What have I learned in my journey from avid podcast consumer to cohost of “Dental Unfiltered”? Great podcasts are what you make of them: an engaging escape from the daily grind, or a powerful springboard to your dreams.

By Andrew Vallo, DDS

ANOTHER 80-MINUTE commute home from my public health job in rural Ohio. The year was 2016, and as a freshly minted DDS, I did this five days a week from Columbus. Fortunately, I got to pass the time learning from some of dentistry’s brightest minds as they lectured on topics including practice management, overhead reduction, patient experience and marketing.

It would be almost five years before I opened my first startup office in 2021, but I could not consume enough dental podcast content. My heroes became people like Dr. Mark Costes, Dr. Craig Spodak, Dr. Peter Boulden and Dr. Paul Etchison (literally the “Dental Practice Hero”). Dental schools seem to find nonclinical subjects irrelevant, so these served as my formal business education, preparing me to found and grow four startup dental offices in just over three years.

Fast-forward to June 2023, when I was approached by a friend with the idea of creating a podcast of our own. Matt Brown is one of the owners of Energize Group Dental Marketing, the company I use for my own practice advertising. At the time, I was preparing to open my fourth startup and had an infant son at home. Initially I told Matt no way; I just couldn’t imagine taking on another project. But after a little thought and a lot of pestering, I began to reconsider. After all, it was the free podcast content of other doctors that gave me the knowledge I needed to create my own success. Busy or not, maybe it was time to pay it forward. Episode one of Dental Unfiltered premiered in August 2023. Initially, we released episodes twice a month. As time passed, and we received more great feedback from our audience, we went weekly. New episodes now drop every Wednesday.

Sometimes dentists ask, “Why give away your secrets for free?” I believe information is meant to be shared. Mindset is everything for an entrepreneur. The most successful dentists I know all have one thing in common: an abundance mindset. I am a member of a “dental mastermind” group with some extremely successful individuals. We hold nothing back, because we know that together we are stronger.

Podcasting doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. We spent a few hundred dollars on basic equipment: microphones, cameras and an audio mixer. We have a great student intern, Neil, who helps edit the episodes. It takes about five hours a month to record them. We also meet once a month to discuss topics and guests, with whom my assistants help coordinate schedules.

We spend no money marketing the podcast, but we’ve found that going from semimonthly to weekly helped us gain momentum. We may even go twice weekly at some point. (I recommend at least weekly release.) I’ve also built a reputation on Facebook as part of groups like Dental Nachos, Nifty Thrifty Dentists and Making of a Dental Startup. I posted in these groups announcing our podcast and I update members on the release of key episodes.

Dental Unfiltered has grown faster than I could have imagined. After just six months, it surpassed 75,000 downloads. I can’t attend a conference without someone telling me how much they value it. Usually, it’s a dentist I haven’t met. If you’re looking to add purpose to your life, providing value to others can really fill your cup.

ANDREW VALLO, DDS owns multiple practices across the Tampa, Florida, area. A Pittsburgh native, he graduated from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. He is also a 2024 Incisal Edge 40 Under 40 honoree (see page 46). When he’s not practicing, podcasting, husbanding or dadding, he’s raising money for local pet rescues. Contact him at docvallodds@gmail.com.