Author Archives: The Dental Warrior

Neil Peart – Legendary Drummer Passed On

A Tribute to Neil Peart, the “Professor.” Earlier today, I watched some Rush and Neil Peart videos.  Then I dozed off on the couch for an afternoon nap.  I heard my phone text notification ding… and then ding again… and … Continue reading

Posted in What Happened Today | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

How to Add a Virtual Black Contraster to Your Intraoral Photos

If you’ve been doing intraoral photography for cosmetic cases, you’re likely familiar with the black contraster.  If you’ve only read articles about cosmetic dentistry, you’ve likely seen the photos of a restored arch with a black background to show off … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Tips & Tricks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Trim Your Own Dies???

Who does THAT?  Why would you? I started my own practice renting space in an existing dental office (shared space).  The other dentist took a lot of pride in his work, and deservedly so.  One of the many things he … Continue reading

Posted in Dental Product Reviews, Technology, Tips & Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Is the Other Bracket About to Drop?

I wrote about DIY orthodontics not long ago.  While it felt good to “unload” my feelings about DIY orthodontics, I had to admit to myself that it was unlikely we (dentistry) would stop this multi-billion dollar juggernaut.  I figured it … Continue reading

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All My Training and 31 Years of Experience Have Led to This!

About a month ago, we had a close call with Hurricane Dorian, which was a “Cat 5” and got within 100 miles of us.  In the process of putting up my shutters, I smashed the tip of the ring finger … Continue reading

Posted in Case Presentation, What Happened Today | Tagged | 3 Comments

Golden Proportion Template for Treatment Planning and Case Presentation

There are a number of ways you can use Golden Proportion to plan or present an anterior cosmetic case: You could just print a photo of a retracted view of the anterior teeth and draw on it directly with a … Continue reading

Posted in Tips & Tricks | Tagged , | 7 Comments

This Is What “Organized Dentistry” Thinks Is Good Marketing!?!?

I’ve long been a critic of so-called “organized dentistry” (American Dental Association) at the national, state, and local levels.  And, hoo-boy, do they lob up easy targets for me!  This is an ad recently created by my state’s dental association.  … Continue reading

Posted in Editorial, Marketing | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Join the Dark (Insurance) Side, or not?

Those who know me, know that I’ve been “insurance-free” for my whole career.  My practice has been truly FFS (fee for service) for its entire history.  I can tell you, that it has NOT been easy.  But, when I observed … Continue reading

Posted in Practice Management | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

What’s Wrong With This Ad?

My chairside assistant sent this ad to me (from her Facebook feed).  It’s a local dentist.  What is the appeal to viewers / prospective patients here?  Put yourself in their shoes, so to speak (you know nothing about dentistry).  “What … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Talk with and listen to your patients! You never know where the conversation will lead.

A short story for today’s blog: Today a patient came in for his recall visit. He’s relatively new to the practice… maybe a year. Super-nice guy – 27 years old. We did some routine restorative treatment for him. He has … Continue reading

Posted in What Happened Today | Tagged | 8 Comments