3 Secrets to Keeping Your Teeth Long After Retirement

So you’re pushing the retirement envelope. Or you are thinking: What age will I pull the retirement pin.

Lots of people out there are telling you how to get your ducks in a row. But, nobody’s talking teeth. You use … Read More

Mid-Level Providers: Friend or Foe?

Since Alaska adopted the idea of the dental therapist as a solution to access to care, other states have been considering this as an option. The “mid-level provider” practitioner, as they’ve come to be called, can perform certain procedures, even … Read More

Demi Lovato Shaves My Head on National TV

How did Demi Lovato end up shaving my head on national television?

Well, my team at Southern California Dental Health Associates is passionate about giving back to our community. We participate in several charity drives throughout … Read More

Why Today’s Dental Insurance Sucks for Patients and Dentists

Every individual has an oral environment and subgingival and supragingival biofilm that is as specific to them as their fingerprint. For that reason, each and every patient requires an oral care regimen and often a restorative treatment plan that is … Read More

The Dental Office Hierarchy Told In Awkward Family Photos

There is a problem that not many people want to talk about: the unspoken hierarchy in the dental office. To put it bluntly, the dental assistant is usually the lowest wo(man) on the totem pole, making the issue more evident … Read More

Dear Dentist: An open letter from your dental insurance “partner”

Dear Participating Dentist,

This letter is to address some of the complaints we have received lately from our participating dentists with regard to our dental insurance business practices.

1. Yes, we decline valid pre-authorizations and claims on purpose.

… Read More

An Educated Response to the Cochrane Report on Xylitol

There is another recent news report concerning the role of xylitol in preventing dental caries. This follows the big news coverage from January 2013, detailing the results of the XACT clinical trial. That study was published in JADA and set … Read More

A Caries Researcher’s Response to the Big Sugar Scandal

I’ve read the current news reports in the last two days about the influence of the Big Sugar Lobby’s influence on government policy and research during the 1950’s and 60’s. The uncovered documents provide a paper trail that I find … Read More

Empty Yesterdays and the Law of Diminishing Intent

“You pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays” ~ Harold Hill

In 1996, I saw a production of Meredith Wilson’s ‘The Music Man,’ and this quote seared into my psyche.

It … Read More

Why damn good dentists become Doomsday Preppers (and how to make sure it does not happen to you)

Well, the news is out. The golden days of dentistry are over. Time to pack up, turn it in and dust off the ol’ resume- and I hear Starbucks is hiring, so that’s nice.

Most people would … Read More