The Dental Hacks Podcast

Alan discusses a certain kind of difficult person that we run into often in dentistry. Many people whose behavior seems bizarre to us don't even realize that they're behaving that way. Al suggests a couple ways to remove the victim (you).  Some links from the show: The Voices of Dentistry (use code VeryDental) The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental podcast is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Neodiamonds from Microcopy Dental are very fine. I mean, all of them are awesome, but some of them are actually “very fine.” Specifically I mean the yellow striped ones they call “finishing” diamonds. I use Microcopy finishing diamonds on just about any patient that I might be spinning a bur on. Very fine finishers do the heavy lifting on composites so polishing is simple and easy. I use them to finish crown preps. I’ve bee

Alan chats with co-founder of the Voices of Dentistry, Dr. Mark Costes. We talked VoD and planning a dental meeting, being a 50 year old dude and what waking up early (REALLY early) has done for Mark. Some links from the show: The Voices of Dentistry (use code VeryDental) The Very Dental Facebook group The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod Four Futures Journal (by Mark!) If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental podcast is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Neodiamonds from Microcopy Dental are very fine. I mean, all of them are awesome, but some of them are actually “very fine.” Specifically I mean the yellow striped ones they call “finishing” diamonds. I use Microcopy finishing diamonds on just about any patient that I might be spinning a bur on. Very fine finishers do the heavy lifting on composites so polishing is simple and easy. I use them to

Alan welcomes Dr. David Hornbrook to the Very Dental podcast! David was the presenter at the Vedder Society's fall meeting and he did not disappoint! He's an amazing clinician with an approachable style of presentation and we got to see and interact with him for 3 days! Some of the things we discussed on the podcast were: David is REALLY glad to be back to in person teaching! David explains how he became such a lab and materials focused clinician "Knowing exactly what they're doing in the lab has made me a better dentist." Do you invite your lab to ask for more information and critique your work? Digital workflow isn't an invitation to be sloppy. PVS is way better for someone who doesn't pay attention to details What's the benefit of visiting the lab? Do you know who is creating your restorations? Your lab techs know what kind of dentist you are! Let's go to Lab Day in Chicago! Do you do CE with your lab tech(s)? Are we moving to implants too quickly? Bridges are legitimate treatment in a lot of cases and im

Kevin and Zach are joined by Roe Dental president BJ Kowalski  and East side rep Jayne Winn This is a discussion of the Chrome technique for placing and restoring All On X implant restorations. We discuss the history and step by step instructions for using the Chrome technique. We hope you enjoy this podcast! Please join our Facebook group! If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts legitimately funny stuff on their Instagram account! Microcopy makes a wide variety of single use carbides, diamonds and polishers. Such a wide variety that their catalog reminds me of an encyclopedia. But with bette

Al gushes about his recent trip up north to the Vedder Society! Between socializing with his Very Dental guests and getting to listen to and podcast with the one and only Dr. David Hornbrook, this weekend provided a real shot in the arm that he didn't even know he needed! Some links from the show: Vedder Society The Voices of Dentistry The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts legitimately funny stuff on their Instagram account! Microcopy makes a wide variety of single use carbides, diamonds and polishers. Such a wide variety that their catalog reminds me of an

In the very first “Off Topic” podcast Alan is joined by podcast veteran Dr. Melissa Zettler! Our plan was to talk about parenting but in pure “going wherever it goes” fashion, the conversation moved toward our mutual history at the University of Minnesota! Al and Melissa attended “the U” at the same time in the mid 90’s and they reminisce about jumping out of the lab window and stripping down to their skivvies in front of their classmates on the first day of gross anatomy! Some links from the show: The Voices of Dentistry The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts

Kevin and Zach are joined by Roe Dental president BJ Kowalski  and East side rep Jayne Winn. We talk inside Cleveland stuff. We talk football. We talk all about Roe Dental Lab. We talk about all the serviced Roe provides. We talk about lab communication. We talk about the transition from analog to digital in the lab. You can visit Roe’s website here https://www.roedentallab.com Please join our Facebook page! If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts legitimately funny stuff on their Instagram account! Microcopy makes a wide variety of single use carbides, diamonds and polishers. Such a wide va

If you were driving a 1983 Chevy Citation you'd know it. You would know it from the bondo'd body work. You'd know it from the sound the engine makes every day you cranked it up. You'd know because finding parts is hard.   What about the patient who has a mouth full of early 80's dentistry? It's the equivalent to driving around in a 1983 Chevy Citation. The question is...do they know this? Do they understand it?   Alan tells the story of a patient like this and what he's going to do about it!   Some links from the show: Chevrolet Citation The Voices of Dentistry The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest c

Alan welcomes Jeff Gladnick from Great Dental Websites to the Very Dental Podcast! Jeff last joined the show in 2016 and it turns out that websites, SEO and practice marketing have changed quite a bit! Who knew? Some topics they discussed: The recent AADOM meeting and what it was like to get back to a dental meeting after COVID Jeff’s harrowing COVID experiences and what our friends down under are experiencing now Thoughts on the virus, vaccines and mandates What is “Great Dental Websites” and why are they different? Content Management software and why it matters  What’s wrong with WordPress? Webflow? Design and why dentists shouldn’t DIY What’s new/different/important in SEO? Reviews are important, they’re part of “local” strategies...not organic Jeff doesn’t recommend blogging! How do you know what you need for dental marketing? How do you know what to spend? Talk with referrals! Don’t let your people do black hat! Are you goodwithteeth.com? Why can’t you just use the Google landing page? Are reviews REALL

All of these business models are fantastic...for the business. Not for the client. All are based on being a pain in the ass for the client. The $x/month credit card swipe “subscription.” “New Paper” Spotify and other subscriptions, if you aren’t careful Based on being difficult to cancel. Or at least multiple steps. Often inexpensive enough that you won’t bother. Verizon’s “you can only cancel by calling this number” Automatic renewal by credit card of ANYTHING Medicine’s “automatic premium payment” and “never discussing money before a procedure” technique. Some links from the show: The Voices of Dentistry The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental mark

The Very Clinical guys take a look back with special guest Dr. Nate Lawson, the materials guy! Highlights include: Dr. Nate Lawson has an awesome Instagram page! Check it out here!  https://www.instagram.com/dentinaltube/ We hear Nate’s origin story Nate teaches at The University Of Alabama Birmingham and also practices. Nate tells us how to become an Instagram model. Nate answers questions from our Facebook page!

Alan is joined by friends and colleagues Dr. Dawn Kulongowski, Dr. Melissa Zettler and Dr. Frank Clayton to talk about COVID. Specifically how we’re feeling 18 months into the COVID pandemic. What’s different? What’s changed for the worse? Did anything good come from it? Stuff that’s changed: Costs of everything have gone up Hiring/finding employees is REALLY difficult Delivery everything New business models requiring less people/more efficiency (Dawn’s vet story) No dining rooms for fast food Tolerance of crazy patients Single use/waste Everyone using straws Wiping the pen Asking about vaccination/health information Health screening Staffing changes Hygiene recall is messed up! What we’d keep: Al: Exercise Dawn: Less travel “I’ve put a new dollar amount on my time…” Melissa: More time with family “We were the house that was willing to have everyone over…” Frank: Pay attention to your time/free time. Also have patients prepay. Some Links from the Show: Land of the Giants podcast (season 4 focuses on the

Alan is joined by Dr. Rob Ritter to talk about a couple of bad beats he had. Perfing an endo and punting a tough extraction had Al wondering if he should be doing these procedures in his office. Rob is a proud “restorative dentist” by choice and has described his approach as “from the gums up.” How did he decide what he wanted to include in his practice? Why did he decide to leave a lot of “specialty” procedures out? Some topics we covered: Rob’s course, “The Protocol”, the dates for 2022 are available and registration opens on September 14th. If you’re interested, you better sign up fast because they’ll sell out immediately! (limited to 14 people!) No compromise treatment “Just because you don’t want to do the right thing doesn’t mean I’m going to do the wrong thing.” “When you start feeling bad for patients, you start making bad decisions” Late 90’s “needs based” dentistry to “wants based” dentistry Doing dentistry because you NEED to (financial constraints) is more common Al’s bad beats and walking away f

Alan tells his "origin story" of purchasing a practice for a mere $87,500 23 years ago! Some links from the show: The Voices of Dentistry The Very Dental Facebook group If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts legitimately funny stuff on their Instagram account! Microcopy makes a wide variety of single use carbides, diamonds and polishers. Such a wide variety that their catalog reminds me of an encyclopedia. But with better pictures. Microcopy dental makes it so you’ll never have to experience that “dull bur” feeling ever again. A new bur. Every. Single. Time. Go check out all Microcopy Dent

We are joined by Dr Jorge Zapata of Ogden Utah, post Labor Day Zach makes us jealous by telling us about Turks and Caicos We recap summer Kevin had a GREAT summer vacation Zach was on the water a lot! Jorge took his boys to college We discuss Jorge’s posting on Facebook First we discuss Class 2’s Jorge uses Bioclear and Garrison Jorge uses Kuraray Clearfill composite Jorge has great anatomy! Jorge is a rubber dam man Then we talk endo Jorge uses Edge endo Jorge uses a sealer from Kerr Jorge does retreats and apicos We talk about the perfect marriage of CBCT and microscope We talk about extra canals and the surgical microscope We talk about 3rd molars and the scope Join our Very Clinical Facebook page!! If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcop

Alan is joined by two relatively new owners of microscopes. Specifically the Zumax OMS 2380. Dr. Graham Forbes and Dr. Brad Mattison both bring some pretty compelling arguments for microscope use in their offices in this episode. Graham’s story: He loved what he saw from the Eastern European scope gurus (Dr. Maxim Belograd and Dr. Nazariy Mykhaylyuk) and found that a full day of restorative dentistry was getting hard on his neck! Brad’s story: In dental school he watched a lot of dental Youtube and was inspired by Dr. Gerard Cuomo. The rest of the interview is a deep dive about what you need to know about dental microscopes, what you could expect the shopping experience to be and why the three of us recommend the experience of working with Enova Illumination and Zumax. Some links from the show: Maxim Belograd’s Instagram Narzariy Mykhaylyuk’s Instagram Leica dental microscopes Global dental microscopes CJ Optik dental microscopes Labomed dental microscopes Enova surgical headlamp Al’s microscope chairs:

When can self-imposed limitations be good? Al discusses the pros and cons of placing limits on things to help focus on what's important. Some examples: addiction debt COVID continuing education and procedures that you offer! Some links from the show: The Very Dental Podcast Network website The Paradox of Choice Voices of Dentistry If you would you like support the Very Dental Podcast Network you should support our sponsors! They help us create content that is, for lack of a better word...Very Dental! The Very Dental Podcast Network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Here are 3 reasons that you should check out Microcopy Dental: Their Instagram posts are hysterical. Dental marketing is usually cheesy and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Microcopy Dental posts legitimately funny stuff on their Instagram account! Microcopy makes a wide variety of single use carbides, diamonds and polishers. Such a wide variety that their catalog reminds me of an encyclopedia. But with better pictu

We are joined by Dr Jorge Zapata of Ogden Utah, whose Beast Of Burden is a surgical microscope First we mourn the passing of Charlie Watts drummer for the Rolling Stones. Start Me Up….Jorge’s bio Miss You …. We talk about Kevin’s son and skiing Time Is On My Side …. We discuss extending Jorge’s career by implementing the surgical microscope Mother’s Little Helper… We discuss Jorge’s global use of the microscope for all dental procedures Satisfaction…. We discuss Jorge’s sharing of videos and photos on several forums including the Very Clinical Facebook page Paint It Black…. We discuss the times Jorge DOESN’T post recorded videos Waiting On A Friend… Jorge’s lecturing has dimmed because of Covid and how he met Alan Mead You Can’t Always Get What You Want… Kevin could not get used to using a microscope in a Cerec class. Zach tried one at VOD It’s Only Rock And Roll…we sign off and beg you to join our Very Clinical Facebook page. Would you like to support the podcast? Then you should take a look at our sponsors!

Dr. Jason Smithson joins Alan to talk about putting COVID behind us, the future of CE and how mentorship really works. What is the "post-COVID-ish" period looking like in the UK "fallow time" Webinars have changed Jason's educational platform a lot Is hybrid teaching (part webinar/at home part in person) the future? Do dentists need the socialization of CE? Jason and Alan are probably more country than most dentists Spear Homecoming...making our Spear heroes more human! Jason is the new Spear composite guy and has never taught there yet (hopefully in September!) Remembering Russell DeVreugd The Vedder Society should get Jason! How does mentorship work? Some links from the show: The Vedder Society fall meeting DOT Hands On The Restorative Programme Would you like to support the podcast? Then you should take a look at our sponsors! When you choose to buy from our sponsors you're helping support the podcasts that you love! The Very Dental Podcast network is brought to you

Al's had a couple of really weird days. So obviously he has to think of an analogy to torture in the latest episode of Very Dental Shorts! How are horses like patients? How come some stalls need to be cleaned WAY more than others?  Some links from the show: The Very Dental Facebook group The Voices of Dentistry Summit! Would you like to support the podcast? Then you should take a look at our sponsors! When you choose to buy from our sponsors you're helping support the podcasts that you love! The Very Dental Podcast network is brought to you by our friends at Microcopy Dental. Single patient use carbide burs, diamond burs, polishers and a variety of single use products that make your office more efficient, make your infection control simpler and your dentistry better! Find more information at verydentalpodcast.com/microcopy Dentures get a bad reputation in dentistry. Quite a few dentists even brag about how long it has been since they have done a denture. Dr. Russell Schafer wants to reverse this trend. So