In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, I sit down with Brittany Rogars—Open Dental savant, founder of SKF Practice Solutions, and the woman quietly rescuing front office teams from burnout one button click at a time.

Brittany started in dentistry with zero experience, simply trying to support her young family. Today, she’s one of the most respected experts in Open Dental software, known for her ability to walk into an office, spot years of inefficiencies within minutes, and rebuild systems that actually make sense for humans—not just software.

But this conversation goes far beyond tech.

We dive into the hidden emotional toll broken systems create: burnout, frustration, overwhelm, resentment, high turnover, and team members who feel unheard and unsupported. Brittany explains how offices unintentionally build “Frankenstein systems,” how workarounds compound into chaos, and why most teams don’t even realize how much unnecessary weight they’re carrying until it collapses.

This episode is a must-listen if you’ve ever wondered:

Why is my front office always overwhelmed?

Why do our analytics never seem accurate?

Why do our best team members burn out?

Why do systems feel harder than they should be?

Brittany breaks down:

Why most practice management systems are being used incorrectly

The real reason front office teams feel exhausted and unsupported

How converting to Open Dental can backfire without the right training

Why “you don’t know what you don’t know” is the root cause of data chaos

How tiny inefficiencies compound into full-blown burnout

The truth behind third-party analytics and why your numbers are often wrong

The foundational systems every office should implement before scaling

Why burnout isn’t a people problem—it’s a systems problem

If you care about consistency, morale, data accuracy, team retention, or simply want your practice to run like a place humans enjoy working in… this is your episode.

You’ll learn:

Why the overwhelming majority of practices are misusing their software

How “old system habits” sabotage new systems like Open Dental

The compounding effect of workarounds and Band-Aid solutions

Why analytics tools show garbage numbers—and how to fix it

How burnout often originates from broken systems, not broken people

The simple Open Dental settings and shortcuts that save HOURS

How to rebuild systems thoughtfully so your team can breathe again

Why leaders must stop glorifying grind culture and start creating stability

We talk about:

00:00 Intro

00:30 Brittany’s story—from new mom to Open Dental expert

02:00 The most common mistake offices make when switching software

04:30 “Frankensteining” systems and recreating old inefficiencies

06:30 Hidden data problems and why numbers rarely match reality

09:00 Why team members burn out and what leaders don’t see

12:00 The snowball effect: how one small inefficiency becomes a crisis

15:00 Why YouTube training and DIY conversions don’t work

17:00 The emotional load front office teams carry

19:00 Quick wins: the buttons, settings, and tweaks that change everything

22:00 Brittany’s personal burnout story and why she built her company

24:00 What leaders misunderstand about turnover

26:00 The myth of limitless capacity and the danger of hustle culture

29:00 Why fixing systems is the REAL retention strategy

31:00 Final takeaways & why simplifying systems is an act of leadership

Connect with Brittany

Website: skfpracticesolutions.com

Instagram: @skfpracticesolutions

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-rogars-641736236/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222