Chew on This! A Dental Podcast

😬 Join our favorite Chewers as they delve into the gritty details of Viking oral hygiene—or the terrifying lack thereof 🛡️. They discuss the fact that 60% of Viking chompers were as decayed as their sunken ships. The duo chew over the connection between Swedish meatballs, lingonberry jam, and the Vikings’ meat-heavy, root vegetable-studded diet that might have led to gnarly grins worthy of a horr...

🤔 Teresa and Kevin reflect on the exorbitant cost of dental care through statistics 📉, and the shocking lack of dental insurance awareness among patients 😱. They referenced Synchrony’s Dental Lifetime of Care Study (link below) while discussing why people avoid necessary dental treatment. Spoiler alert - it’s due to financial constraints, which leads to increased emergency care visits 😷. Plus,...

We let AI write these show notes. Here's a summary in 45 seconds: 👅 The surprising phenomenon of vaper’s tongue and its impact on an individual's ability to taste flavors when using vape devices. 😨 Dental Phobias: Patients' irrational fear of bristles and impact on oral hygiene and overall dental care. 🚗 Unexpected Accidents: Semi-truck crashing into a dental practice, causing injuries and sign...

You can watch the video version here! We let AI write these show notes. Here's a summary in 45 seconds: 🦷 Cigna Dental has 16.5 million members who can now send in pictures of their teeth and get a message back. 📱 They'll use an app to take five pictures and get a Cigna dentist's opinion. 💸 Oh, and the tooth fairy is really stepping up the game. The average price for a lost tooth is now $6.23....

You can watch the video version here!   We let AI write these show notes. Here's a summary in 45 seconds: 🔊 Last episode was supposedly a hit, true crime and all. Can't get enough of that, right?  🕵️‍♂️ But now, brace yourselves for a not-so-fun case. This time it's all about dental mishaps and rising fees. 😔 An 81-year-old grandma went for a tooth extraction and never came out 🚑 EMS...

You can watch the video version here! We let AI write these show notes. Here's a summary in 45 seconds: 🕵️‍♂️ Get ready for some "true crime-ish" stories. We're about to dive into the dark side of dentistry. 😱 Dentist arrested for child porn and peeping? Just another day in the dental world, folks! 🤔 How did no one on the team notice the hidden camera in the bathroom? Expert cleaning skills, I g...

We let AI write these show notes.  Here's a summary in 45 seconds:   🧪 Scientific breakthrough in tooth regeneration 🦷 Potential benefits of enamel regeneration 🔬 Concerns about potential complications and overgrowth of enamel 😮 🧟‍♂️ Tangent discussion on zombies, vampires 🧛‍♀️, and pirates 🏴‍☠️ benefiting from tooth regeneration.  Get ready for Captain Enamel Hook and a crew...

We let AI write these show notes.  Here's a summary in 45 seconds:   💡 Medical emergencies and bad PR can hit at any time, so be prepared!    💼 Managers, there's a service that sends legal letters on your behalf. Impressive!   💪 Let's address false reviews! Dental industry, take legal action more often!   🔒 Protect individuals and reputations at work. Install came...

We let AI write these show notes.  Here's a summary in 45 seconds:   🛴Electric Scooter Safety and Dental Injuries - It's Common! 🌟 Celebrity Influence on Dental Practices 💡 Openness to New Methods and Ideas in Dentistry 🌍 International Perspectives on Dental Care 🦷 Dental Care Utilization Rates in Various Countries - US Could Improve A Bit 🗳️ Political Discussions on Revamping...

Do people still click on suspicious email links? They sure do! Aspen Dental had a large data breach. We talk about how offices of all sizes can be hit by this. The importance of patient safety comes up as we discuss a very sad patient death coming out of Washington state. We end on a light note - did you know that Kevin has Nigerian blood in him? Perhaps he's sending the emails out to practices .....

Why is it that when you hear about unlicensed dentistry gone wrong it's from the back of someone's car or from some hotel? We discuss another one of these stories and then swing over to a respectable dental school to celebrate a milestone.  We round out the episode with dental history knowledge! But of course, in our own flavor. As always, more info is in the links below. Thanks for listening...

What's your responsibility when your boss is about to be featured on Dateline? Kevin and I pondered the employee obligations of the Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife via poison. We aren't seeing too much of this in the traditional dental journals but we're not afraid to bring it up. Don't worry - we actually got serious about the topic though. We hear from employees who see shady behavi...

Chasing beauty can be very painful as two couples found out when they pursued dental tourism in Turkey. Did you think I meant the delicious holiday meal? It's much worse than that! We also discussed some sobering news and stats about dental health. People out there need real care and sometimes they just don't get have the means. Not everyone can jet off to Turkey for a new smile.  As always,...

How are we going to work with younger people who are so different from us? Well, considering that every generation has asked this question, it probably won’t be that bad. New ideas, new energy - what’s not to love? Kevin played around with AI and gave it some prompts for a dental horror movie. Oh wow - did the bot deliver!  As always, more info is in the links below. Thanks for listening!&nbs...

Dental legislators had a busy year in 2022 and it looks like 2023 is going to be more of the same. It will be at least 2+ years before we see the impact of Question 2 in the Massachusetts election (see episode 42). Until then, we’re going to focus on international implant travel. That’s right - our titanium travelers are on the loose! Don’t click into that third link if you have a sensitive stomac...

Should you base your podcast opinion on a title? We hope so! In this episode, we review oral health statistics from the World Health Organization. It’s important to be aware of clinical trends so that you can plan your community outreach, CE etc. The most impactful advice concerns “Knockers” and “Boobs” in your office .Trust us - click and listen and then DON’T do what these doctors (allegedly) di...

TikTok users love dental tips - maybe a bit too much. The hashtag #DIYDentist is huge in that space. Perhaps we need an influencer or two to help us spread GOOD oral health tips. Like how butt massages could benefit oral health. We’re skeptical but it’s our job to bring you the news. Is this an untapped revenue source? Or just one dentist’s wishful thinking? You be the judge! As always, more info...

It's horrible to suffer injury at the dental office. But it's absolutely not fair that the money awarded to you just simply isn't there. We discuss the lessons learned from a poor child's life permanently affected by a doctor who didn't want to call 911. Then we tackle the upcoming Massachusetts vote regarding dental insurance. Links for more reading are below.  Resources/Links from Show:&nbs...

We don’t recommend prison but if you have to go then make sure your oral health is in good shape. Rapper YNW Melly is sitting in jail with diamond encrusted crowns and claiming that he is being denied his basic oral health rights. Although at this point, I suspect those crowns are crustier than a Spongebob episode. Why can’t they just give him a toothbrush? It may not be that simple.  We then...

We know teeth have grooves but did you know they were GROOVY ? How your baby teeth grow can determine your metabolism. We then ventured over to TikTok and Facebook to learn about glittery dentures. Yes, you read that right!   This is what we want you to chew on: Primary teeth can give us insight into teen metabolism and weight gain  Temptation Island is a truly sinful show however a dent...

Talk about a bad apple. Thanks to one dental chain our industry has suffered another black mark. How do you handle patients who are angry and mistrustful? Delicately and with your own safety in mind. We then traveled from Indiana to California for what I thought was a timely story but I was duped! It was a recycled article but we still had a good time with it. Enjoy!    This is what we w...

Did you miss us? We missed you! I explain why Kevin and I took a podcast break. We hope we can pick up right where we left off. Now onto our latest musings…   Click here for the full show notes   This is what we want you to chew on:   Artificial intelligence and images. Kevin and I think we could use this to obtain better images. I would love to have a voice that says “that image st...

Imagine that you can only open your mouth a grand total of 2mm - sounds awful! We discuss if we’re ready to have those conversations with patients. But first we bring you an update on the “Delta Dental vs pretty much all of organized dentistry and most providers” lawsuit. Then we wrap up with the pretty disappointing news that only 1 in 4 owner dentists raised fees. Sometimes we really are to blam...

Do we really need to be as busy as we used to be? We tackle that question in light of some new stats from the ADA’s Health Policy Institute. Confusion was in the air while discussing a clinic who laid off half their staff. Why would they do that? What employee would come back after that? Compliance and audits were next up on the agenda. If we have no examiners or auditors then who will catch the r...

Low reimbursement and expanding state dental services is a bad cycle that just keeps spinning. We’ll discuss how states get real generous with dental care but then uh-oh! Where did all the dentists go? When reimbursement is lower than operating expenses then how can you expect to attract providers? Two states are trying to tackle this but will they be successful? Teresa then shares her crazy chick...