Enabling dentists to produce single unit restorations in-office and reducing the need to send a dental impression to a laboratory for milling, the CEREC CAD/CAM system allows dentists to provide patients with restorations in a single appointment. With the use of the modern CAD/CAM dentistry, patients no longer have to schedule multiple trips to the dentist in order to have a restoration done and can enjoy the convenience of same-day dentistry.  Utilizing CEREC CAD/CAM technology is an example of what our  Private Practice + model was designed to do: allow dentists to focus solely on their patients.

Our president and founder Stephen Thorne said: “PDS-affiliated dentists have always been at the forefront of the migration to modern dentistry and with this unprecedented achievement of completing 400,000 in-office restorations, they are now leading the transition.” He added:  “The CAD/CAM dental technology allows clinicians to have the ability to produce restorations in a single visit, delivering on our affiliated dentists’ drive for clinical excellence and providing the highest level of patient care.”

Your teeth are like 32 priceless diamonds and as a dentist, I see children and adults doing amazing things in the sports world with no dental protection. Those “priceless diamonds” are out playing the sport with our kids. They wear shin guards, helmets, and even what could be regarded as body armor to protect other parts of their body, but their teeth are many times over looked. April is dental facial protection month and I want to bring awareness to dental sports guards.

In my office, I have seen many emergencies where trauma has caused a smile to be compromised or destroyed. I have had to attempt to rebuild that smile, which was so beautiful before the accident. We have incredible technology today. With CAD/CAM technology and modern porcelain materials, we can solve dental trauma problems, but I still feel an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, it is much better to avoid dental trauma in the first place.

If you are playing a sport, professionally, or just for fun, consider a dental sports guard. You are given these “priceless diamonds”, protect them.

Image from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

About the Author:

Dr. Darbro currently practices at Glendora Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics. He has been practicing dentistry since 1996. He is married and has three children. He enjoys playing music, studying/teaching the Bible, and vacationing in Hawaii. Connect with Dr. Darbro via https://www.facebook.com/drmatthewdarbrodds

Oral Cancer appears to be on the rise in America. While the incidence of other forms of oral cancer are leveling off or even dropping, oral cancer seems to be going the other way. However, awareness of oral cancer is also on the rise. This month is Oral Cancer Awareness month and I, for one, welcome the designation. Because as a general dentist, I am a doctor of the mouth, and cancer on my turf just will not do.

I am happy that there are all kinds of new technologies available to detect this cancer at its earliest form, like special cancer detection lights and early detection saliva tests. All kinds of great scientific minds are driving hard into what causes this cancer to form and ways to either prevent it, or at the very least, detect it.

There is a feeling you get as a dentist when you provide an amazing comprehensive examination for a patient. There is this feeling you get when you have used great technology backed by strong science and clinical evidence. When you detect something horrible like oral cancer, TREAT IT, and get the patient healthy. Those times when you have detected the enemy and stood face to face with something as cruel as oral cancer and you have prevailed. . .

That feeling — well, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.

***

About the Author:

Dr. Darbro currently practices at Glendora Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics.  He has been practicing dentistry since 1996. He is married and has three children. He enjoys playing music,  studying/teaching the Bible, and vacationing in Hawaii.  Connect with Dr. Darbro via https://www.facebook.com/drmatthewdarbrodds

Rocky Mountain Region Marketing Specialist Jenna Keller reported: “We had quite the spread of food, complete with a drawing and door prizes.  Additionally, the President of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce stood up in front of the crowd and gave a glowing testimony of the exceptional service and care that he has received as a patient! “

Congratulations to Dr. Katie McCann, Dr. Trevor Neal, Operations Manager Ryan Lucio, Michael Robinson, and all of the staff at Green Valley Ranch for making the opening go off without a hitch– setting the tone for a successful office that will definitely bring exceptional dentistry and many smiles to Aurora, Colorado.

PDS is at the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry (CSPD) and Western Society of Pediatric Dentistry (WSPD) Annual Convention taking place in Portland, Oregon , March 28th-31st. The California Society of Pediatric Dentists was founded in 1975 and represents the specialty of Pediatric Dentistry in California and is dedicated to education, practice and research in the specialty of pediatric dentistry. Meanwhile, according to their website,”the mission of the Western Society of Pediatric Dentistry (WSPD) is to provide outstanding membership services and to facilitate communications between and amongst the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, its component districts and the State/Province Units of WSPD.”  PDS Vice President of Specialty Tom Von Sydow and Director of Business Development – My Kid’s Dentist Scott Lauer  will be on hand to share the many opportunities that Pacific Dental Services has throughout the Western States, for pediatric dentists.

Pacific Dental Services also has a booth at the Star of the South Dental Convention in Houston, Texas March 29th-31st. Specialty Recruiting Manager Ed Loonam will be at booth #422 sharing information about the great opportunities PDS has in Houston and throughout the state of Texas. According to Star of the South Chairman Kathy Gibson, DDS : “The 2012 Star of the South Dental Meeting, as its theme implies, will be a celebration of learning as the meeting focuses on the many facets of education. ” To view, the schedule of events, visit www.starofthesouth.org

But we’re not stopping now. The two new rigs that charity: water has purchased will allow them to drill 80 new wells a year which will change 80,000 lives for the next 15 years.

All of those stats are awesome, but we can ALL do more. We will continue to donate to charity:water for each CEREC CAD/CAM restoration completed and here’s how you can help.  As part of World Water Day, charity: water is asking everyone to give up their birthday to help raise money to provide clean drinking water around the world. So if you’re interested, visit charitywater.org/birthday.

Remember, water changes everything!

I love the Isolite. It is definitely a revolutionary dental device. It’s neat how it pushes the tongue away and lights up the teeth. It is amazing technology but it will never take the place of my dental assistants. Dental assistants do more than retract the tongue and move the light and work the suction. They face the day with me. I have a community that treats patients in Glendora. I could never face the complicated dental problems with just a dental device. They come to work early and set things up. They encourage me all through the day and then at the end of the day, they are there cleaning everything up. I want to take a moment and thank the dental assistants I have been lucky enough to work with. You do so much.

In my best days practicing dentistry, when the crowns look perfect or the patient says the denture feels good, when the patient brings in cookies to thank the office, in those moments, there always was a dental assistant that helped make it happen.

In my darkest days in the dental office, when things are going poorly, and I am overwhelmed, or when I have to make it right, when I have to do some procedure that makes me feel like pins and needles, in those moments, there always was a dental assistant that cheered me up and walked through it with me.

In my busiest days practicing dentistry, when I am dog tired, and I can do no more at the end of the day, when we all ran from room to room like a Scooby Doo chase scene, when I feel like we have seen my entire patient population in one day, and I feel like I have given everything I could give, there always is a dental assistant that has given more.

I want to stop for a moment and thank all the dental assistants that have worked with me over the years practicing dentistry. I especially want to thank my team now. You guys give so much and I don’t say thank you enough.

About the author.

Dr. Darbro currently practices at Glendora Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics.  He has been practicing dentistry since 1996. He is married and has three children. He enjoys playing music,  studying/teaching the Bible, and vacationing in Hawaii.  Connect with Dr. Darbro via https://www.facebook.com/drmatthewdarbrodds

By the 3rd day, I had come to know the faculty. I had grown comfortable talking about my weaknesses with my colleagues. The curriculum had begun to set in and I felt it was time for me to make a decision about all of these new thoughts.  In the last lecture, Dr DeWood implored us to find 1 patient a month that we would give our best stuff.  He said “Imagine what would happen if you could give one patient a month your best stuff?  What about one patient a week?  What about one patient a day?”  Up until the Spear Education course, I felt I had given the patient my best stuff.  I mean I do great CEREC restorations. I find periodontal disease. I refer to specialty. It’s just that now, with all that I learned at Scottsdale, my best has just taken a big jump up. I realized I could give more. The Scottsdale Center had changed me.

When I was a kid, my dad was (and still is, I might add) a progressive orthodontist. He would go to all kinds of CE courses. I could remember having epic times at the hotel as he would go to all these continuing education classes. I remember one course in particular. It was so powerful that my dad got the tapes and played it over and over again. (It was the 1980s). The presenter was Kendrick Mercer. I listened to those tapes so much as a child that they have stayed with me to this day. Kendrick (Rick) Mercer cast a vision of dental practice that was so amazing that I promised myself, when I grew up, I would become a dentist and practice this way.

The author with his wife, mom and dad aka the elder Doctor Darbro.

 The Scottsdale Center has grown from those early days of Kendrick Mercer. In the 1990’s, I took Imtiaz Manji’s Leadership and Transition courses through Mercer Global Advisors. I would hear about how they were building the Scottsdale Center and how amazing it would be.  And here Iwas now, walking through the Mercer Cafe. It is always cool when plans come to fruition.

The Spear course I attended was challenging stuff. What they recommend is outside of my comfort zone. I argued with myself about whether to adopt these things into my practice and how it would play out, as I rode on the bus to the airport.  On the airplane, I went over the material in my mind. I took pictures of my smile with my iPhone and thought about photos in dentistry. Then, on the airplane, as we were about to land, I remembered my promise to myself. I remembered that promise of doing amazing dentistry. I remembered that promise I made when I was a kid listening to Rick Mercer tapes in my dad’s car.

 I realized that Pacific Dental Services not only helped me make that promise come true, but they have redefined my vision of dental practice. They have refined my vision and my dream of dental practice. They have challenged me to go outside my comfort zones and reach for things that I thought I could never do just as the the faculty at Spear Education at the Scottsdale Center gave to me during the course of this workshop. I plan to take the challenge, and make the step into facially generated treatment planning and keep my promise to myself. *

About the author.

 Dr. Darbro currently practices at Glendora Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics.  He has been practicing dentistry since 1996. He is married and has three children. He enjoys playing music,  studying/teaching the Bible, and vacationing in Hawaii.  Connect with Dr. Darbro via https://www.facebook.com/drmatthewdarbrodds

I went in.

For three days, 35 Pacific Dental Services-affiliated doctors took part in a custom-made-for-Pacific-Dental-Services closed door workshop on facially generated treatment planning, by Frank Spear Education at the Scottsdale Center.

I was nervous, excited and anxious. I arrived early on the first day, so I walked around to see the place. I poked into the Experience. I read the brochure on the Winter Lab. I walked through the Mercer Cafe. Upstairs in the Manji board room, the Spear Education staff was having a meeting. The door was open and I could see a focused and animated discussion. They were all preparing and planning. They were all talking about us, the Pacific Dental Services-affiliated doctors coming to the Scottsdale Center. Suddenly, I did not feel so nervous or anxious anymore. Listening to them and their passion for us, I felt inspired to learn what they had to teach us. The faculty at Spear Education love dentistry and care passionately about dentists.

Over the next three days, I was challenged. I got to connect and experience Frank Spear’s Facially Generated Treatment Planning course with fellow PDS-affiliated doctors. I got a chance to talk and interact, laugh and wince (especially when we took photos of each other) with my colleagues. Many times, when one goes to courses like this, you leave with more questions than answers – How am I going to incorporate this into my practice? How is this going to fit? Can I do this? I kept taking the faculty aside and asking them how best I could implement this treatment planning in my own practice. Finally, on the last day, Dr Gary DeWood laid out a plan and I was inspired.

Facially Generated Treatment Planning is a great way to work with all the specialists in my practice. It is a great way to connect the dots with Orthodontics, Periodontics, Oral Surgery, Implants, and Restorative Dentistry. It gives me the ability to do things that I did not think were possible in dentistry. Talking to Dr Gregg Kinzer, he said “It’s about doing what you love, and doing it because you love it.” I recognize I have a lot to process, and still a lot to learn, but I was exposed to a way of thinking that was far beyond what I thought a dentist could do.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

About the author.

 Dr. Darbro currently practices at Glendora Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics.  He has been practicing dentistry since 1996. He is married and has three children. He enjoys playing music,  studying/teaching the Bible, and vacationing in Hawaii.  Connect with Dr. Darbro via https://www.facebook.com/drmatthewdarbrodds