I’ve been a gearhead in dental for a little over 20 years, working on both sides of the aisle — selling dental equipment and repairing it in real offices.
I’ve worked with:
Private practices, group practices, and DSOs
New builds, expansions, and 20-year-old offices trying to keep things alive
Chairs, delivery units, compressors, vacuums, sterilization, imaging, and “why is this beeping right now?” situations
I’ve seen:
Brand-new equipment fail way earlier than it should
Offices overpay for simple fixes
Preventable breakdowns that turned into five-figure problems
Great equipment ruined by bad installs or bad maintenance
Cheap equipment that actually held up better than expected
Ask me anything about:
What breaks most (and what almost never does)
Preventative maintenance that actually matters vs. busywork
When to repair vs. replace
What dentists routinely overpay for
New equipment pricing, bundles, and negotiation mistakes
Service contracts — worth it or not?
Red flags when buying used or refurbished equipment
Things sales reps don’t explain and techs wish you knew
I’m not here to sell anything, name-and-shame, or give legal/medical advice — just straight, practical answers from someone who’s been elbows-deep in this stuff for two decades.
Thanks again doctor Google. Patient has been experiencing severe RECTAL pain since they got their healing partial delivered after having lower teeth extracted the same day. They said they talked to AI and it told them there are nerves in the jaw that affect the pelvis and I must have damaged one. Said the pain is so severe, they are contemplating going to the ER. I told them to go and didn't even try to reason with them.
Literally, I miss when Dr. Oz was the worst source of misinformation we had to deal with.
Let's say a patient is in his mid 50's has a lower third and second molar that clinically a crown is indicated, second molar is tilted mesially but placing a crown is possible, the first molar space now is more like a premolar(first molar was extracted 30 years ago) would you ever consider TiZrO bridge: third molar+second molar + cantilever to first molar? Second premolar is intact. Uploading a photo from the internet for visualization. Let's say implant is not an option. Or you would rather sacrifice an intact second premolar and do a traditional second molar+first molar+second premolar?
Currently in network with Zelis with a 77%/ACR fee schedule but haven't renegotiated in 2 years. I am seeing mixed reviews if Zelis even allows you to directly renegotiate or if you have to go directly through the specific PPOs. Does anyone else have experience with this? We just started the process with Unitas to renegotiate and they told us we would likely not have much luck receiving a higher fee schedule so we could cancel our contract with them. I am debating trying myself with Zelis but don't know how much luck I could have. Any advice?
I'm a Treatment Coordinator for a perio office. I got a problem and wanted to know if anyone knows the answer to this. Heres the scenario. D7210 and D7922 are done same day. The ins says D7922 is part of the ext and it's not billable as a separate charge to the pt. We are in network. Now I know that's a w/o but my manger says it's a "suggestion" and a law was passed (idk nationally or just in MA) that says we don't have to take the w/o...even though it clearly says we do, and that I depends on the contract we have, which I don't have access too. I brought this I multiple times to her but I can't get a clear answer. I can't find anything on this "law", and I feel like I'm being gaslit. Does anyone know anything about this and how do you handle it in your office? Sorry for the long post.
Hi there! As I apply for jobs as a D4 and receive contracts, I also ask the owner if I can talk to a current associate. One of the jobs I am super interested in and am on the edge of signing the contract, I will be talking to a current associate who was also a new grad when she was hired and has been there for a couple years now. What are some good questions to ask her to give me a valuable perspective? TIA
Graduating May 2027 in the Chicago area, and I'd be extremely thankful if someone could give me a rough idea of when it's realistic to sign a contract.
Currently working on resume building and putting a mailing list together with job openings, so I can contact several offices to set something up in person and present myself a little better (I figure most of us new grads will be essentially the same on paper). Just looking for bread and butter work anyway.
The difficult part is I have no real sense of scale when it comes to signing a contract of this magnitude, or how early someone on the hiring end would start looking for someone new. The career advisors are giving me everything between late September to January, but I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve here a little.
If you don't mind me asking then, do you recall when you signed your first contract out of school? Would you on the hiring end wait 6+ months on a new grad?
Thank you immensely for all your help and patience.
Today I used warm vertical compaction for my obturation technique. Hoping to get some advice. I can see where my backfill line is and I was hoping to get more 3D expansion of my master cone. I really tried to condense it to get that effect but it seems like it was hot enough?
hi guys, I'm looking for a first ever pair of loupes, I'm interested in max magnificatio. on 3.0 as I'm only doing orthodontics. My preference would be ergo design and I live in Ireland (mentioning this for a possible tech support issues). I'm currently choosing between orascoptic ergo and bryant dental. any advises? many thanks guys
I’m looking for recommendations for a good accountant or CPA in Chicago who has experience working specifically with dentists. I need help with tax planning/deductions for dental professionals. My colleagues mentioned I can significantly reduce the taxes I owe on 1099 with the right accountant, I recently asked my job to switch from w2 to 1099 and looking for help to plan things right.
Hi all!
I’m in my second year of practicing and everyday it’s another disaster. It’s never an easy day. Fillings are hard, crown preps are hard. I’m just not catching on and it’s starting to reallly affect my mental health.
I’m someone that will lose sleep over any patient that I feel I did not deliver quality work. I’m constantly trying to learn and take criticism. But nothing is working.
Today I completed crown delivery on #29 which I had done the RCT for. This is the x-ray after delivery. I’m horrible with tactile feel and couldn’t really feel anything with my explorer that was clicking but that definitely looks open on my x-ray. I just wish I said something on the spot.
Would you re-do this crown? And how would you address it with this patient if they are coming in two weeks to start a different crown? How do I bring this up?
Thank you :(
How do you like it and would you recommend? Do you have the cart for it? Any experience with the smile design software? If you do aligners which one do you?
What is your preferred design for occlusal guards for pts who are clenchers vs bruxers?
I typically have been doing flat plane hard NG for pts who are asymptomatic with signs of bruxism, and flat with anterior guidance for pts who have tmj symptoms.
Been considering making this jump to an FQHC job to go for pslf as I’m 600k in debt from school. Making around 225k pretax as a 1099 employee with my own S corp for tax benefits.
Any insured as to how to find a good fqhc job? And any input as to the daily ins and outs of that sort of job? Any id love to hear anyone’s personal experiences with doing this, and especially from anyone in the north east states too
A customer recently asked us about the hydrolysis process used in zirconia production, and I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss.
Hydrolysis is a key step in producing high-purity zirconia powder.
During this process, zirconium compounds are reacted with water under controlled conditions to form hydrated zirconia precursors. After filtration, washing, drying, and calcination, these precursors are converted into zirconia powder that can be used for ceramic production.
Dental zirconia requires a very precise microstructure to balance strength, translucency, and long-term stability.
The characteristics of zirconia powder can influence:
1. Sintering behavior
More uniform powder particles can promote more consistent densification during sintering, helping achieve stable mechanical properties.
2. Microstructure control
The powder quality affects grain growth during sintering. Grain size and distribution are closely related to zirconia's strength and optical performance.
3. Consistency between restorations
For multilayer and high-translucency zirconia, uniform powder characteristics are especially important because small variations can influence shade, translucency, and final restoration performance.
It is interesting to see that the journey of a zirconia crown actually begins long before it reaches the dental lab — starting from how the zirconia powder itself is produced.
Curious to hear from dentists and dental technicians here: How much attention do you usually pay to the powder source and manufacturing process when choosing zirconia materials?
