This year alone, I can’t count how many calls I’ve been on with leaders across the dental world talking about technology.

Some of those conversations are productive. Real discussions about where problems live and how technology can solve them.

Others unfortunately are more about telling and selling than actually listening.

I do my best to surround myself with people in my circle, whether founders, executives, or leaders, that show up with the right intentions. They care about helping, not just selling and if they don’t, the process gets cut short.

If you’ve ever taken a call from someone I’ve introduced you to, I’d like to think that’s been true.

After spending the past ten months not working in a a particular business, but really working on the business of dental technology, I’ve noticed something that keeps coming up:

A lot of DSOs and dental groups say they have one — but when you look under the hood, it’s usually a mix of habit, convenience, and gut feel.

And that’s not a criticism. It’s just reality in a fast-moving, vendor-heavy space filled with pressure to perform.

When I sit with clients, one of the first things we do is map out what technology they’re looking at — not from a sales or feature standpoint, but from an adoption and impact standpoint.

Lately I’ve been using a simple 2×2 framework to start that conversation.

It’s not perfect science. It’s also not meant to tell you what’s right or wrong.
It’s meant to help you see what you’re up against — to start a conversation.

Because when you can see where a piece of technology sits — how much lift it takes and how much impact it could deliver — you can start having the conversations that actually move your business forward.

This chart isn’t the same for everyone.
Where something lands depends on your team, your culture, your systems, where you see things, and how much you’ve already implemented.

For one DSO, Operational AI might be a huge lift — training, change management, rethinking workflows.
For another, it’s already part of the day-to-day rhythm, or they have the people in place to take on the onboarding.

That’s what makes this useful: it forces discussion.
It gets everyone in the room talking about these things and, in some cases, supporting decision-making the right way — through collaboration.

It’s an alignment tool. It helps the ops lead see what the finance team is worried about.
It helps dental groups understand where their team can support innovation, and helps vendors understand where to meet a group where they actually are.

When you walk through this kind of mapping, a few things start to stand out quickly.

➡️ It helps teams see where the gaps actually exist — where the effort is heavy, where the payoff can be real, and where time is better spent elsewhere.

➡️ It makes you think about how much lift each tool really takes, who’s going to have to be involved, and what it means for your teams already stretched thin.

➡️ It can also force a clearer look at true impact — what’s measurable, what’s an EBITDA mover, and what the real ROI might be once it’s live.

When you can see that together, it shifts the conversation from “what’s next” to “what matters most.”

Everyone’s version of this matrix will look different and that’s the whole point.

There’s no universal answer to where each tool sits. But having a shared way to look at it creates a better conversation — one that’s honest, specific and connected to outcomes.

Dental is a relationship business. Working with a partner you trust matters.

But let’s not just chase the shiny toy or the sales guy in the Hawaiian shirt that bought you drinks at a conference. Let’s work off a framework that helps produce the best possible outcomes for your business and your patients.

That’s what working on the business looks like.
And that’s where tech adoption starts to produce outcomes, not frustration.

I decided I don’t want to do this thing alone — Clayton Russell and I already have been having conversations each month that could be a podcast… so that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Yes… another dental podcast. You’re welcome!

In our first episode, we talk through a few things that caught our attention lately 👇

➡️ California’s new law tightening PE and MSO oversight
➡️ The recent public vs. private DSO moves from Dentalcorp and Park Dental
➡️ Vendor promises and pilots — what’s real vs. performative
➡️ PMS and data integrations — where access and openness still hold innovation back

Spotify Link Youtube Link Apple Music

DEO Revenue Intensive - Dallas

It seems conferences are either on the ascent or decline these days and DEO is on the ascent. They’ve built something that thrives on connection and community. The real momentum comes from peers learning and communicating with one another, not from just the stage presentations. Emmet, Rachel and the team are doing an amazing job.

The Innovation Partners see it too — success through alignment and trust. That trust comes from DEO being intentional about who gets invited to the table. If you’re a practice in the emerging group or “DEO” wheelhouse, it’s worth exploring membership.

Dental Leadership Event – Salt Lake City

I had the honor of curating and moderating a panel on AI at this year’s Dental Leadership Summit (formerly known as the DSO Leadership Summit).

We had a strong discussion around what’s real vs. what’s noise in AI, how to adopt pilots effectively and what the future of dental might look like.

That said, in the spirit of keeping it real, the event itself felt like a miss for many who attended. I’ve always enjoyed the people who run it and the effort behind it, but I think the format needs a reset.

This doesn’t need to be the end of the Summit, but it does need a return to its roots: HR, compliance, and leadership topics that speak directly to the people managing them.

If it does that, it could find its footing again. If not, I’m not sure next year will happen. For me, it’s definitely not on my schedule.

What This Years’s Conference’s Got Right (and What’s Missing) — This newsletter dives into what’s really working (and what’s not) across the dental event circuit — why connection is beating content, how DEO and Dykema are setting the tone, and what the next era of industry gatherings should look like.

If you’ve felt the shift from presentations to real conversations, this one’s for you.

Innovation Bottlenecked: Dentistry’s Data Problem   — This edition breaks down why innovation in dental still moves at a crawl — and what’s really holding it back.

I get into the data gatekeepers, the PMS bottlenecks, and why true progress depends on open integration, fair access, and vendors + DSOs pushing together for change.

 AI Fatigue: Awareness, Clarity and the Coming Shakeout — This one looks at where we really are in the AI curve — too many companies, too little differentiation, and a market that’s starting to feel the fatigue.

I break down what’s real, what’s not and how the next phase of AI in dental will be defined by consolidation, connected workflows, and solving more than one problem well.

Truly appreciate you being here and making it to the end. Have ideas, questions, or tech you want me to explore? Just reply to this or book some time with me to discuss.

- Matt