Your expenses go up year over year — and so should your fees! In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, to help you think better about your fees and provide tips for when and how to raise them. To learn how to start owning your value and charging what you're worth, listen to Episode 998 of The Best Practices Show!
Learn More About Dr. Seay & Dr. Sisler:
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More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:
Episode Resources:
Main Takeaways:
Quotes:
“When I was younger, success meant when I can do this case, or when my practice is financially successful, or when I don't have to take insurance, or when I don't have to do this or that. And that's changed for me. The definition of success means so much more than just that. It's showing up for work and feeling happy and grateful that you get to do this. Then, when you are able to do these cases with confidence and feel like you're giving your patients your best, and you know how to run a practice instead of letting the practice run you, and when you can manage that with family life and other things — I mean, it's a whole package. So, my journey, I would say my vision is still evolving. It changes. You think you want something, and you go this path, and it brings you to something else. You encounter challenges, and you either say, ‘I'm going to keep going,’ or, ‘Maybe I have to deviate and alter something.’” (8:15—9:26) -Dr. Seay
“There was one thought that really resonated with me when I learned it early on with Dr. Dawson. That was, envision your life as if you knew you wouldn't fail.” (9:58—10:08) -Dr. Sisler
“Contentment, for me, is being at peace with where I am at in the process and knowing that I'm still able to move forward. I always felt like, ‘Well, I don't want to be content because that turns into complacency, and I'm not going to be able to achieve my vision.’ But I was like, ‘No, I need to recalibrate that again and say contentment is being at peace with where I'm at in the process. I'm still on the climb. I'm still going to pursue it as if I knew I wouldn't fail and keep pushing, pushing, pushing. But I'm content with that and I'm content with where I'm at.’ So, that's been a big mind shift for me in the last couple of years. It's helped me tremendously, and I think it would help a lot of people if they could grasp it.” (11:32—12:16) -Dr. Sisler
“Before we got on this recording, I shared the story with you about doing the things that make me content. It means saying no to things and really being intentional about my time. Of course, like Zach, I want to continue growing. Even though, yes, I've been practicing 24 years, and I've achieved some goals that I've set for myself, it doesn't mean that I've reached some pinnacle, or that I know everything and now it's all easy. I want to keep growing. I want to keep getting better. But I also see now how time slips away so fast. If I could go back, I'd tell my younger self to enjoy the ride a little bit more, and it's okay to take it easy, just a bit. I always thought the harder I grind, the more I do, the faster and better I'll be. And maybe that's old age telling you this, but I am learning to be more content, trying to work at a different pace — the one that works for my family, for me, and professionally as well. So, I still set goals. I still do those things. But it's not this race anymore where I think my earlier self really felt like I needed to do this as fast as I can.” (13:31—15:13) -Dr. Seay
“I was guilty of signing up for that accreditation process because I thought it was about the medal. I thought it was about the medal that I got. The day that I became accredited — you get it at the annual meeting — I was going to have my tux on with my bow tie and everything just right. I was like, ‘This is it. This is what I'm doing.’ Then, as you begin to go through the process, you realize that it's incredibly humbling because it's pushing you to your limits. It's making you look at things you've never seen before. It's sharpening your eyes to make you better. But it's also very, very hard to not throw the baby out with the bathwater because you're doing some really great dentistry, but then also you start to measure it up to a certain standard that we're trying to measure it up to, and maybe it's not. So, that was hard for me early on. And when I started down the process of that journey, I didn't get it. Like, I wasn't getting it . . . When I got the medal around my neck is when it hit me like a ton of bricks that it was really about the journey of me learning, not about the medal, and not about that logo that I can put on my website and things. It was about what it was shaping me to be.” (16:43—18:06) -Dr. Sisler
“You're going to get up on a lot of days and not feel great and have to go to the office and perform. So, what accreditation does for you is you're striving for perfection. You're striving at the highest level so that even when you're not at your best, when you fall, you're falling into the zone of excellence. So, I might not be perfect. I've never met anybody that's perfect. But when I come to a case, or when I come to something like that, I view it as, ‘Okay, I'm going to give it all that I possibly can. And even if I do that, there might be some shortcomings here or there. But it's still going to be at such a high level that this patient is getting my absolute best.’ So, the accreditation process trains your mind and trains your hands to be able to do that.” (18:26—19:17) -Dr. Sisler
“I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But for me, it was a personal challenge to myself to say, ‘Remember that moment where you wanted to strive to be a different dentist and to be those things.’ And not to say that achieving that medal would make me get there, but I knew that it would make me better. The growth that I had was exponential. It wasn't just the knowledge or the learning, but it really was the people that I met, the technicians, what I learned from my lab technician — and working with a really good one too — younger and older clinicians that I met, and being surrounded. I have a bigger community. I have this network that really helped me grow as a person.” (25:22—26:16) -Dr. Seay
“When you look at your own work, there's a tendency to look at it through rose-colored glasses. When somebody else is looking at your work and evaluating it and helping you see, you see things differently. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. So, the process, for me, has really taught me to see a different level of dentistry, give me the community, and give me the confidence. It's really shaped my career. I can't imagine where I'd be if I hadn't embarked on it.” (26:59—27:35) -Dr. Seay
“If there's anybody listening to this right now and they're maybe driving in their car, or they're on their way to work, and you're kind of in the mundaneness of it and you're like, ‘Man, another day. It's another Monday,’ just know that you were built for something more. So, if this is the spark that gets you going, then maybe it's time to come back to invest in yourself and say, ‘I'm going to do this because I know I'm meant for something more. I need something to shake this up.’ To me, I'm never going to be upset with investing in myself. So, this might be the investment that you're looking for here going into 2026. Or maybe you're like, ‘Man, things are getting stale. Things are getting stagnant.’ All right. It's up to you to make that change. It's up to you. You're built for something more than what you're doing right now, and you're probably more than capable in what you think you can do right now.” (40:42—41:38) -Dr. Sisler
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
1:01 Dr. Seay’s and Dr. Sisler’s backgrounds.
6:16 Dr. Seay’s and Dr. Sisler’s journeys.
13:11 Contentment, explained.
15:45 It’s not just about the medal.
22:35 The importance of finding your people.
34:57 Dr. Seay’s and Dr. Sisler’s DiSC styles.
36:33 Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell.
38:22 Last thoughts.
41:47 More about the AACD.
Dr. Amanda Seay DDS, FAGD, FAACD Bio:
Dr. Amanda Seay is the award-winning Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Clinical Director of Expertise Dental in Charleston, South Carolina. Her expertise ranges from complex restorative treatment planning to comprehensive preventative and reconstructive dentistry.
Dr. Seay is a recognized leader in the dental industry and has been featured in various dental publications for her influence and dedication to the profession. She was named the 11th Most Influential Person in Dentistry by Incisal Edge Magazine. She is the 85th dentist in the world who has earned the honor of Fellow Accredited Member status with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
Dr. Seay is the Director of Outreach and Engagement for the Seattle Study Club, an international and preeminent continuing education organization for dentists. She is also the co-creator of imPRES Dental Courses, an internationally recognized dental esthetics continuum. She holds a clinical instructor position at the Kois Center, one of the most prestigious dental institutes in the country, and has published over 70 articles covering the art and techniques of esthetic dentistry. She also serves as the Restorative Section Editor for Inside Dentistry.
In addition to operating a thriving full-time dental practice, Dr. Seay is a dedicated wife and the mother of four children.
Dr. Zachary Sisler Bio:
Dr. Zachary Sisler is a native of Kingwood, West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University, where he received an undergraduate degree in chemistry in three years. He continued his education at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. During his time at dental school, he explored the field of dentistry by completing externships and honor programs in oral surgery and endodontics. As a further testament to his dedication, he was honored with the following awards: Simon P. Hullihen Scholarship Award for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, American Association of Endodontics Student Achievement Award, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Student Award, Whip Mix 2010 Hanau Prosthodontic Award, Delta Dental Student Leadership Award, and the Quintessence Book Award for Restorative Dentistry.
Since graduation, Dr. Sisler has immersed himself in countless hours of continuing education. Dr. Sisler has attended lectures and hands-on courses at the prestigious Dawson Academy, where he has learned how to properly and predictably restore complex cases, not only from a functional standpoint but cosmetic as well. Dr. Sisler was asked to become an associate faculty member of The Dawson Academy, and while continuing his own continuing education pursuits, dedicates time to teaching dental professionals the concepts of complete dentistry.
Dr. Sisler has earned the Accredited Member credential in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), joining an elite group of dental professionals who have successfully completed the accreditation process in The Academy. He is one of 417 to achieve this status of cosmetic dentistry in the world.
Dr. Sisler has a strong passion for dentistry and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects, particularly cosmetic dentistry. He holds memberships with the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Pennsylvania Academy of General Dentistry, Pennsylvania Dental Association, Harrisburg Area Dental Society, American Equilibration Society, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.