DDS: Doctor of Dental Stand-Up — Dr. Brady Smith on Comedy, Hygiene & Pay

Episode 28: DDS — Doctor of Dental Stand-Up With Dr. Brady Smith

Dr. Brady Smith is a dentist, comedian, and the host of Laughing My Gas Off. In Episode 28 of The Unhinged Hygienists, he joins Lauren Kennedy, RDH and Anastasia Dallas, RDH for the kind of conversation that can move from a ridiculous joke to a serious practice-management question without warning. The banter is unmistakably adult. The issues underneath it are very real.

The episode is titled “DDS: Doctor Of Dental Standup With Dr. Brady Smith.” The title is a joke about his two worlds, not the expansion of his dental degree. It is also the second time the group recorded together, a technical mishap they turn into its own running bit. The re-recording gives them another chance to test just how far a dental conversation can wander.

This is not a polished celebrity profile or a clinical lecture. Lauren and Anastasia want to know how Brady builds a comedy show, why he still practices dentistry, what happens when a dentist performs his own hygiene care, and why his proposed hygienist compensation model has not found a match. Brady answers with humor, personal experience, and opinions the hosts are willing to challenge.

The result is a dental podcast about more than comedy: professional identity, compensation risk, Medicaid access, patient education, and the difference between completing a procedure and building a prevention philosophy. The point is not to agree with every answer. It is to hear the questions people often avoid asking.

Who Is Dr. Brady Smith, the Dentist and Comedian?

For anyone searching “Is Dr. Brady Smith a real dentist?”: yes—he describes an active dental career alongside stand-up and his interview show. In the episode, he explains that dentistry remains a significant part of his identity. Comedy is not presented as a cover story for abandoning a profession he hates. He says he genuinely enjoys the clinical work, including periodontal treatment.

His comic instincts go back much further than his online audience. Brady recalls childhood performances for his mother, wearing his father’s cowboy boots and holding a guitar before he could really play it. He describes being the class clown throughout his education. Later, he learned that making friends laugh and holding the attention of a paying audience are not the same task.

That distinction matters to the episode. A funny idea still has to work in the room. Brady talks about testing material, changing delivery, and accepting the uncomfortable moment when something he thought would land does not. He does not sell comedy as effortless confidence; behind the dry delivery is the work of finding an audience and learning from it.

Laughing My Gas Off: A Dental Chair Becomes an Interview Set

Laughing My Gas Off combines dental care with interviews and comedy. Brady describes bringing comedians and other guests into the chair, providing care, and talking with them. He says guests have included people beyond stand-up, including doctors, dentists, and actors, and that he would like to expand further. The episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at the show rather than a roster of celebrity appearances.

The concept may look spontaneous, but booking is not. Brady describes direct messages, managers, talent agencies, schedules, and coordination across locations. A person saying yes does not mean the recording is secured. Sometimes a conversation has to move through representatives before it becomes a real appointment. The visible joke is only one part of the production.

The no-gas version and respecting a guest’s boundaries

One revealing detail is his description of a version without nitrous oxide. Some prospective guests do not want gas, including people who identify as sober. Brady says they can still participate: he provides care, asks questions, and keeps the humor without the gas. The format adapts to the person rather than making participation conditional on accepting it.

That is an account of his show, not a medical recommendation. Nitrous oxide is a clinical intervention that requires appropriate assessment, consent, administration, monitoring, and safeguards. A comedy interview is not evidence that it is suitable for every patient, and a sobriety-related preference should be respected without pressure. Ask your treating clinician about options for your own care.

Sean Evans is a dream guest—not an announced collaboration

Brady names Sean Evans of Hot Ones as someone whose interviewing he admires and a dream guest for a podcast exchange. Lauren imagines a crossover, and later the hosts mention Jack Black as another hoped-for guest. These are playful wishes in the conversation, not confirmations that either person is appearing on Laughing My Gas Off or The Unhinged Hygienists.

Dental Comedy Works Differently in Every Room

A small comedy room and a dental conference do not give a performer the same audience. Brady talks about differences in geography, age, and audience composition, and how material can work in one setting but fall flat in another. His Canadian merchandise story makes the point particularly well: an inside joke based on American tooth numbers does not travel neatly into a different numbering system.

For dental professionals, the lesson is not to memorize his jokes. It is to notice context. The same explanation, tone, or anecdote will not connect with every patient or colleague. Communication works better when the person delivering it pays attention to the people receiving it.

A stage persona also should not become a universal chairside rule. Adults choosing a comedy show have different expectations from patients seeking care. Humor can make an interaction feel human, but a clinician still needs consent, respect, judgment, and appropriate boundaries. A patient should not have to enjoy edgy jokes to receive good care.

Why Does Dr. Brady Smith Do His Own Hygiene?

Around 21 minutes into the episode, Anastasia asks the question hygienists have been waiting for: does Brady have a dental hygienist? His answer opens a discussion of practice models rather than a simple yes or no. He describes beginning his career in a Comfort Dental franchise environment that emphasized a lean operating approach and, in his experience at the time, dentist-performed hygiene.

Brady says that performing his own preventive and periodontal care became familiar and that he enjoys it. He also describes later leaving the franchise arrangement and owning a private group practice with a partner. These are his recollections of his own career. They should not be read as a statement that all Comfort Dental offices follow the same staffing policy today, or that the practice model is appropriate for every office.

Lauren asks how much periodontal education dentists receive. Brady responds about his own dental-school curriculum and board experience. This is a useful correction to the assumption that dentists receive no relevant education. It is not a universal description of every current dental curriculum or licensing exam; training and examination pathways vary.

The more productive question is not whether one professional title guarantees better care. It is whether the person providing it is properly trained, practicing within their scope, assessing the individual patient, documenting accurately, and delivering appropriate treatment. Anastasia explicitly notes that quality can vary among both dentists and hygienists. Professional rivalry does not solve that problem.

Dental Hygienist Commission Pay: Provider Status or Financial Risk?

The most substantial tension in the episode is compensation. Brady says he wants to treat a hygienist as a provider, with a base rate plus a percentage of production, rather than only a fixed hourly arrangement. He describes having interviewed candidates without finding someone who accepted his proposed model. That is one employer’s experience, not evidence that hygienists universally reject production-based pay.

He also describes hypothetical schedules that, in his calculations, could produce strong hourly-equivalent earnings. The hosts immediately identify the condition: patients have to show up. Those estimates are not a wage offer, an independently verified average, or a promise of income. A modeled day and a real paycheck can differ because of cancellations, payer mix, scheduling, clinical needs, and the details of the agreement.

Anastasia says she has experienced a base-plus-production arrangement that worked well. Lauren notes the distinction between production and collections. Their responses keep the conversation from becoming “commission is good” versus “commission is bad.” The actual question is what the agreement rewards, what income it guarantees, and who carries the risks that the clinician cannot control.

Questions to ask before accepting base pay plus production

• What is the guaranteed base, and which hours are paid—including preparation, records, meetings, and turnover?
• Is the percentage calculated on gross production, adjusted production, or money actually collected?
• How do write-offs, insurance adjustments, refunds, and delayed payments affect compensation?
• What happens when a patient cancels, the schedule is incomplete, or equipment is unavailable?
• How do Medicaid and other payer reimbursements affect the projected earnings?
• Are education, assessment, documentation, and appropriate patient-specific care supported even when they do not generate a separate procedure fee?
• What benefits, leave, review process, and access to understandable compensation reports are included?

Any arrangement should comply with applicable employment law and professional rules. A production target is not a clinical indication. A hygienist should never have to recommend unnecessary services to make the model work, and an employer should not advertise a best-case schedule as guaranteed earnings. Provider respect requires more than a compensation label.

Medicaid Dental Access: Mission and Reimbursement Meet in the Same Chair

Brady says serving patients with lower incomes and accepting Medicaid are important to his practice. He describes how that commitment affects the conversation with prospective hygienists when compensation includes a production component. The hosts acknowledge the financial tension: a practice has to cover overhead while clinicians need predictable, sustainable compensation.

That tension does not mean Medicaid patients are less deserving, or that hygienists asking about pay do not care about access. The reimbursement environment, the design of the job, and a clinician’s financial obligations all matter. A strong mission is valuable; it still needs a workable staffing and compensation structure.

Medicaid is not interchangeable with Medicare. Benefits, eligibility, adult dental coverage, and reimbursement vary by state and program. This article does not promise that any particular treatment is free, covered, or available at Brady’s practice. Patients should verify current coverage and care options with their plan and the treating office.

“A Cleaning Is Just a Procedure. Prevention Is a Philosophy.”

Lauren’s line around 36 minutes is the hinge of the clinical conversation: “A cleaning is just a procedure, right? But prevention is a philosophy.” She wants to know how time for education and prevention fits into a model built around procedures and production. Removing deposits matters, but a prevention-focused visit also asks why disease is happening and what can reduce the risk of recurrence.

Brady describes tailoring the amount of education to a patient’s interest, particularly when someone presents for relief of an immediate problem. When a person wants to know how to prevent another episode, he says he is eager to explain. The hosts recognize the difficulty of offering information when the listener does not appear ready to engage.

There is an important distinction between adapting communication and abandoning education. A patient who seems uninterested may be anxious, in pain, dealing with language barriers, financially stressed, or overwhelmed. Income and insurance status do not establish motivation. Everyone deserves appropriate assessment, informed choices, respectful explanation, and clinically necessary care—not a judgment about whether they care enough.

A useful chairside approach is to address the immediate concern, offer a concise explanation, ask permission to explore prevention, and leave an accessible next step. Check understanding and document what was discussed. Patients can decline a recommendation; clinicians still have responsibilities to explain relevant risks and options without shaming them.

Can Hygiene Fit Into a Dentist’s Schedule Without Losing Prevention?

Brady describes deliberately limiting preventive appointments while preserving room for restorative and surgical work. He also describes combining appropriate treatments during a visit when that fits a patient’s needs. These are his practice-management choices, not a universal scheduling protocol or a recommendation to combine procedures in every case.

The hosts point out the resulting access question: what happens if someone can get a large treatment appointment quickly but has to wait longer for routine preventive care? A practice’s schedule communicates priorities. It also determines whether the team has enough time for assessment, treatment, education, documentation, and continuity.

Lauren raises the possibility of collaboration with a hygiene-focused practice. Whether that is feasible depends on local scope and practice laws, referral arrangements, and the patient’s needs. The conversation is useful because it asks how providers can work together rather than assuming every service must be delivered through exactly the same model.

Comedy Is Not an Exit Plan: A Life Beyond Dentistry

When the hosts ask whether comedy could eventually replace dentistry, Brady says he hopes not. He enjoys practicing and would find it strange to give up that part of his identity. He can imagine reducing clinical hours, but he does not frame success in comedy as requiring rejection of dental work.

For hygienists and dentists who feel their whole identity has narrowed to the operatory, that is worth hearing. Another interest does not have to be an escape hatch or a monetized side business. It can be a source of connection, play, and perspective. Brady’s example is comedy and creative work; it does not have to be yours.

A creative outlet is not a treatment for burnout or a substitute for sustainable hours and working conditions. Still, the episode challenges the idea that being serious about healthcare means having no personality outside it. Professional competence and a life beyond the job are compatible.

Under the Punch Lines: Time, Kindness, and Being a Good Dad

Near the end, Lauren asks what matters more to Brady now than it did ten years ago. His answer is time: how he uses it and how it contributes to the life he wants for himself and his family. After an episode of fast jokes and strong opinions, that answer is unusually direct.

Then Anastasia asks what he wants to be remembered for. Brady says being kind and funny, and being a good dad. Those priorities are a better summary of the conversation than a sensational excerpt taken out of context. He even clarifies that his aim is not to upset people—it is to make them laugh.

Watch Episode 28 and Keep the Conversation Going

Watch the full Dr. Brady Smith interview before deciding where you stand on dentist-performed hygiene, base-plus-production pay, Medicaid access, or patient education. The exchange works because the hosts ask hard questions without pretending the answers are simple.

Share it with the colleague who thinks dentistry and comedy cannot coexist—or the practice owner who is rethinking how to pay and support hygienists. A useful question for the comments: what would a compensation model need to include for prevention, patient access, and a clinician’s livelihood to work together? That is a conversation worth having beyond this episode.

For Laughing My Gas Off and upcoming appearances, use Brady’s official channels below. Tour dates and schedules change; the episode’s travel plans and hoped-for guests are not a current events calendar.

Medical, Dental, and Employment Disclaimer

This article and podcast are educational and include adult humor, opinions, and personal experiences. They are not individualized medical, dental, legal, employment, or financial advice. Clinical treatment and nitrous oxide require appropriate professional assessment and consent. Scope, supervision, licensure, employment requirements, and coverage vary by jurisdiction. Compensation examples are not earnings guarantees. Consult qualified professionals and verify current rules and benefits for your situation.