{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Dental Economist Show","title":"Dr. Larry Benz on Why Caring Without Connection Is What Burns Dentists Out","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3034,"description":"\nWhat if empathy, connection, and communication were treated as clinical skills—not soft extras?\n\nCheck out Dr Larry Benz’ book at https://www.amazon.com/Called-Care-Professionals-Humanizing-Experience/dp/1544552998/\n\nIn this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker speaks with Dr. Larry Benz, CEO of Dental Care Alliance and author of Called to Care for Dentistry, about the relationship between human connection, patient outcomes, provider wellbeing, and business performance.\nDr. Benz brings a unique perspective shaped by more than 30 years in multi-site healthcare. A physical therapist by training, he built and scaled Confluent Health into an 800-plus clinic network before joining Dental Care Alliance’s board in 2024 and becoming CEO within a year.\nLarry explains the research behind Called to Care, including how provider empathy and relational connection can affect clinical outcomes, case acceptance, retention, referrals, and workplace culture. He also introduces the idea of “calcification”—the gradual emotional hardening that can cause providers to see a patient as a procedure rather than a person—and why connection is a critical antidote to burnout.\nThe conversation also explores dental anxiety, the power of language in the operatory, and why the profession must stop allowing insurance limitations to define treatment conversations. Larry shares how DCA paired operational and cultural transformation with its recent balance-sheet restructuring, and why he believes the most important capital investment a DSO can make is in its people.\nEpisode chapters\n\n00:00 From physical therapy to leading Dental Care Alliance\n05:41 What surprised Dr. Benz about dentistry\n08:02 The research behind Called to Care\n17:25 Calcification, burnout, and the importance of connection\n25:21 How DSOs can protect patient-centered care\n32:49 Dental anxiety, avoidance, and underdiagnosis\n36:44 Why insurance should not drive the treatment conversation\n38:42 Rebuilding DCA’s...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/pXIUMbOEuiksPUbVXasFztN2AhF8jLC1sdhC31mYG5Y/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85MjE0/ZTlmZjRhZjkwYTM5/ZTFkMzcxOWJjMDU3/ZTc2Yi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}