Just Two Minutes: Why Some Dentists Stay Poor

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

Eric didn’t think he’d be the guy to get embezzled. But then again, no one does.

One day, his regional manager pulled him aside and hit him with:
"Hey, I need to talk to you… we think an employee has been stealing."

That’s when he found out that over $1,000 in DoorDash orders had been charged to the practice… all delivered straight to the thief’s home.

Oh, and also:

• No cash deposits had been made for three months.

• She had access to the practice bank account and deposit slips.

• She was covering her tracks (badly) by writing fake deposit slips.

In total, they estimated the theft at $5,000… which, in embezzlement math, probably means $15K+.

If you think this is rare, you’re wrong. The average dental theft is over $100K. Some cases? Over a million.

Why does this happen? Because most dentists are running charities, not businesses.

Here’s how most dentists set themselves up for financial failure:

1️⃣ We trust too much.

• "My team is like family!" Cool, but will your family steal from you? Probably.

• Eric’s embezzler was friendly, gung-ho, and a total fraud.

2️⃣ We don’t track our money.

• Not checking cash deposits? Not running your own reports?

• That’s like leaving the doors unlocked and wondering why your car is gone.

3️⃣ We don’t control access.

• Employees have admin privileges.

• No audit trails, no password security.

• "Oops, I forgot to log out" turns into thousands disappearing.

4️⃣ We assume someone else is handling it.

• Eric thought things were running smoothly after selling to a DSO.

• Turns out, when "everyone" is responsible for oversight, no one actually is.

Most dentists think their income is what makes them successful. It’s not. What you keep is what matters. And the truth is, most dentists are terrible at keeping their money.  We’re so focused on production numbers and new patients that we forget the basics—like making sure our deposits actually hit our bank account.

Fix It Before You’re the Next Eric

• Print your own damn reports. Every day. Don't let staff filter your info.

• Check your bank deposits. Your software says you made $10K today? Verify it actually hit the bank.

• Lock down admin access. Limit who can edit payments, issue refunds, or adjust ledgers.

• Change your passwords. No more "dentist123." (Yes, someone reading this has that password.)

-Dr. Alex

P.S. If you want to hear the full episode of our podcast where we talk about our crazy story to David Harris, the embezzlement specialist, click the button below!