The Power of One Small Change (E.305)

“Dentists, we have a really sucky job at times. Letting one another know we care can make a world of difference.” – Dr. Chad Johnson

Brief Overview:

Running a practice, leading a team, balancing family, and trying to maintain your own health can leave little room for anything else. In this episode, Regan and Chad strip things down to the essentials: what’s one thing you can do right now to move toward better balance, better health, or stronger relationships? From mouth taping to sending a simple text, they show how small choices create a big impact.

What This Episode Reveals:

• Why waiting for “perfect timing” is keeping you stuck
• The overlooked value of micro-decisions in daily life
• How encouragement from friends can spark powerful momentum

What You’ll Learn:

• How to identify the one change you’ve been avoiding
• Why community and friendship matter more than balance
• Practical tips (like sleep hacks and allergy relief) that help you show up stronger

If This Sounds Familiar:

• You’ve been putting off something simple for months
• You feel isolated in your role as a dentist or business owner
• You tell yourself you’ll make changes “someday,” but someday never comes

Next Steps:

Make one decision today. Call a friend. Send that text. Try that new habit. Then share your “one thing” with Regan at regan@productivedentist.com.

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Regan Robertson: The best thing about being able to talk to your best friends and your closest friends is little pieces of advice and encouragement that you might not otherwise get, but as business owners, as leaders, as moms, as dads, as husbands, as wives, we don’t always have the time for that, or we don’t always make time for that. Today’s episode is short to the point so you can get about your day, and uh, we want you to call a friend and get some support so that you can make one change to send your life in a positive direction, Chad. 

[00:00:40] Dr. Chad Johnson: That’s right. That’s right. 

[00:00:40] Regan Robertson: Welcome to Everyday Practices Dental Podcast. It feels like forever since we’ve recorded together ’cause you’ve been really dentisting, 

[00:00:46] Dr. Chad Johnson: Or something. Yeah, or working in my greenhouse. That’s my new thing. But Reagan, good to see ya. 

[00:00:52] Regan Robertson: It’s phenomenal to see you too. Yeah, uh, I’m, we’re, we’re actually doing this short and to the point so that we can get back to our own friend time and catch up with each other because that’s, that’s right. When people talk about balance, do you have balance in your life? No. You never have balance how hard you try, 

[00:01:08] Dr. Chad Johnson: I suppose, yeah. So you and I were talking about allergies and allergens and stuff like that with our family, and that brought me, uh, to you mentioning, um, that, uh, you’re just like we were talking about, uh, um, uh, your tonsils and tonsil removal and is that actually a good decision when you’re cutting out tissue? That is a good first responder for your body in inflammatory markers and stuff like that. So then I said, “You know, when I started mouth taping, I was like, that really helped with my, you know, sore throats and everything like that ’cause sleep apnea, you know, with it and everything like that, and enlarged tonsils and breathing in all the dust and junk like when I go cycling even and, and whatnot.” So I said, “Mouth taping, man has really helped me,” and then you said. 

[00:01:52] Regan Robertson: I’ve been wanting to mouth tape forever. I’m just gonna do it right now. Like, let’s just do it, and 

[00:01:56] Dr. Chad Johnson: Amazon, right? 

[00:01:58] Regan Robertson: Amazon it done, and then I thought, you know what, that took two seconds of my time. It’s been on my to-do list for months probably. Yep, and, and maybe, you know, listening, maybe you’re not the ADHD crew, maybe you don’t have a, you know, you have to get things done by the end of the day and you’re perfect. Well, good for you. This podcast isn’t for you. 

[00:02:15] Dr. Chad Johnson: Yep. Just stop listening. Move on to the next, move on to the next episode. 

[00:02:20] Regan Robertson: But I mean between all the other things that we’re doing it, it was easy and it, and it took one second and I thought, what is one little thing that you can do that will point your life in a positive direction, help you out, like get you going. Like take, if you’re gonna take 30 minutes to listen to Everyday Practices Podcasts, okay, take 20 minutes of that time that’s there and go make a decision. What have you been sitting on? What, what is something that you need a little push? Let us be your virtual friend and just encourage you, like, you encourage me, Chad, uh, or vice versa. We’re have to call Maggie after this vice, and 

[00:02:53] Dr. Chad Johnson: That’s right. That’s right. Well, you know, so, uh, in case that is actually your thing, listener, it’s on Amazon called 3M. So like the, the company 3M, like the soft lex discs, 3M kind removal, silicone tape two inch, and it’s a five yard spool, but it’s two inch medical tape, um, that you’re looking for. But the kind that I really like is the 3M kind removal silicone tape two inch. Look that up on Amazon. Get it? I actually am subscribed and I get two of those every six months and that’s enough for me. So I just, I’m on repeat order for, for getting that. So hope that was a good. 

[00:03:33] Regan Robertson: Well, I forgot to ask you. I just went and did it, so I was a little impulsive, so I bought it’s, it’s rated 4.8, Lowest price in 30 days, 9 99. Okay. Which is 33 cents account, purple premium tape. It’s called Goodnight Tape pain-free removal. Can they legally say that? I don’t know. Sure. Pain-free removal, hypoallergenic. Gentle on the skin. It sings you a lullaby. 

[00:04:01] Dr. Chad Johnson: What? 

[00:04:02] Regan Robertson: No, it doesn’t. I’m teasing. 

[00:04:03] Dr. Chad Johnson: Okay. You were making sure I was listening. Yeah. Premium tape, 

[00:04:08] Regan Robertson: Purple, premium tape. 30 pack. 

[00:04:12] Dr. Chad Johnson: Yeah. So 

[00:04:12] Regan Robertson: So, I will try this out now and let you know if it’s good and if not, I might have to go over and grab that 3M. What, yeah, what should we look at that, what should we know about, about mouth taping if we’ve ne I’ve never tried it before, but I, I’ve seen so many, especially doctors like swear by it. Like it’s their hack. 

[00:04:28] Dr. Chad Johnson: Yep. So, um, first off, don’t get one-inch tape, um, and it, because then like I tried one little strip and it didn’t work, so then I tried x-ing across and I still am pushing air out like the corners of my mouth. So two inch tape is the way to go. Number two, if you cannot patently breathe through your nose, then it’s probably just not gonna work. So if you’re sick or your allergies are that bad and you can’t even netty pot them clear, or you have a deviated septum, you know, stuff like that, you’re probably gonna have a trouble doing this, but I mouth tape every night with my sleep appliance in, uh, for sleep apnea, both, and it’s just, uh, it is just so much better. I don’t know if there’s much more to say. I, um, okay. Yeah, she, e 

[00:05:14] Regan Robertson: Well, this one, this one looks like the goodnight tape. Looks like it’s got a little hole in the middle, so it looks like it, it’s not fully maybe a fully taped thing. It looks like it’s got a little tiny open hole. 

[00:05:24] Dr. Chad Johnson: Um, yeah. You’ll have to tell me what you think about that. I will, I mean, I’m looking at this and I I see that, but I’m just like, I. I think that should work. Um, I don’t know if the hole is like just to help kind of keep the lips together, but like some people might be able to kind of breathe through it, but like kind of is better than none at all. So go for it. Just do it. 

[00:05:45] Regan Robertson: Do, do you prevent it? You said the Neti Pot, and I love. I’ve been doing the Neti Lodi pot since I was like a kid, ’cause my parents were real lovingly hippie dippy. Thank you Mom and dad. I love you. Um, yep. Do you still, do you do that as preventative? Like do you do it every day? 

[00:05:59] Dr. Chad Johnson: I don’t, but I swim two or three times a week, which is practically a neti pot 

[00:06:04] Regan Robertson: Gross. 

[00:06:04] Dr. Chad Johnson: Well, uh, okay. It’s not, um, but I mean, I’m turned sideways. 

[00:06:10] Regan Robertson: You’re not hoking in the pool, right? 

[00:06:11] Dr. Chad Johnson: No, no, no, but my buddy does, but um, but I like when I, when you’re breathe into the side with your head turned and stuff like that, I mean, it’s, it’s nety pot ish, but, um, so because I’m not claustrophobic and whatnot, it sounds gr Oh my goodness. Uh, so I’m just being a friend. I’m just talking. Okay, but I’ll, I’ll plug one nostril and just in the shower I’ll snort some water. 

[00:06:31] Regan Robertson: Yeah, I knew you would. I was, no, I was going for that. That’s what I was looking for level of honesty. You were waiting. Is he gonna be honest? Yes. 

[00:06:36] Dr. Chad Johnson: So I, I plug my nose and I snort the water up and then blow it out and, and junk and just to clean out my sinuses and stuff, but I really haven’t done that much lately. I, I have to do that when, when it’s bad, which right now it’s kind of bad and, but it’s normally bad for me in the spring and so that’s when I, I’ll do it, but like. I don’t know a few times and whatnot, and that does the trick, but

[00:06:56] Regan Robertson: I only, I only do it when I think I’m getting something. Like if I think I’m getting a bug and I’ve wondered about that. Is that something that should be done, you know, could be done preventatively, just like brushing your teeth? Like is that something I’ll, should be added to the routine 

[00:07:09] Dr. Chad Johnson: Because, because water is not pure. Depending on where you are and whatnot. See, Iowa has pristine water. Ours is, is practically sterile and so we, no, I’m just kidding. So I don’t know if I can recommend this pure as the day is long, as pure as the mountains per, 

[00:07:25] Regan Robertson: Are you giving an ad to move to Iowa? 

[00:07:27] Dr. Chad Johnson: Right, right. Uh, so, but like, you’re not supposed to do it with city water. Well. I just admitted I do, but I can’t recommend that other people do, but I, here I am, I’m 45 and I, I would never, 

[00:07:39] Regan Robertson: If you put city water in your nose, are you insane? 

[00:07:42] Dr. Chad Johnson: Correct, but I, here I am 45 and I’ve not died, so I think it’s worth investigating, but yes, there could be, you know, there’s little colonies of stuff I guess, but it’s just a flush junk out and I don’t know. It’s, I don’t know. It works, and so you’re supposed to maybe use distilled water better yet? If I was really, 

[00:08:00] Regan Robertson: Well, what about the water pick? Like do you, do you put distilled water in your water pick? 

[00:08:04] Dr. Chad Johnson: No. 

[00:08:05] Regan Robertson: Okay. I don’t, I use, I use just Tap, 

[00:08:07] Dr. Chad Johnson: Correct? No. And if it makes my $50 aater pick go bad in, in 47 months rather than 48 months. I’m willing to take the risk. I mean, I just, 

[00:08:17] Regan Robertson: I think my nostrils more intimate than my mouth, so that’s why I used distilled. 

[00:08:22] Dr. Chad Johnson: Yeah. See, but like as a swimmer, I’ve gotten over that. I just don’t care. Yeah, and so, um, 

[00:08:27] Regan Robertson: You still drink from the hose in your greenhouse? 

[00:08:29] Dr. Chad Johnson: Oh, I could. I could, I mean, I don’t, but like, I’m pretty bougie, but I have a, a Burkey filter, so I love drinking 

[00:08:35] Regan Robertson: In your greenhouse?

[00:08:36] Dr. Chad Johnson: No, for like, just life. Um, I love drinking. My gallon that you guys see, if you ever watch the video of the podcast is burkey filtered water. 

[00:08:46] Regan Robertson: So do you recommend that over I have a water service. So do you I get a water service, so I get, I get the, you know, the water brought to me in the big, in the big bottles, but they’re big heavy-duty plastic bottles, which makes me go, I don’t know that I wanna have everything in plastic all the time and they do offer a glass version. I couldn’t lift that to save my life though. Correct. It would be so heavy. So I, yes it would. I’m like, hmm. 

[00:09:10] Dr. Chad Johnson: Um, I don’t know, like, listen, neither here nor there. Like, yes, ideally use distilled water or ideally, ideally use sterile water, but listen, practically, the city water has not killed me yet. Now be care careful where you’re doing that. I suppose if you’re like disclaimer right down on the Rio Grande and the, the water’s really rivery and it’s just like, maybe don’t do it there. Maybe don’t do it on the Hudson, you know, river. Um, but, um, yeah, I, I like an ozonated water I think would be amazing. You know, like that would be really good. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But I’ve not done that. I just do regular tap water. I’m sorry. 

[00:09:48] Regan Robertson: Are there, is it, are there big filters? I was just talking to somebody about ozonated water the other day. Is there like a filter for your house you could put on your fridge or on your, I don’t know how those systems even work.

[00:09:57] Dr. Chad Johnson: You can have like whole systems put in, um, you know, um, I’m trying to think of what the old, um, oh, well, Culligan was the, like, is the water delivery? I don’t know, but yeah, you can have whole systems, you know, put in and stuff like that. Normally people are selling water softeners with it and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. But you could have, I mean, if you want to look at this stuff up, I, I would recommend like the Burkey filter that I, I have at my house. B-E-R-K-E-Y. I have no, you know, 

[00:10:28] Regan Robertson: My parents love theirs. They have one, 

[00:10:30] Dr. Chad Johnson: They have a Burkee filter? Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:31] Regan Robertson: They do. 

[00:10:32] Dr. Chad Johnson: Oh, see, we can all agree that like it, 

[00:10:35] Regan Robertson: I think it is, it’s like a big stainless steel. Taste like cante thing that sits on, on their, on their counter. 

[00:10:41] Dr. Chad Johnson: And it’s not like two gallons on the bottom and two gallons on the top. And, and, uh, oh, it tastes so good. I’m so, such a, a, um, a, a water snob. You know, so like, I love it.

[00:10:51] Regan Robertson: You’re talking about it like it’s a cocktail. 

[00:10:53] Dr. Chad Johnson: Oh, oh yeah. Oh, it’s so good. I, and then when you go back and, like in the winter, our water gets chlorinated more and stuff like that and then you can like almost smell it in the shower and, and stuff. But I just snorted up my nose I guess. I just, uh, 

[00:11:06] Regan Robertson: The first time I had water that made me stop in my tracks was up near Mount Baker in Washington and it was my girlfriend’s house and she had, uh, she was running a well and she said, “Oh yeah, the, the well water’s great. Try it.” It was so cold, and it was so delicious, and I was like, “This is the best water I’ve had in my entire life. Yep. Like, can come, can I, 

[00:11:26] Dr. Chad Johnson: They glacier National Park up is like  that. Yep. It’s, it’s all just mountain filtered and everything. It’s amazing, uh, because I asked the restaurant in, um, oh, the town, um, in West Glacier, but, um, Apgar, uh, the town and I, I asked the restaurant and this was, you know, probably 13 years ago, but it’s all the same, but, and I was just like, “Do you guys, is this water like. Do you guys use bottled water? Or like, what water do you use? Or is this actually,” and they were like, “No, this is just straight from the top,” and I was like, “This is so delicious.” Um, hey, so back to the main point though. We’re not necessarily just talking about snorting water up our nose. That would be, that would be what’s one thing? What one thing that’d be not only weird but gross, um, ’cause it’s not for everyone, but the one thing, so I was telling you Regan, that I got ahold of Bruce yesterday and just shot him a text and was like, “Hey, Bruce. Thought I’d just tell you I love you and I appreciate you,” um, and he wrote back and he said, “Today I needed to hear that. Thanks,” and I thought that was really cool. I thought that’s really cool that you know, like that here a big Bruce, you know, big Dr. Bruce and, and stuff like that, and that I could touch him. Like that, that was, that was, uh, pretty special to me to have mattered, uh, in a, in a good way for his, his day. So, um, but you know, we can all do that. So that’s a one thing kind of thing where you, you know, like if you’re feeling like investing in other people, uh, today might be the day where you send out a couple texts just saying, “Hey, just thinking about you, or, Hey, I love you,” you know, stuff like that, that might matter. Dentists, we have a really sucky job at times and letting one another know that we care, um, I will go be so bold is to say it. It will make a world of a difference depending on the right timing and person, it can make a world of a difference. 

[00:13:10] Regan Robertson: More than, I think, more than you realize, and for those of you listening, if you don’t know who Dr. Bruce is, he’s the co-founder of Productive Dentist Academy, and, and I think it, it does, I think what you do is kind of what you just did was kind of called leading up. So like, if you see someone that you think they’re, you know, they’re larger than life or, or they’re, um, uh. I don’t know. Almost like a celebrity in ways somebody got Yeah, they’re the big shot. Yeah. Yeah. They’ve got prominence and, and they’re people too. Uh, I think Brian Johnson on, there’s a documentary about him on Netflix. He’s the dude that’s like obsessed with becoming immortal. So he’s doing all of these different Yeah, different tests. And, and he does like, not just sleep tape, right, but he sleeps in a completely like oxygenated tank. Sounds amazing. With all the lights. Yeah, all that kinda stuff, but in the documentary, he talks about not having any friends at all and he had his son, but then he didn’t really have any friends, and so I think that there is an isolation that comes with that, but uh, yeah, the one thing could be as simple as sending out a message and just saying, “Hey, you’re thinking of it and you’re really good.” You’re really, really good at that. Um, do have one final thought for you. I am really curious if you’re listening to this podcast, what is the one thing you decided on? Uh, email Regan, R-E-G-A-N, at productivedentist.com, and, uh, let me know your one thing or let me know what you’re thinking of the podcast. I’m genuinely curious. Would love to get your feedback on that and, uh, I wish you a really blessed week. 

[00:14:35] Dr. Chad Johnson: Thanks for listening. Everyone. Take care.