The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes · 2026-08-13 · 31 min
On today's episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Wendy Briggs live from Thrive Live 2026 in Las Vegas. Wendy shares her perspective on the current state of dental hygiene, including the ongoing provider shortage, rising wages, temp labor trends, and the growing need for practices to shift from hiring to recruiting. She explains how strong hygiene departments are built through better systems, clearer communication, elevated patient care, and compensation models that create wins for the patient, the provider, and the practice. Wendy and Mark also discuss assisted hygiene, risk assessment, preventive therapy, periodontal care, treatment advocacy, and how hygienists can help drive treatment acceptance by making conditions visual and partnering more effectively with the doctor. Throughout the conversation, Wendy emphasizes that production should never be the goal, but rather the natural result of serving patients at the highest possible level. Be sure to check out the full episode from the Dentalpreneur Podcast! EPISODE RESOURCES Dental Success Network
2575: How to Keep Your Team Compliant and Supported80 / 100
2573: The Stress-Free Hygiene System2572: The Daily Money System Every Practice Owner Needs
2571: Training the Next Generation of Dental Assistants
2570: Better Patient Care Starts With Better Questions