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Join Laura Horton and Leanna Best for a light-hearted catch-up where dentistry talk meets real-life banter. No guests, no scripts — just honest conversations, laughs, and a few surprises. Tune in for our popular features, such as Banned Words and Confessions, where dental professionals share their funniest, most shocking, and downright gross stories for us to read aloud. Fresh, fun, and a little bit cheeky — welcome to the new Horton Hangout podcast 2.0 for the dental team and industry.
Episodes
4 days ago
4 days ago
This week’s episode is a rollercoaster of awkward confessions, heartfelt honesty, and real talk about running a dental practice. Laura and Leanna dive into everything from changing the word “patient” to “client’, to the power of transparency in financial targets, and a dental nurse’s accidental – and audible – bodily moment mid-root canal.
In this episode:
- 🇮🇪 Leanna’s back from another fab trip to Ireland – full of energy, insight, and interactive learning
- 🦷 Laura shares a behind-the-scenes look at her patient experience evaluation days – and how one Monday morning went completely off the rails
- 💻 Why one dentist’s interactive TV during assessments absolutely wowed Laura
- 🚫 Banned Word: “Patient” – should we be using “client” instead? Laura explains why it matters, and the responses she’s had from both ends of the spectrum
- 📊 Hangout Question: Which KPIs matter most for the whole team – and how do you actually get people to care?
- 😂 Confession #1 (Dental Nurse): A mid-treatment fart that echoed through the surgery – and was very much owned
- 😱 Confession #2 (Practice Manager): When your best friend applies for a job… and accidentally CCs the boss
Link to send in your confession
Link to send in your question for the Horton Hangout
Links you may find useful
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
In this powerful and hilarious episode, Laura and Leanna blend heartfelt discussion with their trademark humour. They open with a moving conversation about miscarriage rights, share banned words that sabotage patient trust, and dive into workplace stories you genuinely won’t believe – including lollipops, expensive sofas, and a nurse accidentally declaring “love you” to a patient.
In this episode:
- Leanna reflects on a brilliant training trip to Ireland – and why interactive clients make all the difference
- ⚖️ Did you know there’s no bereavement leave in law for miscarriages under 24 weeks? Laura breaks down what’s changing — and why it matters deeply to the dental profession
- 💔 Women suffering in silence at work, and the role clinic owners play in emotional support
- ❌ Banned words alert: “Policy” and “Check-up” get the chop — and Laura’s got a hilarious rug doctor story to prove her point
- 🗣️ The case for saying “system”, “routine assessment” or “dental health review” instead
- 🐌 When a team member is painfully slow — and why that doesn’t fly in dental nursing
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😂 Coworker nicknames
- 😳 Confession: Lollipops, bodily fluids & water theft at closing time
- 😬 Confession: Dental nurse accidentally says “love you” to a patient… in front of the whole waiting room
- 📢 Reminder: Share your own anonymous confession — we need more
Link to send in your confession
Link to send in your question for the Horton Hangout
Links you may find useful
Thursday Jun 26, 2025
Thursday Jun 26, 2025
In Episode 3, Laura and Leanna are back with plenty of laughter and a side of chaos. From speaking surprises (this btw was a wind up) to patients storming in and swinging shirts over their heads — it’s a wild one.
Laura teases that Leanna might be speaking at the Dentistry Show, Laura’s idea of having a joke. She did confess to this wind up when filming wrapped up for the day!
They dig deeper into banned phrases in dental practice (hint: "take a seat" is out), explore the controversial plan to get teachers brushing kids’ teeth, and unpack a listener question about transitioning a dental nurse into a TCO role — including how to handle pay, responsibilities and expectations.
In this episode:
- 🎤 Laura jokes that Leanna might be speaking at the Dentistry Show — but don’t worry, she was only winding her up (Laura!). All in good fun — and yes she sets the record straight in the show notes!
- 🛎️ A story about the world’s most memorable waiter and secret hotel stays
- ❌ Banned Word of the Week: “Take a seat” — say “make yourself comfortable” instead
- ☕ Offer a “refreshment”, not “a drink” – language matters in patient care
- 🚽 Why “bathroom” sounds better than “toilet” in a dental setting
- 🪥 News: Should teachers teach tooth brushing in schools? Laura & Leanna debate
- 🧒 Neglect vs. lazy parenting — and what’s really behind poor oral hygiene in kids
- 📚 Laura’s oral health awakening & teaching Cub Scouts via Yellow Pages
- 😂 Funny co-worker nicknames: Lantern, Motion Sensor, Foreskin
- 😱 Confessions: Shirt-swinging protester and cake-stealing “non-verbal” guest
- 🚨 Crime scene confession — when Monday morning starts with a broken door and blood
- 👩⚕️ Listener Q: Transitioning a dental nurse to a TCO – how to do it properly
- 💷 Pay bands, training periods, and how to have difficult conversations the right way
Links you may find useful
Link to send in your confession
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
In this episode of The Horton Hangout, Laura and Leanna open up about the real-life juggle of parenting, running businesses, and staying sane. They continue the banned words in dentistry conversation (spoiler: hygiene might be doing more harm than good) and share side-splitting workplace confessions — including the mystery of a pair of rogue knickers and a dentist who really should’ve chosen his words more wisely.
What you'll hear in this episode:
- 🤹♀️ The juggle of business and motherhood – and why empathy is everything
- ❤️ Husband appreciation voice notes (private but powerful!)
- ❌ New “banned word” alert: why saying hygiene appointment might put patients off
- ☎️ From “follow-up” to “care call” – making post-treatment contact feel positive and professional
- 🤣 More hilarious co-worker nicknames (featuring Teflon, Kit Kat and Wheelbarrow)
- 😳 Confessions of a dental nurse: the worst job ever — and the infamous “suck” story
- 🩲 A jaw-dropping tale involving a patient, a child… and a pair of knickers
- 📱 This week’s hot topic: Should WhatsApp be banned in dental practices? Laura and Leanna debate the pros, cons, and culture clash
Links you may find useful
Link to send in your confession
Thursday Jun 12, 2025
Thursday Jun 12, 2025
Welcome to the debut episode of The Horton Hangout!
🎉 Laura and Leanna kick things off by sharing personal stories from their careers in dentistry, hilarious workplace nicknames, words they believe should be banned from dental practices, and insights into managing part-time roles post-maternity leave.
In this episode:
- 💬 Catching up on recent travels and time spent together in Scotland
- 🦷 Leanna’s journey into dental nursing and beyond
- 🚫 The words they recommend are banned from dental practices
- 😂 Laugh-out-loud nicknames for co-workers
- 😳 Confessions of a.. Practice Manager and TCO
- 🤱 Advice for handling flexible working requests after maternity leave
- 🧠 Why high-responsibility roles may not suit minimal part-time hours
- 🌟 Final thoughts: professional boundaries, proactive leadership, and setting the right tone in practice culture
Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to The Horton Hangout
00:18 - Catching up & recap
01:19 - Reflections on recent team event
03:39 – Leanna’s path into dental nursing
10:12 - Banned words’
20:25 - Funny coworker nicknames
22:13 - Confession: Interviewee refused to leave – police were nearly called!
29:06 - Confession: TCO diary mix-up leads to mistaken identity
35:29 - Listener question: Managing part-time staff after maternity leave
42:13 – Leanna’s story: Stepping away after baby number two
43:15 - Closing thoughts & outro
Our links:
Link to send in your confession
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
Join Laura Horton and Leanna Best for a light-hearted catch-up where dentistry talk meets real-life banter. No guests, no scripts — just honest conversations, laughs, and a few surprises. Tune in for our popular features, such as Banned Words and Confessions, where dental professionals share their funniest, most shocking, and downright gross stories for us to read aloud. Fresh, fun, and a little bit cheeky — welcome to the new Horton Hangout podcast 2.0 for the dental team and industry.
Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
- Understanding the dental trade
- Publishing in modern times
- How to win awards
- How to best market
- The importance of networking
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Saturday May 01, 2021
Saturday May 01, 2021
In this podcast Laura had the honour to hangout with Rachel Jackson.
Rachel is the founder of Superior Smiles in Knutsford, Cheshire. Her last 17 years have been a journey of discovery, learning, upskilling, and refining in the field of dentistry. She has over 12 years’ experience as a practice manager and treatment coordinator and 3 years ago she accomplished her goal of opening a practice where the patient is at the centre of every thought process. Having worked alongside many highly skilled clinicians in high-end private practices has given her the insight, knowledge and experience to work with her team in delivering a professional, positive, and comfortable end-to-end experience for every patient. Rachel is extremely passionate about dentistry and feels privileged to work within a profession where she can make a true difference to people’s lives.
Our listeners sent in some great questions around:
- Top tips for setting up your own practice?
- If you had to do it all again….would you still set up a squat practice?
- Rachels instagram, posts and her creative ideas
- Sacrifices over the last 3 years in business
- Top tips for finding a dentist to work alongside you as a non-dentist owner
- Time management
- Dental photography
Laura and Rachel also discussed how important it has been to have clinical knowledge (of advanced procedures such as smile makeovers and rehab) in Rachel's role as a TCO, and practice owner.
Laura’s details:
https://www.facebook.com/hortonconsulting
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurahorton/
https://www.instagram.com/laurahorton1
Rachel’s details:
https://www.instagram.com/superiorsmilesknutsford/
https://www.instagram.com/missrachelj/