The Truth About Dentistry

A question I get all too often is "How do you find the time?". Although I am a self-aware workaholic, what really allows me to succeed is how I organize my days and keep myself sharp and focused. Today I will be sharing my secret habits for high performance & success! Today we discuss: - Health hacks - Organization & goals - Building habits into your day Have you ever wanted to try your own team T...

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Gurtej Varn, Wealth Advisor and CEO of White Coat Financial. Gurtej has obtained multiple designations in the financial sector. In 2022, he earned a spot on the Wealth Professional Canada Rising Stars List, honoring the brightest young talents under 40 in the Canadian wealth management industry. A year later, he was crowned the Wealth Professional C...

If there is 1 lesson that I have learned over and over again, it is the importance patient approval on their smile design prior to doing treatment! At our clinic, we require an approved mock-up before doing bonding to ensure that our patients will be satisfied with the results. This past week, one of these patients slipped through the cracks, and I was reminded of why this rule was made in the fir...

Today I'm sharing a story that happened in my clinic because it's a great reminder to customize your patient's experience without compromising your values. We have strict scheduling rules because we know it creates a better life, but sometimes our new patients don't easily fall into a red or green flag category! Today I discuss how we handled a phone call and turned a hesitant pati...

When a new patient calls, is your protocol extensive enough to book them within a week or 2 from their call? And if so, is their appointment scheduled so that your day runs smoothly? This new patient intake protocol is critical for your admin team to have running smoothly, as it effects the entire vibe of your office! Today we discuss: The five new patient types Screening tools & questions Effecti...

If you haven't figured it out by now - the modern patient is found on the internet. Period. And if you haven't found the motivation to get started, I hope this podcast today will help reinvigorate you and help you see just how important social media and marketing really is. Today we discuss: - How marketing & branding is a long game. - How social media not only attracts patients, but T...

Welcome back to my new favourite series where I dive into cases that I have treated in my clinic. This is a really fun series because I so enjoy sharing what I am doing and hearing other doctors' cases and how they deal with situations that don't "follow the textbook"! Have you ever wanted to try your own team TRAINING DAY, but not sure where to start?  Grab our FREE Amazing Race...

We often see patients in our chairs who are candidates for full mouth rehabilitation and don't even realize it. As young students, we were taught to fix every tooth regardless of the situation. But I am sure that you have come to learn, that reality doesn't allow us this in many cases. So what do you do when you can't fix everything? Today I discuss: Education over treatment. The importance of und...

Today I discuss my passion for the painless dental experience and where it all starts - the painless injection. Spurred on by a book I have been reading by one of my favourite historical dentists, Painless Parker, I wanted to share the tricks I've learned that has warranted my patients giving me the same title, Painless Peggy. A painless injection is CRITICAL to a positive patient experience,...

So excited to be back with another episode about something that I LOVE to do, which is save natural tooth structure (check out last week's episode if you missed it)! We are starting a NEW SERIES on the pod all about unconventional strategies I use in my clinic to deal with certain situations that arise. Every once and a while I will discuss a real life situation that I have come across, and ho...

Recently I attended the AACD, and was so excited to hear Dr. Spear from the Spear Institute speak for the first time. His lecture inspired me to do this podcast as he brilliantly framed up everything I believe dentistry to be about. Today we discuss: Taking the conservative approach How to assess the situation in front of you My real life cases that taught be the power of tooth structure Have you...

Sleep Medicine is something that seems to be picking up in popularity among dentists, and with good reason! As GP dentists, this is such an amazing thing for us to be able to recognize in our patients, especially in the young kids who pass through our doors. That is why today I would like to go through a case that reminded how important my background in sleep is to me, and simple ways you can help...

When that phone rings at the front desk, your schedule is packed, and your patient's story is unfolding, does your team know how to handle it? This was a system that took YEARS for our team to develop because we wanted to be able to appropriately care for our patients without a constant overwhelm of our clinical team. That balance is delicate but when you finally figure it out, it takes so muc...

Today's episode especially goes out to the new grads who listen to this podcast but also is a technique not used by all! My time at LVI taught me many things, but thanks to Dr. Ron Jackson, my etch technique has resulted in far less sensitivity for my patients post-op. Today we discuss: The properties of Dentin vs Enamel Total Etch vs Selective Etch Favourite products! Have you ever wanted to...

Everyone can imagine right now the team member who gets asked to do the most tasks outside of their main role. They are typically someone who has less one-on-one time with patients and most likely sits in front of a computer for most of their day. I have been guilty of this, and I am sure you and your team are to, but when we interrupt these team members, we are actually lowering their ability to...

Nothing feels worse than spending hours meticulously creating beautiful cosmetic dentistry for your patient, sitting them up, and not getting the reaction you had hoped for. Even though I have been doing DSD for years, my AHA moment was only 5 months a go when I skipped my smile mock-up after a patient finished Invisalign and had the worst reaction to a smile make-over I have ever experienced in m...

With so many brands out there claiming XYZ about their products, it's really hard to know what to buy and when to use it. Throughout the course of my career I have tried anything and everything that has come my way and although costly at times, it has really allowed me to widdle down my favourite products and feel confident that I am giving my patients the best possible outcomes. So without fu...

I was SO excited to sit down with my wonderful colleague and friend, Dr. Stephen Schalk this past week and discuss a topic near and dear to both of our hearts - clear aligner orthodontics! Stephen has become a MASTER of the ClinCheck and has reached diamond provider status as a GP dentist. His love for knowledge and data driven dentistry has brought us together over the years and it was SO AWESOME...

Composite veneers have gotten a bad reputation through both dentists and patients alike. But with new materials and techniques, they have rapidly become my absolute favourite smile enhancer. Having done this technique now for over 15 years, I have learned a lot along the way, and I am going to share a few insights with you today! In today's episode I discuss: Why composite veneers are the way...

One of the biggest mistakes I hear other dentists talk about is how their patients feel as if they are "selling" treatment to them. But the root of this problem is often in the APPROACH. If education and patient trust isn't the forefront of your conversation, and the solution is secondary, you will NEVER have trusting patients who believe in your treatment. In today's episode we...

Editing videos for social media was NOT part of the job description when you signed up to be a dentist. But the new patient landscape is changing drastically and you WILL lose out on patients if you aren't showing up in video online. Thankfully, the tools available to us today make editing videos SO EASY compared to where it was even 3 years a go! Today we will discuss: Editing in Instagram Reels...

3 team members lining up in the hall for you and nowhere near done your procedure?! Trust me, we have ALL been there. But don't let it get to you! There are many ways to handle these situations and still keep a calm facade in front of your patients. In this episode I discuss: Triaging the schedule bottleneck Verbiage for exiting the room Team opportunities tee up the ball Have you ever wanted...

Let me be clear, if you aren't doing team training days, you are doing a disservice to yourself and your team.  Guiding your team through well thought out and poignant training sessions will always bring your team closer together and solve on-going problems that be occuring.  In today's podcast I discuss:  Why & when to have your very own team training days.  Our "secret sa...

New team member onboarding can be a VERY time and energy consuming process. You want to make sure that your effort isn’t wasted. That’s why today I break down the systems we have implemented to make bringing on new team members consistent and successful. Today I discuss: Observing & course correcting early on Importance of contracts and updated policy manual Establishing a mentor for the newbi...

Orthodontics with clear aligners seems profitable enough, but are you certain that your time and energy is being accounted for? In this episode, I discuss the ways I made my clear aligner therapy more efficient so that I can be sure every case is profitable. Today I discuss: Managing patient expectations from the beginning. As a dentist, what to focus on and what to delegate in the consult. Techno...