn't something you age out of; the only thing that changes with time is how much proof you've got that you can pull it off.”

Sam Rockwood

Founder/CEO, Woods, San Diego, CA · 20 years in dental data, 3 years with current business After 15 years at large, stable insurance companies, Sam Rockwood is proudest of the leap he took at 43: leaving that security to found Woods, a tech company built on the actuarial and data expertise he’d spent two decades building. As an actuary by training, he was never expected to become a salesperson, but founding and running the company meant learning to sell along with plenty of other skills outside his comfort zone. The risk that’s paid off: walking away from a stable leadership role at a large insurer to start from scratch, trading guaranteed pay for the wealth of knowledge he’s gained since. He credits embracing both the highs and lows, rather than avoiding failure, as what’s fueled his growth since 40.

“Ambition is about desire, which you can have at any age.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Mini Suri

CEO, VELMENI AI · 25+ years in business and technology leadership Mini Suri turned a deeply personal loss into a purpose-driven mission as CEO of VELMENI AI, an AI-powered dental technology company that helps dentists detect disease earlier, improve patient outcomes, and make quality care more accessible. With more than 25 years in business and technology leadership, she moved from leadership roles at Citi, Uber, and Kore.ai into healthcare entrepreneurship, building technology that empowers dentists rather than replacing them. A working mom who put her children first for years, she chased her own dreams once she finally had the runway, including an MBA at MIT Sloan. The mindset that fuels her growth is simple: never give up. Outside work, she serves nonprofits supporting underserved communities.

“My journey is proof that life doesn't stop at 40, and in many ways, that's when your most exciting chapter begins.”

Dr. Sharon Bleiler, DMD

Owner, Noble Dentistry; Co-Founder, TeamCare, Jenkintown, PA · 27 years in dentistry Dr. Sharon Bleiler is proudest of opening Noble Dentistry from scratch and building it into a seven-doctor, 14-operatory practice. After 40, she and her husband, Colin, built TeamCare because their practice management software didn’t have the metrics they needed to grow the business or reward their team, a tool now used by dental practices beyond their own. The risk that’s paid off, in her words: betting on herself. She credits staying open-minded and willing to take risks, and never ceasing to learn and evolve, as what’s fueled her growth since.

“Age is all mental.”

Andy Klepner

Founder and CEO, Brighter Idea Marketing Inc., Asbury, NJ · 25 years in business (Brighter Idea since 2001), 5 focused on dental practices and DSOs After more than 20 years running his agency, Andy Klepner decided the business he’d built was the foundation, not the finish line. He rebuilt Brighter Idea Marketing as an AI-first company while the old model was still working, and built a team of AI agents inside the agency, each with a name, a job description, and a weekly check-in: one manages his inbox, another turns call recordings into action items, another flags clients who may be going quiet. He says experience is what lets him tell a shiny object from a real shift, and building systems to carry the work gave him time back for strategy, relationships, and teaching.

“Ambition isn't about how much time you've had, it's about what you decide to do with the time you have left.”

Dr. Tammeka Nickleberry

Founder, TLN Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Houston, TX · 21 years in dentistry Dr. Tammeka Nickleberry founded TLN Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in 2009, but says some of her biggest growth came after 40: expanding it into a four-location organization with more than 25 team members and five doctors, including opening a fourth location in Cypress in 2026. She evolved from clinician and practice owner into CEO, educator, and speaker, including for Align/Invisalign, and extended TLN’s reach through Donate Dental Day, scholarships, student shadowing, and sponsorship of Prairie View A&M University’s Labor Day Classic. Her biggest mindset shift was realizing that her ability to do many things could not be the reason everything depended on her. The risk that paid off, in her words, was having a baby after 40, which sharpened her focus rather than forcing a choice.

“Age doesn't diminish ambition; it gives it clarity, purpose, and the wisdom to know exactly where to aim it.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Heath Hendrickson, DDS

General Dentist; Owner and Course/Clinical Director, Western Surgical and Sedation (Wisdom Teeth Only / DrWisdomTeeth), Provo, UT · 24 years in dentistry and private practice, since 2002 After 40, Dr. Heath Hendrickson took over and revamped Western Surgical and Sedation, turning his daily work in IV sedation and third molar removal into a teaching practice for other dentists. Rather than add more procedures to stay competitive, he narrowed his focus to one or two things and built the systems to do them exceptionally well, and at 50 he is proudest of building a business around helping other dentists do this work well. The risk that paid off: turning his time and attention away from clinical practice to take over WSS, and putting himself in front of peers to say he was good enough at the work to teach it. The mindset that has fueled his growth since 40, he says, is asking what all the work is actually for, not just staying productive.

“Ambition comes from finding real passion in what you do, drawing energy from enjoying life on your terms, and creating something worth sharing that makes a difference in the lives of others, none of which has anything to do with age.”

Shannon Mackey

CEO, Marketly Digital, Snohomish, WA · 39 years in dentistry and business After years away from the agency raising four children, Shannon Mackey came back fully locked in and reinvented it, rebuilding its offering around real human stories that she calls marketing with love. Known as Momma Macks, she finds the heart of a practice and its people, then tells that story with video and photos across every channel, a method now trademarked as The Omni-Dentist Growth System. She took over the agency and ran it alongside her two sons. Her smartest move, she says, was merging with WEO Media, a competitor she met in an innovative mastermind: collaboration over competition.

“Be way braver. Nobody is watching as closely as you think, so speak up and do spectacular things loudly.”

Darius Somekhian

Co-Founder, Dentment, DDS Founders Fund, New York City Metropolitan Area · 30 years in the industry Darius Somekhian entered dentistry at 18, selling gloves out of a car in South Central Los Angeles, a hustle that became Darden Dental Supply, later acquired by Benco. He spent the next 17 years placing specialists into independent practices through what’s now DDS Recruit. After 40, he didn’t stop at recruiting: he launched DDS Founders Fund to connect oral-health companies in diagnostics, devices, and therapeutics with the same independent owners he already knew, plus DDS Matchmaker, the community built around that work.

“Ambition is whether you still get up after the low and put the next useful thing in motion, and that clock does not run out at 40.”

Dr. Jumoke Adedoyin, DDS

Dentist, Speaker & Co-founder, RIGHT, Atlanta, GA · 25 years in dentistry After more than two decades in dentistry, Dr. Jumoke Adedoyin walked away from a senior executive role to become a tech founder. She had risen from associate dentist to practice owner to leading clinically across hundreds of practices, and chose to start building again from the ground up. She co-founded RIGHT, a platform that connects dentists with experienced clinicians for real-world, on-site mentorship, and Full Scope Dental Partner Education, focused on practical clinical education. The mindset shift behind it, she says, was refusing to stay in one lane just because she had been successful in it.

“Because sometimes it takes age to finally become brave enough to go after what you really want.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Andrew Stave

Owner, Monster Dental Supply, West Palm Beach, FL · 18 years in the industry Andrew Stave is proudest of buying Monster Dental Supply from his parents and leading the second-generation company into the 2020s and beyond. He has since hired multiple outside sales representatives at once, reaching local practices that never knew the company existed, and brought on Monster’s first pharmacist so customers can order pharmaceutical supplies without juggling multiple vendors, an expensive investment that has thrilled his customers. He still sells every day, competing against younger, more tech-savvy reps, and credits his experience and long relationships for the edge. He also walks four miles every weekday morning, which has given him space to gather his thoughts and has led to a podcast and YouTube channel.

“This is a path that never ends, so love what you do and don't take your prior successes for granted.”

Dr. Parul Dua Makkar

PDM Family Dental, Dua Good Job · 23 years in dentistry Dr. Parul Dua Makkar is proudest of creating Dua Good Job, a trademarked movement she built from her hardest moments, and of becoming a speaker on oral cancer. After 23 years in dentistry, she is still growing the practice she started from scratch just shy of 40 while building a coaching and speaking business alongside it. Meditation, an abundance mindset, and the teachings of Dr. Joe Dispenza helped her stop panicking and start learning the lessons life puts in front of her. She sees peers reinventing themselves every day and says it is never too late to try something new. Outside the office, she hopes to visit every continent.

“Ambition is your knowing, your intuition that you have a higher purpose.”

Gary Harker

Founder & CEO, Harker Advisory, Lehi, UT · 11 years in the industry Gary Harker is proudest of building Harker Advisory, which helps business owners protect what they’ve built and take a proactive approach to tax planning. The firm offers an all-in-one service covering legal structuring, tax strategies, and full-service tax accounting. He took the risk of leaving a comfortable job to start his own firm, and credits learning to ask for help and trust others with responsibility as the shift that lets him focus on where he contributes most. He calls it a myth that your most meaningful work has to happen early in your career: experience, he says, can give you the clarity and confidence to build something better.

“Ambition comes from having a purpose and the willingness to keep growing, not from the number of birthdays you've had.”

Dr. Catrise Austin

Founder, Celebrity Branding, LLC · 30 years in dentistry With 30 years in dentistry, Dr. Catrise Austin is proudest of building a second career that builds other people’s careers. In July 2026 she produced and published Dental Exit Blueprint with Elijah Desmond, taking 29 dental-industry service providers to No. 1 bestselling author status in a single launch. In 2022 she launched Celebrity Branding LLC, a done-for-you visibility firm offering PR, book publishing, and podcast launching to dental professionals, and she also became a teledentist. She credits persistence for it all and says the biggest myth about aging is that you age out. Her experience, she says, is the asset; most people just never learn to tell the story.

“Ambition has no expiration date, and the people still chasing something after 40 are usually the ones who finally know exactly why they want it.”

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Michael Njo

Founder, Dental Strategies and Practice Transitions Institute, San Mateo, CA · 30+ years in dentistry, including 23 advising dentists on growth, ownership, and transitions A cervical spine injury ended Michael Njo’s clinical career and forced a hard question: who was he if he could no longer treat patients? The answer became Dental Strategies and, later, Practice Transitions Institute, where he now helps dentists navigate ownership and transition decisions. He’s proud of writing The Dental Practice Transitions Handbook, but what means most to him is hearing from dentists years later that his advice helped them become owners, protect what they’d built, or make more room for family.

“As long as you remain curious, willing to learn, and excited to help others, there is always another meaningful chapter to write.”

Jenelle Eaton

Founder, Arcata Dental Supply · 11 years in dentistry, 30 years in sales After 30 years in sales and 11 in dentistry, Jenelle Eaton is betting on herself. She is preparing to launch Arcata Dental Supply, a company built on the belief that service comes before the sale. Drawing on more than 40,000 implant calls and knowledge of more than 100 implant systems, she gives practices real answers before anyone talks about an order. She helped build DSO Pricing and says every frustration a practice shares is the start of something better. She walked away from a steady paycheck to start over, and says it took more courage than anything she did at 25. Outside work, she works out, swims, and spends time with her husband and two boys.

“Age counts the years behind you, while ambition is about the ones in front of you, and I have plenty left to build.”

Ali Soufi

Founder & CEO, DocSites Inc., Los Angeles, CA · 18 years in the industry After 40, Ali Soufi shifted his focus at DocSites toward something more sustainable: a stronger team, better systems, better technology, and happier clients. Along the way, he reinvented how he thought about delegation, learning that it means giving his team real ownership rather than just handing off tasks, which freed him to focus on the bigger picture. That shift extended to risk-taking too: he chose to disrupt systems and processes that had already worked for years, betting that streamlining the company would build a stronger foundation for what came next.

“This statement may be overused, but age is truly just a number!”

Deborah McPhee

SALUS Training Systems, Chicago, IL Deborah McPhee is proudest of turning survival into purpose. After surviving a violent crime at 42, she started college at 49 and earned her master’s degree at 58, using her education to learn how to keep women and families safe. That drive led her to build SALUS Training Systems, a Chicago company that teaches teams to recognize inappropriate behavior, speak up, and address problems before they escalate. It began as one class and one founder running around the city and now has a full catalog and a team of trainers. She is also an author, coach, and domestic violence advocate who swims most mornings and chases her grandkids. Her philosophy: compliance checks the box, but prevention protects the practice.

“Ambition is about staying curious and learning something every day, no matter your age. You rest, you rust!” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Jake Goates

CEO and Founder, GOAT CMO, Heber, UT · 13 years in dentistry; founded GOAT CMO in April 2023 After years spent helping other startups turn profitable, Jake Goates is proudest of the business he built entirely on his own terms. He designed a proprietary data analytics tool that mines a practice’s existing patient data to uncover spending and behavioral patterns, then uses it to sharpen marketing strategy and lower acquisition costs. Getting there wasn’t cheap: Goates cashed out his retirement, leveraged his home’s equity, and invested more than $250,000 of his own money to build a product nobody had seen before. It’s now helping marketing agencies onboard and deliver results for dental clients faster than ever.

“Age is all about perspective. I have a lot to give those I meet. My career isn't even close to over!”

Dr. Regina Espinoza, DDS, MBA, FICD

Owner, EZ Smiles Dental (Winnetka and Simi Valley, CA) and Camp Hill Smiles (Camp Hill, PA) · 18 years in dentistry Dr. Regina Espinoza is proudest of expanding her impact beyond her practices through humanitarian service and mentorship. After more than 13 years of dental missions in Honduras, she brought SHINE Dental Missions to El Salvador, the country where she was born, creating opportunities for dental students to gain clinical experience and serve underserved communities. Her September 2026 mission advanced her work toward a sustainable dental education program there. Beyond clinical dentistry, she launched Doc Tok Studios, a creative platform blending dentistry, storytelling, and animation. A second-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, she credits martial arts and a shift from asking “Can I do this?” to “How can I make this happen?” for her growth.

“Age does not define our limits; ambition is fueled by the courage to begin, the discipline to persevere, and the belief that our greatest accomplishments may still be ahead of us.”

Dr. Dar Radfar (“Dr. Rad”)

Strategic Partner, Intake Breathing, Santa Barbara, CA · 24 years in the industry Dr. Dar Radfar, known as “Dr. Rad,” has built his post-40 chapter around coaching and consulting dentists on sleep apnea and TMJ, pulling back from chairside work to focus on speaking and teaching. He credits the shift to personal development and, in his words, losing his ego.

“Ambition should grow as you age, as long as you have an open mind and show up.”

Lisa Weber, RDH

Founder, Amplified Dental, Stormville, NY · dental assistant at 19, hygienist since 1988, coaching practices for 14 years, founded Amplified Dental in 2020 Lisa Weber’s proudest accomplishment after 40 happened after 50: becoming a mother, when she and her husband adopted two sons from China. Professionally, she walked away from a clinical hygiene career generating $613,000 in annual production to become a practice coach, a leap she made because helping whole teams grow reached more patients than she could one at a time. When COVID-19 hit, she started running emergency campaigns for her husband’s practice and, seeing the same need across the practices she coached, built Amplified Dental, now a marketing agency serving dentistry exclusively.

“Ambition doesn't have an expiration date. If anything, experience gives you a much better idea of what to do with it.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

Ian Miller

CEO, Dental Mutuality, Montreal, Quebec, Canada · 11 years in dentistry, 45 in business When the 2008 recession upended his apparel business, Ian Miller reinvented himself in an industry he never planned for: dentistry. He built Dental Mutuality to close the gaps between patients, staff, doctors, DSO owners, and vendors, then built DentReel and DropShip Dental as subsidiaries along the way. He was 54 when he entered dentistry, 64 when he launched those two companies, and 65 when he landed his first DSO role, with no plans to slow down. Off the clock, Miller set a Guinness World Record playing in the world’s longest softball game (96 hours), raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local children’s charities, and walked away with his hamstrings intact.

“Age is only a number that we use to measure time. It has no bearing on ambition. Zero.”

Cecilia Chen

Attorney, Law Office of Cecilia Chen, San Diego, CA · 22 years practicing law, 15 in dental law Cecilia Chen has practiced law for 22 years, including 15 in dental law, and runs her own firm in San Diego. Her proudest accomplishment after 40 is achieving more work-life balance so she can spend more time with her kids. She is now looking to scale her practice by expanding into other states and markets, which she counts as her biggest risk. Her advice to her younger self is to be more patient and to focus on building an effective infrastructure. She says opportunities are abundant, that she is becoming more collaborative with colleagues, and that she is growing faster, not slower, as she ages. Outside work, she is passionate about eating well and exercising regularly.

“By living a healthy lifestyle, the sky is the limit.”

Greg Essenmacher

CEO and Founder, GnA Consulting, Scottsdale, AZ · 18 years in the industry Greg Essenmacher points to two accomplishments he’s proudest of after 40: launching the Neodent brand for Straumann Group, and finding the courage to bet on himself by founding GnA Consulting at age 50, when most people expect someone to play it safe. He credits staying teachable, bringing in business coaches, joining mastermind groups, and staying open to learning from others as the habits that have fueled his growth since. He’s also open about what grounds the rest of it: his recovery comes first, and he’s part of Sober Founders, a community of entrepreneurs in recovery, and serves on the board of Renewal in the Desert.

“Age is a state of mind, and I don't mind the state that I'm in.”

Dr. Desirée Walker

Lumber River Dental and Femme Strong, Lumberton, NC · 13 years in the industry Dr. Desirée Walker is a world champion powerlifter who has set multiple world records in her 40s. Her dental career nearly ended before it began because of debilitating neck and back pain, and strength training changed everything. At 47, she is stronger than she was in her 20s and has competed on American Ninja Warrior three times. She still practices dentistry at Lumber River Dental, and she founded Femme Strong, a platform helping women navigate midlife through strength training, metabolic health, hormone education, and mindset. Her biggest shift was falling in love with the process and replacing “What if I fail?” with “What might I learn?”

“Your age is simply the number of years you've been alive, not a measure of how much life, purpose, or possibility you have left.” DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

DENTAL LIFESTYLES • ISSUE NO. 16 2026

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Dental Lifestyles Fall 2026 Issue No. 16 | 40 Over 40