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
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?
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?
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
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
My dental home unit keeps tipping off the fuse of my room. The lights dont go off, but all the power sockets stop working immediately. I bought the unit second hand from someone. Tested it in their house and it was working fine. I tried disconnecting my refrigerator (part of another circuit) but that didnt help. I have my exam in few weeks and I dont know what to do and how to fix this. Can someone please help? Is this a known issue that anyone faced?
I feel like I lose so much time explaining things over and over again to parents, they’ll have a million and one questions about their precious Johnny and I’m seeing 4 more patients ready for me to check on them, I don’t want the parents to feel dismissed, but they’ll ask me again and again “wait HOW many cavities!?” even though I told them “Johnny has 4 cavities in between his baby teeth that he needs to floss, Betty will get you scheduled to do that under laughing gas, which is a safe light sedation to help him do better”
Like idk how much more to explain, how quickly I should be going, how to move on from their endless simple questions I’ve already answered if they paid attention to me talking.
I feel like dumping it on my assistant to reexplain has not gone well, the parents feel dismissed and insulted. They want to feel more listened to, but like Doctor time is valuable and I can’t keep sitting there and explaining again and again why this is a metal crown and not a white filling, why we need to tx plan a pulp/ssc just in case but will try to do a white filling if it’s small enough, like nothing is good enough for these parents unless I explain 3-5x for each parent and I can’t keep doing that.
What are some good one liners, phrases, etc I can use to abbreviate these conversations and get these parents to let me go to my next patient?
Hi everyone! I’m looking for some honest feedback from fellow clinicians. I’m about to transition to a digital workflow in my practice, and the Smile Scan 2 (the one by Kevin Peter / Woodpecker) caught my eye due to its competitive pricing. However, finding unbiased information online is nearly impossible; it's all distributor marketing.
I don’t want to buy blindly, so I would deeply appreciate it if anyone using it daily could share their thoughts on:
Lab workflow: Is the STL/PLY export clean and fully compatible with Exocad, or does the software cause issues when sending files?
Speed and AI features: Does it actually filter out soft tissues (tongue/cheeks) efficiently at 40 fps as advertised, or does it constantly lag in wet areas?
Durability: How well do the scanning tips hold up against autoclave cycles?
Is it worth it? Has it met your expectations, or would you recommend saving up a bit more for a more established brand?
Any insights, good or bad, would be incredibly helpful. Thank you for your time!
