The Dental Warrior® – A Blog for Dentists | Dental Product Reviews, Marketing, Personal Security, & Much More!

Tough Central Incisors Case

Posted on June 6, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

Well, since my entire day’s schedule cancelled due to a tropical storm and tornado warnings…. I’ve got time to post this case.

Long time patient. Very nice guy. Has some pretty severe wear on his anterior teeth. Got him wearing a night guard every night.

I have bonded fractured incisal edges on his upper centrals a few times for him. Even with a night guard, he keeps losing them.

We decided to crown the central incisors. I advised him of the potential for endo.

I took a pre-op impression and waxed things up, and adjusted the opposing model to test how much interocclusal space I might be able to gain. Continue reading →

Posted in Case Presentation, What Happened Today | Tagged attrition, crown preps, erosion, occlusal wear | 15 Comments

25 Years in Dentistry – It’s Just the Beginning

Posted on June 4, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

First week of dental school (1984)

Yesterday minus twenty-five years was the day I graduated dental school. What a relief that was! In some ways, it seems like yesterday. In other ways, it still seems like yesterday!

Going into dentistry, I had no idea I would like it as much as I do. Certainly, my experience in dental school would not have given me such an idea.

On the USS Independence, in the Persian Gulf… dressed for the occasion.

After dental school, I spent 3 years in the Navy, which had its ups and downs, but I’d say about 99% ups. It was a great professional, cultural, and social experience. I learned a lot more in the Navy than I did in dental school. It was in the Navy where my love for dentistry really began.

Out here in the civilian world, I learned even more through extensive C.E. and a desire to learn and perform at my best. I worked as an associate in two different offices for about 3 years before starting my practice from scratch. I decided against participation in managed care plans. To this day, I have Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Editorial | Tagged dental school | 4 Comments

Dissecting a Dental Ad

Posted on May 20, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

Over the years, I’ve collected many dental print ads. It’s obvious to me that most of them were designed by dentists…. FOR dentists. I’ve posted other ads in the past… some pretty funny…. some pretty bad.

Today, I came across an ad in the local paper with a focus on dental implants.

Let’s pick it apart…. Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing, What Happened Today | Tagged ads, implants, newspaper ads | 9 Comments

Some Will. Some Won’t. Some Wait. So What? NEXT!

Posted on May 18, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

“Some will. Some won’t. Some wait. So what? Next!”

I don’t know who coined this aphorism. But, I believe I first heard it from Dr. Bill Blatchford. I was reminded of it last week when a patient scheduled to start 6 Month Smiles orthodontic treatment. This patient first came to me for a 6 Month Smiles consultation in 2010! I hadn’t seen her since then.

This young woman had braces as a teenager, but she didn’t wear her retainers. She came to me (via my website) for a 6 Month Smiles consultation back in 2010. She returned last week to start treatment. She also needs hygiene, endo, and restorative treatment.

I get my fair share of cosmetic consultations. While I haven’t kept any statistics on how many go through with treatment, I’ll admit it’s probably a small minority. Likewise, I suspect Ferrari dealerships see far more “tire kickers” than actual buyers.

I Want You to Want Me…

Dentists are caring, sensitive creatures who take rejection personally. And, as is human nature, we tend to avoid situations that result in disappointment. Humans will do almost anything to avoid emotional pain, and for dentists this can eventually translate into avoiding the presentation of complex or expensive treatment plans.

We may start out ambitious by presenting the top-of-the-line to all of our patients. But, after being beaten down repeatedly, many of us eventually “fall into line.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Case Presentation, Practice Management, What Happened Today | Tagged Bill Blatchford, case presentation, failure, rejection | 3 Comments

Great Customer Service Is Alive and Well in the Dental Industry

Posted on May 15, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

I just wanted to post a quick note about two companies I recently contacted for help with their dental products.

Designs for Vision

The temple piece on my 3.5x surgical telescopes broke at the hinge. There is an optical place next door to my office, so I went there to see if they could repair it. Nope. They’d need the replacement part from the manufacturer (DFV). So, I called Designs for Vision and told them about my issue.

“No problem! We’ll get a new set of temples (both) out to you today.”

Do you need a credit card?

“Nope! No charge.”

I got the parts in a couple of days and got it installed by the nice folks next door. Hooray! (I have a pair of 2.5x telescopes that I used in the meantime.)

AMD Lasers

I have their Picasso Lite diode laser and love it. I use the disposable tips for mine (rather than cleaving a continuous fiber). But, recently, about half the time, I’d click a tip onto the handpiece and it just wouldn’t transmit the laser beam. I figured the tip was defective, tossed it, and put on another one. Half the time it worked. Half the time it didn’t.

So, I called to complain about the “defective” tips. The AMD rep on the other end took me through some diagnostics. It wasn’t the tips. It was the handpiece. Rut-roh… that’s gonna cost me, eh? NOPE! They sent me a new one along with a return label for the old one. No charge! New handpiece and tips work perfectly now!

Kudos to Designs for Vision and AMD Lasers!

Posted in Dental Product Reviews | Tagged AMD Lasers, dental magnification, Designs for Vision, diode laser, Picasso Lite, surgical telescopes | 1 Comment

I Wouldn’t Take Medicaid, If They Paid Double My Fees – Here’s Why

Posted on May 11, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

I remember this case from many years ago. Dr. Leonard Morse of Brooklyn, NY was wrongfully accused of Medicaid fraud by then Attorney General (and now disgraced on multiple levels) Elliot Spitzer. It took nearly seven years for Dr. Morse to vindicate himself. He won his lawsuit and was awarded $7.7M, but he lost his practice and his reputation. $7.7 million isn’t enough in my opinion. But, I’m glad that Dr. Morse feels vindicated. He was offered $100,000 to drop his lawsuit against the state. $100k in exchange for losing his practice, his name, and his honor??? Good on Dr. Morse for standing up for what’s right!

But, That’s Not All! There’s More!

I’m familiar with a couple of similar cases Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Editorial | Tagged Dr. Leonard Morse, Elliot Spitzer, medicaid, Medicaid fraud | 26 Comments

Am I the only one that gets crazy calls (after hours)?

Posted on May 9, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

If someone calls my office after hours, the voicemail announcement gives them my cell phone number for emergencies.

My cell phone automatically silences itself at 10pm. I don’t like my cell phone waking my family or me up late at night. And, as it pertains to dental emergencies, there’s not much I can or will do at that hour. My phone ringer automatically turns back on at 7am.

This morning I retrieved a voice mail from 10:10pm last night. Here’s a transcript: Continue reading →

Posted in Practice Management, What Happened Today | Tagged after hours calls, dental emergencies, emergency calls | 17 Comments

Dr. Robert T. Smith – rest in peace

Posted on May 4, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

Dr. Robert T. Smith

I originally posted this tribute on Facebook. I decided it should be in my blog.

My classmate, roommate, and friend, Dr. Robert T. Smith passed away this year (2013) after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His brilliance, joy for life, and friendship were a BIG part of what kept me sane through dental school.

That’s Robert in the middle.

Robert was a happy soul. He saw the good in everything, and he knew how to have fun. He had a magnetic personality. If Robert was there, everyone was having a good time.

He was naturally brilliant, accomplished, athletic… just good at everything. He was published in dental journals before even graduating. He was a nationally competitive water skier. He taught me to get up on a “slalom” ski by skiing alongside me and lifting me out of the water with one hand while holding his own tow-rope with the other. Continue reading →

Posted in Editorial | Tagged Dr. Robert T. Smith | Leave a comment

Making News Leads to More!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

If Ted Nugent is billed as a “Music Legend,” shouldn’t I have been billed as a “Dental Legend?” 😉

After the broadcast of my appearance in the CNBC documentary, it didn’t take long to start hearing from others who wanted to speak with me. When I arrived at the office, there was a voice mail from a regional NRA representative asking me if I could attend a banquet in June. And, I also ended up being interviewed by Cam Edwards from the NRA News’ “Cam & Company.” Here’s a copy of today’s interview:

Funny thing… I “joked” that I should appear at the next NRA meeting in the “Uncle Ted (Nugent) & Cousin Mike” show. I didn’t even know that my interview was preceded by Ted Nugent! Ha!

Posted in Current Events, Editorial | 3 Comments

Opportunity Knocks! Will You Answer?

Posted on April 7, 2013 by The Dental Warrior

There’s a discussion on Dentaltown about amalgams (again) and the renewed debate, courtesy of TV’s Dr. Oz. One of my friends, Dr. Mac Lee, is a fantastic spokesman for dentistry. In fact, he was consulted about dentistry by Dr. Oz for some time. Mac has written a consumers’ guide to dentistry: Nothin’ Personal Doc, But I Hate Dentists!
Mac also writes a series of informative articles for his local paper.

Some dentists on DT have criticized Mac’s approach to this topic in his most recent newspaper article. They claim that articles like his make their professional lives harder. More specifically, in his article, Mac said he does not use amalgam in his practice. So, reportedly, that makes it harder for dentists who use amalgam to get through their daily grind at the office. Another dentist lamented that those professionals who use amalgam don’t have the opportunity to have their voices heard. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??

Poppycock! Don’t be a ninny! STEP UP! 😀 Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Editorial | Tagged amalgam controversy, dr. oz, opportunity, website marketing | 2 Comments

The Dental Warrior® – A Blog for Dentists