A beautiful smile is always the goal — but it’s not the only goal in orthodontics. To reframe the role of early intervention and how it can transform patients’ lives, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Rebecca Bockow, instructor from Spear Education, to explain the benefits beyond straightening teeth. When you understand the potential of orthodontics, you can help more patients long term! To learn more and register for Dr. Bockow’s course, Healthy Growth - Healthy Faces, listen to Episode 755 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Dr. Bockow:

• Follow Dr. Bockow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rbockow
• Join Dr. Bockow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredOrtho
• Register for Dr. Bockow and Dr. Michael Gunson’s Healthy Growth - Healthy Faces workshop (September 26-28, 2024): https://www.arnettgunson.com/healthy-growth-healthy-faces-seattle

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
• Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
• See the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/event
• Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
• Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Episode Resources:

• Watch the video version of Episode 755: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos
• Watch Episode 640 with Dr. Dania Tamimi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaaQxgXuESo&t=1842s

Main Takeaways:

• Recognize how the system works as a whole.
• Understand the true origin behind patients’ malocclusions.
• Early orthodontic intervention can improve dental, joint, and muscle health.
• Orthodontics is about establishing a healthy system, not just straightening teeth.
• Without a true diagnosis, orthodontics could lead to breakdown and other issues.
• It takes an interdisciplinary team to help rehabilitate a patient’s mouth and system.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:45 Why this is an important topic.

6:33 Reframe the conversation for naysayers.

9:07 Understand how the system works as a whole.

12:06 Early intervention, explained.

15:34 Understand the why behind malocclusion.

18:49 What dentists get wrong about the health of the entire system.

21:44 The fourth dimension, explained.

24:08 The origins of Dr. Bockow and Dr. Gunson’s course.

27:34 More about their course, Healthy Growth – Healthy Faces.

30:17 Final thoughts.

Dr. Rebecca Bockow Bio:

Dr. Rebecca Bockow is a dual-trained orthodontist and periodontist – the only dual-trained provider in Seattle and one of only a handful in the country.

Dr. Bockow grew up in the Greater Seattle area and attended University Prep for high school. She received a B.S. in Biology with Honors at Haverford College, where she also played soccer, squash, tennis, and ran cross-country and track. She completed her DDS training at the University of Washington Dental School in 2007. Dr. Bockow practiced as a general dentist in Seattle for two years while simultaneously teaching at the UW dental school.

Dr. Bockow completed a highly selective dual-specialty program combining Orthodontics and Periodontics at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a board-certified orthodontist and periodontist. While simultaneously enrolled in two residency programs, she also received a Master of Science in Oral Biology, focusing on intranasal ketorolac for postoperative implant pain management.

Dr. Bockow lectures nationally on periodontics, orthodontics, interdisciplinary orthodontics, airway, and skeletal growth and development. She contributes to multiple professional journals as an author and editor, and she is also a resident faculty member at Spear Education.