Elijah Desmond steps back from Dentistry’s Got Talent after 400-plus speakers

Elijah Desmond judged the Dentistry’s Got Talent final in Miami on Oct. 8 as he shifts from dental event building to helping dentists sell their practices. Dr. Cole Herzik won the 2026 title, while the competition’s handoff to new leadership underscores Desmond’s move into dental brokerage.

Why it matters: - Elijah Desmond is moving from building dental speaking platforms to helping practice owners exit their businesses. - The shift affects two parts of the dental economy: speaker development and practice sales. - Desmond says he has placed more than 400 speakers on stages in the U.S. and abroad over the past decade.

What happened: - Desmond returned to the judges’ table for the Dentistry’s Got Talent final in Miami on Oct. 8, 2026. - Dr. Cole Herzik won the championship belt with a talk titled “The Relationship of a Mentorship.” - Dr. Catrise Austin was runner-up for “How to Get Booked, Featured, and Paid without Chasing Algorithms.” - The final took place at Dentistry’s Got Talent Land, the on-shore event that opened Smiles at Sea’s October continuing education program. - The Smiles at Sea cruise concluded on Monday, Oct. 12, when it returned to Miami.

The details: - Desmond judged alongside Shannon Mackey of WEO Media and Marketly, Morris Mugo of Safari N Smiles, and Dr. Anthony Vocaturo of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. - Contestants competed in themed groups covering practice systems and compliance, leadership and culture, mindset and longevity, sleep and airway care, and practice growth and finances. - Each themed session counted for one hour of continuing education credit. - One contestant from each group advanced to the final. - DGT works as a TED Talk-style competition that puts dental industry contestants in front of a live audience and judges before meeting planners and peers. - Past contestants including Dr. Dar Radfar and Dr. Kathryn Alderman later spoke at the Yankee Dental Congress, the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, the Florida Dental Convention and Smile Together. - Dr. Devinn Geeson now leads the competition. - Desmond’s handoff followed Geeson’s acquisition of Smiles at Sea, The Dental Festival and Hype Events, announced in January 2026. - Desmond founded Smiles at Sea in 2015 and stayed involved as “Chief Fun Officer” after the acquisition. - Desmond now leads Dental Pitch Advisory & Brokerage, a sell-side-only dental practice brokerage he co-founded with Matt Ornstein. - The brokerage prepares owners for sale and represents them through closing. - The firm starts each engagement with a third-party Quality of Earnings review. - Dental Pitch Advisory & Brokerage says it charges no retainers or upfront fees and is paid when a sale closes. - Desmond is also lead author of “The Dental Exit Blueprint: The 13 EBITDA Levers That Drive Maximum Value,” released in July 2026 with 28 contributing authors. - Practice owners can use the free Dental Exit Readiness Score to benchmark how ready a practice is for sale. - Austin is the founder of Celebrity Branding and a contributing author to “The Dental Exit Blueprint.” - The full DGT final is available on the Smiles at Sea YouTube channel. - Dental professionals can learn more and apply for the next DGT on the Smiles at Sea website.

Between the lines: - Desmond’s move signals a broader pivot from visibility-building in dentistry to monetizing the value of established practices. - The continued use of live competition and continuing education suggests DGT still functions as both a talent pipeline and a marketing engine for the dental event ecosystem. - The leadership transition to Geeson shows the brand is being maintained even as Desmond exits day-to-day event ownership.

What’s next: - Dental Pitch Advisory & Brokerage will continue targeting dentists preparing to sell their practices. - The next Dentistry’s Got Talent competition will follow the Miami final and remain tied to the Smiles at Sea platform. - Desmond will keep promoting practice-sale readiness through the Dental Exit Readiness Score and his new book.

The bottom line: - Desmond is leaving the speaker-stage business he helped build and betting on a new niche: helping dentists turn their practices into sale-ready assets.