Dental Management Unfiltered | An Unfiltered Origin Story

What happens when two guys from skate parks and sound stages walk into dentistry? You get Management Unfiltered—a conversation where culture beats ego, patient experience beats gimmicks, and leadership gets real about burnout and grace. In this episode, hosts Zach Shelley and Kirk Teachout trace their unconventional paths from skateboarding and music to practice leadership. Along the way, they break down how to craft memorable patient experiences, define your ideal patient, and build a culture people love to be part of—without turning your practice into a rigid, top-down “kingdom.”

Here’s the story, and the playbook that falls out of it.

From halfpipes and tour vans to handpieces and P&L sheets

Zach spent years as a professional skateboarder—big stages, bright lights, and pressure-packed runs where one trick sticks in a judge’s mind. Kirk grew up in a family of musicians, played drums through college, toured in bands, and learned how branding, a tight live show, and real emotion push someone from the crowd to the merch table. Both careers look far from dentistry, but the lessons match:

Experience is the product. A clean line on a halfpipe or a set that brings goosebumps—those moments linger. Great practices engineer the same feeling.
Consistency matters more than hype. You can’t fake timing or tone on a stage, and you can’t fake respect or reliability with patients.
Business is business. Operations, messaging, leadership—it all transfers when you care about people and keep your promises.

Kirk eventually helped his wife buy a practice right before 2020 (what timing!). Zach spent 11 years as a dental lab tech before practice management. Both now coach and build systems with the same creative energy they sharpened in their first careers.

“Unfiltered” isn’t a gimmick—it’s a working standard

They botch the intro. They laugh about it. And they keep going. That’s the point. The show mirrors the workplaces they’re advocating: authentic, generous, and human, with standards that keep the wheels on.

Why does this matter? Because patients and teams can feel the difference between a script and a real conversation. When leaders show up as themselves—clear, consistent, and a little imperfect—trust grows. And trust is the soil where case acceptance, referrals, and team loyalty actually take root.

Building a patient experience people can’t stop talking about

You don’t need hot towels, a cappuccino bar, or a spa playlist. Those can be nice touches, sure, but the core experience is simpler and stronger:

Respect their time.
Call it a reception area, not a “waiting room.” The goal is flow: receive → seat → treat → schedule → out. Estimates are ready. Handoffs are crisp. People feel you planned for them, not around them.
Make the journey frictionless.
The front and back of house run a smooth loop, so patients never bounce between uncertainty and paperwork. The result? They want to leave a review because they feel seen, understood, and taken care of.
Be unforgettable for the right reasons.
Zach’s contest-finishing Miller flip wasn’t random—it was designed to stick. In dentistry, your “last trick” is often a small, repeated moment: your on-time starts, the way you explain “why now,” or the simple kindness your team carries from room to room.

Keep the show simple, repeatable, and generous. That’s what people remember.

Define your “ideal patient” like you mean it

“Good patients” is not a definition. Get specific:

Insurance-aware, not insurance-driven. You guide care by health, not coverage sheets.
Time-respecters. They show up because you do. If you engineer punctuality, you attract people who value it.
People you enjoy. Yes, personality fit is a practice strategy. Folks bring friends like themselves—so shape the circle on purpose.

A funny thing happens when you stay consistent: patients who aren’t a fit self-select out (and often refer others who also aren’t a fit). That’s okay. It protects your culture and your schedule.

Culture over kingdom: the kind of leadership people run toward

Zach shares a line from his wife that lands like a drum hit: “Build culture over kingdom.” A kingdom is one person on top, pushing dictates down. Culture is shared standards, clear lanes, and mutual respect. The second scales; the first cracks under pressure.

What “culture over kingdom” looks like:

Standards are clear and written.
Leaders invite input, then make decisions—and explain why.
People are trusted to solve problems and “surprise you with their results” (a George Patton line Kirk loves).
When someone isn’t meeting the standard, feedback is direct and humane. If it doesn’t shift, you part ways without poison.

In short: set the bar, model the bar, coach to the bar. No crowns, no thrones—just a team rowing the same direction.

The law of the lid (and why your team can’t exceed you)

Kirk references John Maxwell’s “law of the lid”: your leadership level sets the ceiling for your team’s effectiveness. If you’re a 5 out of 10, your team will not become a 9. You can hire talent, sure, but stars won’t stay where they can’t grow.

The fix isn’t heroic. It’s practical:

Read, train, and ask for feedback.
Pick three behaviors you’ll model daily (e.g., on-time starts, calm handoffs, clear “why now” explanations).
Review them weekly and coach to them.

Raise your lid a notch at a time. The team follows.

Onboarding and standards: the invisible engine

Some groups run a two-day onboarding intensive with manuals and modules. Others keep it lighter—but the goal is the same: codify your standard. New hires need to know:

What “on time” actually means here (and what we do when we’re not).
How a room handoff sounds.
What the doctor says—and doesn’t say—about money.
How treatment coordinators step in, and when.
How we handle hiccups without blame ping-pong.

Write it down. Role-play it. Keep it short and repeatable. The fewer decisions your team has to improvise, the more energy they have for people.

Vulnerability without chaos: leading on hard days

Leadership means you’re “on” more than you feel like being. But that doesn’t require a poker face. Patients and teams appreciate honest, bounded vulnerability:

With a patient: “Long night with the baby, but I’m here, and we’re going to take great care of you.”
With the team: “Today’s heavy. I need your help staying tight on handoffs and seat times.”

That kind of honesty earns grace without lowering the bar. The standard stays; the tone softens. It’s human, and it works.

Burnout is real. Outlets aren’t a luxury; they’re a plan.

Skateboarding, drums, running half marathons, fishing, lifting in the garage while the kids “work out” beside you—none of this is fluff. It’s maintenance. Burnout thrives where identity narrows to one role. Healthy leaders keep a second lane:

Pick something you enjoy that’s not dentistry.
Make it small and regular. A daily walk counts.
Let your kids see you do it. They learn resilience by watching you choose healthy rhythms.

When leaders have space to breathe, they bring that oxygen back to the practice.

Respect time like it’s a clinical standard

Nothing kills goodwill like chronic delays. If you promise 10:00, aim for 9:59. Patients feel honored, teams feel calmer, and schedules stay sane. Practical moves:

Structure blocks to match real procedure times.
Pre-build estimates so the checkout is quick.
Keep reception lean so you’re motivated to seat fast.
End-of-day huddle: what slipped, why, and what changes tomorrow.

Time respect is a habit, not a speech.

The simple playbook (that’s actually hard work)

Define the ideal patient in writing, share it with your team, and align marketing with it.
Map the patient loop (receive → seat → treat → schedule → out). Remove one friction point per week until the loop feels invisible.
Write your standards for punctuality, handoffs, estimates, and “why now” communication. Role-play them.
Coach the revenue moments. The doctor builds clinical clarity; the TC guides logistics. No mixed signals.
Protect culture over kingdom. Invite ideas, decide with clarity, and thank people for owning outcomes.
Name your outlet and put it on the calendar. Leaders who refill can keep giving.
Tell the truth on hard days without lowering the bar. Your team will meet you there.

It’s not flashy. It is memorable—because the result is a practice where people feel respected, known, and proud to belong.

Key Takeaways

Unconventional roots, practical wins. Lessons from music and skateboarding translate directly to dentistry: design experiences people remember and repeat.
Authenticity beats polish. Patients and teams trust leaders who are real, consistent, and generous—mistakes included.
Define your ideal patient. Aim for insurance-aware (not insurance-ruled), time-respecting people you genuinely enjoy. Like attracts like.
Engineer a frictionless loop. Reception isn’t a waiting room. Keep the flow tight: receive, seat, treat, schedule, out.
Culture over kingdom. Shared standards and trust outperform a top-down command style—especially under stress.
Raise your lid. Your leadership level caps the team. Invest in your own growth so the practice can rise.
Standards + onboarding = reliability. Write the basics, role-play them, and coach them. Clarity reduces chaos.
Bounded vulnerability works. Be honest on hard days without dropping the bar; it earns grace and keeps momentum.
Outlets prevent burnout. Regular non-dental pursuits aren’t extra—they’re fuel that keeps leaders steady.
Respect time like a clinical metric. On-time care builds trust, calms teams, and drives referrals.

If there’s a throughline, it’s simple: be real, set the standard, and make the experience unforgettable for the right reasons. That’s Management Unfiltered, and it’s a practice people won’t stop talking about.

Listen to the Original Podcast HERE.

View the Episode on YouTube HERE.