The Special Lists
The Special Lists
Podcast Description
The Special Lists, presented by Referral Lab, is the podcast for dentists and dental specialists. Running a dental practice isn’t easy, and if you’re in private practice, it can sometimes feel like you’re on an island. That’s why finding your people—those who’ve been in your shoes and can share real, lived experiences—changes the game.Referral Lab is for dental specialists, helping you track, manage, and convert every referral. It’s about improving case acceptance, boosting team performance, and strengthening relationships with referring providers so your whole practice runs smarter. This spirit of connection drives The Special Lists podcast.Hosted by the team behind Referral Lab, we bring you hard-earned wisdom from practice owners and dental professionals, each guest sharing their own "special list" from the wins, mistakes, and lessons that shape their practices today.Got a question for us? Send us a message at speciallists.com (with two L's!)Transform your referral workflow with Referral Lab, the purpose-built platform for dental specialists to track, manage and convert every referral. Request a demo at referrallab.io Cameron FullCo-Founder of Referral LabCameron Full, co-founder of Referral Lab, is a strategic problem-solver with expertise in business management and digital solutions. He combines leadership, creativity, and technology to drive success across various industries.Michael Seda, DMD, MSPeriodontist and Co-Developer of Referral LabDr. Michael Seda is a laser-trained periodontist serving Marin County and San Francisco. As part of an elite group offering FDA-cleared laser gum treatment, he focuses on patient-centered care, advanced technology, and personalized treatment plans.Jason Souyias, DDSPeriodontist and Co-Founder of Referral LabDr. Jason Souyias is a periodontist, educator, and co-founder of Referral Lab software. He teaches dentists and hygienists, including as a Pikos Institute faculty member. In his Port Huron private practice, he's known for excellent patient communication and experience. He's passionate about his work and dedicated to helping other dentists.The Special Lists is a production of The Axistheaxis.io
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on topics relevant to dental practices, such as improving case acceptance, enhancing team performance, and fostering stronger relationships with referring providers. Episodes cover a variety of subjects, including sharing 'special lists' of wins and lessons learned, addressing mistakes in practice management, and discussing advanced techniques in dentistry.
The Special Lists, presented by Referral Lab, is the podcast for dentists and dental specialists. Running a dental practice isn’t easy, and if you’re in private practice, it can sometimes feel like you’re on an island. That’s why finding your people—those who’ve been in your shoes and can share real, lived experiences—changes the game.
Referral Lab is for dental specialists, helping you track, manage, and convert every referral. It’s about improving case acceptance, boosting team performance, and strengthening relationships with referring providers so your whole practice runs smarter. This spirit of connection drives The Special Lists podcast.
Hosted by the team behind Referral Lab, we bring you hard-earned wisdom from practice owners and dental professionals, each guest sharing their own “special list” from the wins, mistakes, and lessons that shape their practices today.
Got a question for us? Send us a message at speciallists.com (with two L’s!)
Transform your referral workflow with Referral Lab, the purpose-built platform for dental specialists to track, manage and convert every referral. Request a demo at referrallab.io
Cameron Full
Co-Founder of Referral Lab
Cameron Full, co-founder of Referral Lab, is a strategic problem-solver with expertise in business management and digital solutions. He combines leadership, creativity, and technology to drive success across various industries.
Michael Seda, DMD, MS
Periodontist and Co-Developer of Referral Lab
A clinician and entrepreneur, Dr. Seda brings 19 years of private practice experience to his periodontal and implant surgery practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Seda’s interests are rooted in evaluating and influencing private practice management systems in dentistry. He wants to increase practice efficiency, establish a greater sense of collaboration and trust among practice team members, and enhance quality of care and service delivered—all while maximizing and growing profitability.
Through associateship opportunities early in his career, Dr. Seda was exposed to various private practice leadership and business models. He witnessed first-hand inconsistencies in the degree of success and failure owners experienced in private practices. This ignited his passion for learning what empowers practices to thrive and grow successfully while delivering a highly satisfying patient experience.
He is particularly interested in using cutting-edge analytics platforms to measure advanced practice metrics. He leverages these to design data-driven strategies to enhance referral patterns, scheduling systems, case acceptance rates, and other key performance indicators that lead to practice growth and patient satisfaction.
His education spans several disciplines, including a degree in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Doctorate degree from Harvard University (DMD), and a Master’s degree in Periodontics and Oral Medicine from Columbia University.
Jason Souyias, DDS
Periodontist and Co-Founder of Referral Lab
Dr. Jason Souyias is a periodontist, educator, and co-founder of Referral Lab software. He teaches dentists and hygienists, including as a Pikos Institute faculty member. In his Port Huron private practice, he’s known for excellent patient communication and experience. He’s passionate about his work and dedicated to helping other dentists.
The Special Lists is a production of The Axis
theaxis.io
Put an image of your patient’s cracked molar up on a 50-inch screen, stay quiet, and watch them diagnose it themselves. When Dr. Josh Austin started scanning every patient at every visit, it transformed how he presented restorative, ortho, and implant work.
The scanner earns its keep by selling without feeling like selling. Josh explains why its value isn’t the crown scan — it’s getting the patient to say yes to the crown, and how showing people their own recession, cracks, and simulations gets them diagnosing their own mouths.
The last thread is the one most GPs skip: clear aligners as a restorative tool, making the case that a few months of alignment before veneers or a crown can save you from bigger, more invasive dentistry down the road.
From the mental health of dentists, to the intraoral scanner as a case-acceptance engine, to using clear aligners to make restorative dentistry easier, Josh lays out why our profession is 2.5x more likely to die by suicide, how dental school quietly trains bad habits, and why his answer, after years of giving the talk, comes down to one word.
Plus: 6 dentists travel to Paris together, 37 pounds of trafficked French butter, and crashing a 13-course Michelin dinner.
Guest
Dr. Joshua Austin runs a full-time restorative practice in San Antonio, Texas, and in early 2025 moved from a solo operatory into an eight-op, three-doctor office. He writes the “Pearls for Your Practice” column for Dental Economics, serves as global faculty for Align Technology and resident faculty at Spear Education, and in 2024 won the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and Seattle Study Club “Case of the Year.”
A graduate of the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, he lectures across the country on dental technology, ortho-restorative treatment, and mental health, including his signature talk, “The Mental Dental Connection: The Secret to Being a Better Clinician and Better Leader.”
Learn more or book Josh to speak: austindentalseminars.com
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn
Questions answered by this episode:
- Why are dentists more likely to struggle with anxiety, depression, and suicide?
- How does dental school create bad habits around alcohol and perfectionism?
- Can therapy actually help dentists manage the stress of practice ownership?
- How do I use an intraoral scanner to improve case acceptance?
- Why do patients say yes to treatment when they can see their own scan?
- What is the best way to present a cracked tooth or failing filling to a patient?
- How does SSRI (antidepressant) use affect dental implant success?
- Should general dentists offer clear aligners in a restorative practice?
- How can ortho with clear aligners make restorative dentistry easier?
- Why don’t dentists look at occlusion, and how do I start?
About The Special Lists
The Special Lists, presented by Referral Lab, is the podcast for dentists and dental specialists. Running a dental practice isn’t easy, and if you’re in private practice, it can sometimes feel like you’re on an island. That’s why finding your people—those who’ve been in your shoes and can share real, lived experience—changes the game.
Referral Lab was built specifically for dental specialists, helping you track, manage, and convert every referral. It’s about improving case acceptance, boosting team performance, and strengthening relationships with referring providers so your whole practice runs smarter.
This spirit of connection fuels The Special Lists podcast. Hosted by the team behind Referral Lab, we bring you wisdom from practice owners and dental professionals, sharing the wins, mistakes, and lessons that shape how they run their businesses today.
Got a question for us? Send us a message at speciallists.com (with two L’s)
Transform your referral workflow with Referral Lab, the purpose-built platform for dental specialists to track, manage and convert every referral. Request a demo at referrallab.io
Hosts
Cameron Full
Co-Founder of Referral Lab
Cameron Full, co-founder of Referral Lab, is a strategic problem-solver with expertise in business management and digital solutions. He combines leadership, creativity, and technology to drive success across various industries.
Connect with Cameron on LinkedIn
Jason Souyias, DDS
Periodontist and Co-Founder of Referral Lab
Dr. Jason Souyias is a periodontist, educator, and co-founder of Referral Lab software. He teaches dentists and hygienists, including as a Pikos Institute faculty member. In his Port Huron private practice, he’s known for excellent patient communication and experience. He’s passionate about his work and dedicated to helping other dentists.
More about Port Huron, Michigan periodontist Dr. Jason Souyias
Michael Seda, DMD, MS
Periodontist and Co-Developer of Referral Lab
A clinician and entrepreneur, Dr. Seda brings 19 years of private practice experience to his periodontal and implant surgery practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Seda’s education spans several disciplines, including a degree in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Doctorate degree from Harvard University (DMD), and a Master’s degree in Periodontics and Oral Medicine from Columbia University.
More about Bay Area periodontist Dr. Michael Seda
Follow Dr. Seda on Instagram @sedaperio
Co-hosts: Cameron Full, Jason Souyias, DDS & Michael Seda, DDS
Producer: Eva Sheie @ The Axis
Assistant Producer: Mary Ellen Clarkson
Engineering: Cameron Laird
Theme music: Papa Funk, spring gang
Cover Art: Dan Childs
The Special Lists is a production of The Axis.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.