The Dental Hacks Podcast

Why does a cranky 52 year old podcasting dentist get to write the "Rules for Influencers?" Because it's my show, that's why. As a 15+ year content creator (blogging and podcasting, etc.) I've got thoughts about the concept of "influencer." I spell out the rules that influencers seem to follow from my viewpoint. Do you disagree? Then you should... ...join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code “VERYDENTAL10” you’ll get another 10% off your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! -- The Wonderist Agency is basically

Alan is joined by the one and only Dr. Kevin Fryer of the Very Clinical podcast! The conversation was fun and wide ranging but we focused hard on EFDAs and Kevin's use of them! Schrodinger's Weed Black Friday Browns/Lions superbowl? How Kevin started using EFDAs (he was originally against EFDAs) EFDA workflows ("mini associates") Kevin's "selling time" concept and how EFDAs make this work. EFDA training (Case Western is Kevin's go to) Kevin and Al's very first patients in dental school University of Minnesota's branding mistakes Anesthesia in Kevin's office Dental Therapists and Restorative Hygienists Some links from the show: Black Friday by Steely Dan State by state rules of allowable dental assistant responsibilities Endo Pilot and Procodile Files Kevin's Endo course The Minnesota Rouser (the worst college fight song) Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to downloa

Kevin and Zach take a seconed bite at the apple while answering even more questions from the socials! The topics include: What does Zach think about when polishing composite veneers? Kevin's "massage" routine (he prefers the isolation/float tank) How do you save $.10 on bonding agent? What are the plans for the guys for the ski season? When is Zach going to start ortho? Is dentistry still a good career path? Too much Mahomes? How much do you trust bonding vs. traditional resistance and retention? What kind of CE are you taking in 2024? What would Kevin have named the Cleveland Indians? (Go Caucs!) What do you think about the new Beatles song? Some links from the show: Outlive by Peter Attia Nathan for You "Now and Then" by the Beatles If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’

It's easy to remember patient interactions that went poorly. Why is it so hard to remember the great one? There is this thing called "Frequency Illusion" (aka: The Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon) that we humans fall prey to. Why is it that after you buy a car that you see a whole bunch of those cars on the road? Are there really more of them on the road than before you bought it? Or is it your focus and your brain that makes you notice them ALL THE TIME! This tendency is used by marketing companies to make us think the product we're looking at is more common and desirable than it probably is. And social media pours gasoline on this fire! What about when you have a poor patient interaction? Your brain can remember every bad patient visit you've ever had and all the sudden you have a hard time remembering the good ones. Al has a couple feelgood tricks to help break through frequency illusion that will definitely help! Some links from the show: Frequency Illusion Wikipedia Join the Very Dental Facebook group usin

Gen X has seen a lot. We've been around for the introduction of cable tv through the smartphone and social media. Gen X dentists started practicing in the "golden age of cosmetic dentistry" of the 90's and we've seen a lot of change. Some of it for the better and quite a bit of it for the worse. Al is joined by Dr. Craig Harder to talk about some of these changes. Both Craig and Al were practice owners early in their careers and owned practices at the turn of the century. Their wide ranging discussion covered all kinds of topics: Drake the black lab/bird dog Yellow page ads David Hornbrook's mullet "Instant orthodontics" Profitable after 3 months! Dental benefits and bang for the buck "The amount of money you made was directly proportional to the number of hours that you worked."  Texting is the new junk mail Al's first cell phone (1991 Infiniti Q45) "Patients are able to blow off dental appointments with new and impressive technologies!" Medical insurance has wrecked patient understanding of money in health

Kevin and Zach answer questions and concerns from the interwebs! The topics include: Taylor Swift's veneers Kevin's hair care routine What does it take to change one of your favorite materials? Would you steal a tray of cookies from a hotel lobby? What implant brand are you using, when is the next course? Worst stories from dental school What podcasts do you listen to? Kevin:  Joe Rogan Dentistry Made Simple Huberman Lab Zach This is Important The Rewatchables If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to veryden

Mohammed is joined once again by Dr. Kevin Harland. Kevin is a recent grad of the University of Oklahoma School of Dentistry. This conversation focuses on Kevin's first few months in private practice. Every dentist has to handle the transition into dental practice and Kevin gives an interesting peek into what it's been like for him!  Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code “VERYDENTAL10” you’ll get another 10% off your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! -- The Wonderist Agency is basically a one stop shop

Alan is joined by Kate Reinert who is a dental assistant who now works with Zirc Dental Products as a clinical efficiency consultant. We had a wide ranging conversation where we talked about implementing new procedures (from the standpoint of the team) as well as helping find and fix "pain points" in clinical systems. Zirc Dental Products is a company that basically helps offices understand how much better things can be in the dental office! Some topics we covered: implementing new procedures finding pain points the history of "processing dental instruments" Central Sterilization as the "heart of the dental office" "Instrument creep" and how cassettes can fix it Say no to cabinets and lean operatories Get Zirc involved DURING the design process Getting rid of the "hit by the bus" notebook and reducing training time The advantages of resin Some links from the show: Zirc's website The Color Method Get your free sample of the Crystal HD mirror  

Alan is joined by Dr. Jason Smithson as a co-host of the Very Dental Podcast! Jason continues to teach restorative dentistry all over the world and we start our wide ranging conversation contrasting the kinds of students he sees in different parts of the world. Is basic restorative dentistry being overlooked in continuing education? Patients asking for composite veneers? Why not aim at quadrants/sextants of restorative dentistry? Quicker and more predictable than full arch The "medium sized case" hits the sweet spot Full arch vs. quadrant cash flow The patients you would least expect to be picky Grey hair = you look like you should know how to do that Some links from the show: Jason teaching ECR at Spear Education Jason's upcoming courses Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little lo

Dr. Adam Frounfelter joins the guys again, this time talking about tooth replacement therapy. They dig in to the 3D Dentists course on implant placement from extraction/grafting to final restoration! Some links from the show: 3D Dentists 3D Dentists Digital Implant Continuum If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code “verydental10” you’ll get another 10% off your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! -- The Wonderist Agency is basica

One of the reasons we consistently do things a certain way is due to the lack of friction. Creating systems is all well and good, but when given a choice humans tend to do the easiest thing. And often the easiest thing is the thing that we're used to. Making changes in the way we do things requires: A commitment to change Reducing the friction of the new way as much as possible These two things won’t guarantee success in changing how we do things. But they make a huge difference.  In today's episode I talk about some of the struggles I've had in doing things the way that I want to do them vs. the way we've always done them. And how I'm reducing friction to make change easier for myself and the whole office. Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -

Dr. Paul Etchison has recently been evaluating what it feels like to be a patient in his office. He takes the patient experience pretty seriously, but since dentistry really sets the bar low (and medicine sets it even lower), he's on a mission to make it amazing! He's got some thoughts: Reviews: good, bad and ugly Is the bar set low? (yes, yes it is) Paul was an advertising major...priming TVs on the ceiling Touch points and team perspective Poo pouri and Paul Operatory set ups and consistency Complimenting the team during hand offs How often is the dentist in their own chair? No one is talking about your bond strength! Ask your assistant to do an impression of you Role paying sucks, but it's really helpful Running in to patients out of the office The "automatic introduction" trick with your spouse Buy Paul's second book and review it Dancing at hands on implant courses Some links from the show: Dental Practice Heroes podcast Paul's SECOND book: Dental Practice Hero II: the sequel Join the Very Dental Fa

There is a difference between busy and productive. I mean both is nice, but know the differences and making changes in your practice toward productive is a worthwhile goal. Dr. Adam Frounfelter joins Zach and Kevin to tell a story of taking a busy practice and turning it into a VERY productive one! Adam is another 3D Dentists success story that we think you're really going to like! Some links from the show: Adam's practice website 3D Dentists If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use

Going directly into private practice from dental school is less common than it used to be. Today's guest is Dr. Nicholas Bottorff and he did just that. Now he's a practice owner and one of Incisal Edge's "40 Under 40." Nicholas made some big moves early in his career and many of these moves happened after he asked the right questions.  What are the things you need to know about an associateship? What questions really get to the heart of the matter when evaluating a potential associateship or practice purchase. Dr. Bottorff has a lot of thoughts on this as well as encouraging the use of technology to grow your practice. Some links from the show: Elevated Dentistry Incisal Edge's 40 Under 40 Dr. Bottorff's Instagram Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that suppo

Dr. David Whitlock spent the first 10 or so years of his career practicing dentistry in big cities. He's seen some stuff and he ended up in Eastern Kentucky. Rural dentistry has been great for him and he's here to spread the word! Some reasons why you should check out practicing in a more rural area: many rural areas have almost no dentists, and many have aging dentists that are struggling to find someone to replace them lots of rural areas have a ton patients that have to travel to have dental work done cost of living in rural areas is so much lower than the city the numbers are in the favor of a dentist that's willing to practice in a rural area Some links from the show: David's website, www.ruralpractices.com  Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that suppo

This throwback episode features a deep dive into peak Halloween and endodontic diagnosis!  Original show notes: "In this episode of our endo series we discuss our methods of diagnosis for root canals in varying situations. And as you read that you're probably wondering how that's interesting for 30 minutes...well we spiked in all kinds of juicy Halloween discussion...favorite costumes, candy, movies..and a bonus hilarious story from Kevin's Halloween youth in the 70s. Back to the endo we hit on all the fun stuff. Cold test, heat tests, percussion, x-rays, draining fistula tracking, cracked teeth, all the fun stuff!"   If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental h

Are we supposed to offer patients options or suggestions? Or how about "recommendations?" Dental school left Al with some pretty serious baggage. Some of that involves what we owe patients regarding treatment we recommend. Do we need to give them a list of options for every potential treatment? Do we need to talk about treatment options that we don't like or wouldn't do ourselves? Two rules: Everyone deserves to say no to our best treatment (thanks Kevin Fryer!) No one ever said you had to talk about treatment options that you don't like. Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodc

Dr. Russell Schafer joins Alan to talk about mental health. The two of them have experience with mental health treatment of different kinds. Russell has struggled on and off with mental health issues that he's pretty convinced started in dental school. Go figure. Al is pretty sure his problems with drugs and alcohol started in dental school as well. These days it's very trendy for people to talk about how important therapy has been for them and Russell and Al agree. But Russell is convinced that psychiatry and medications have been given short shrift in the mental health discussion.  Some links from the show: Totally Oral Podcast denturece.com Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equip

In this throwback episode Zach and Kevin talk with the amazing Dr. Pam Maragliano-Muniz about SDF! Original show notes: We welcome Dr.  Pamela Maragliano-Muniz of DentistryIQ.com fame! Pam tells her origin story. We talk about yoga! We talk about preventive dentistry specifically silver diamine fluoride (SDF) First we talk about SDF as a desensitizer. We then talk about using SDF as a caries arresting agent. We talk about using SDF with a glass ionomer base. We get interrupted by a cat! Kevin remains a skeptic! Have a bottle in every room! Delegate! If you want to interact with us, head over to the Very Clinical Facebook Group! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook," McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb." The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything i

As the listeners know, Mohamed Abo-Basha is a podcaster. But he's also a second year dental student! Today's episode Mohamed goes solo to reflect on early second year dental student vibes. Honestly, I think you'll be surprised to hear how NOT horrible it's going! Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you’d like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you’ll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code “VERYDENTAL10” you’ll get another 10% off your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! -- The Wonderist Agency is basically a one stop shop for marketing your practice and your brand. From logo redesign to a ful