Learning Dental Implants can be confusing. There are so many layers of complexity, from space requirement, restorative components and surgical nuances. This 2nd part of the 2-part series on Implants with Dr Hassan Maghaireh looks to guide us through the fundamentals of assessing your patient for implants.

Protrusive Dental Pearl: How to use a pencil to draw line angles for anterior aesthetic composite restorations. I learned this from Dipesh Parmar on the Mini Smile Makeover course (next course in 2021)

If you enjoyed Dr Hassan’s style of teaching, do check out the BAIRD Implant Course.

If you liked this episode, you will love revisiting Complete Dentures with Mark Bishop!

When you present your patients with the ideal options, but they end up choosing ‘patch-up’ Dentistry…this is a real world problem, and we will tackle it in a comprehensive way in this Group Function!

Thank you Anonymous Dentist on Instagram for sending in this BRILLIANT question:

Hey jaz! I’ve been listening to your podcast and I’m a huge fan!
I especially enjoyed the Chris Orr one and the communication one.
I just wondered if I could have some advice please..
I’m working across two practices at the moment, 1 fully private and 1 mixed practice.
At the mixed practice, often patients with broken teeth don’t want to pay for crowns/onlays even though I spell out the benefits, often they will go for a replacement amalgam (which I hate doing) or a large private composite (again risk of debond due to the size)
What would you recommend? If a patient doesn’t want to pay for a crown /onlay but you’ve spelt it all out then I’m not sure what else I can do?
Thanks in advance! X

Anonymous Dentist in the UK, Instagram

You all know what happens when you get Zak Kara to give a quick answer….there is not such thing! Dr Zak Kara goes way beyond the call of duty and delivers us solutions in his signature comprehensive fashion!

We tried to steer away from the NHS vs Private Dentistry debate too much – but definitely your environment and the values of your patients plays a huge role.

Thank you so much for sending this question in – if anyone has a question they want to submit, do contact me via the website or send your question via DM on Protrusive Dental Instagram.

If you found this valuable, share it with your associates and principals.

If you liked this, you will also like Zak’s gems on Communication in Episode 10!

Here are some comprehensive notes/episode summary was written by fellow Protruserati, Taha Adamji – Thank you, Taha!:

PDP GF002 – Communication with Zak Kara – patients always choosing the inferior option

ROLE PLAY 

Building rapport as you’re coming up/welcoming them in 

E.g. How was your journey in today?/How’s your day going today?

Feel free to put your things over there and take a seat – give them clear direction when they come in about what to do 

What can I do for you?

Sorry to hear that/ that can happen sometimes (empathy)

Patient mentioned the clinic/gave praise

Patient apologised for not coming 

Let’s see how we can help you with this problem tooth today:

“I was hoping it could be patched up and then I would be on my way”

“How long is that going to last me”

“ I shouldn’t have had that chocolate”

Patient/dentist may tend to focus in on the tooth in isolation only – but we need to look at the mouth and the patients as a whole  

Examination 

Let’s put the chair back and have a look your tooth but first:

Demonstrates to the patient that you are checking not just the tooth but the whole mouth 

Keep signposting exactly what you’re doing as your doing it – try not to have a silent examination – describe everything you’re doing as you do it 

Describe in lehman terms for the patients benefit and for the nurses – any technical terms means write this down:

Checking if TTP/palpating:

Co-diagnosing with the patient:

Checking with a perio probe:

Dental Implant courses for Dentists are a significant pathway in terms of commitment. Have you ever attended a Dental course and not applied the knowledge…and then a few months or years later – you felt it was an absolute waste?

For example, I did a laser course last year – I have hardly touched a laser since then – its my own fault and I take ownership of that…but what if the stakes were higher?

Implant courses are not a small investment and I know some Dentists who have invested heavily in implant training…but they never quite got going. Whatever the reason, it’s sad.

This is why I recorded with Implant Dentist Dr Hassan Maghaireh who is going to help us over 2 episodes to cover this mammoth topic. In this episode we look at getting started with implants – is it for you?

Stay tuned for a very clinical Part 2 where we will discuss case selection, implant assessment and Ridge preservation for Dentists. This two-part series aims to help you even if you are not placing or restoring implants, we’re going to cover the fundamentals and scratch in itch we have all had since qualifying from Dental school with limited exposure to Implants!

In this Episode, I asked Hassan:

In this episode we promised you some downloads and resources:

The ADI Whitepaper on Bisphosphonates

The BAIRD Implant Course starting in October 2021

Wex for Refurbished Photography Equipment

If you enjoyed this episode, you will also like Transition to Private Dentistry which changed my life.

This is the very first Group Function and we are tackinling RBBs! I will take questions from the fellow Protruserati – I will use your help to come up with some helpful solutions.

TLDR: You can do Dahl RBBs, but it doesn’t always mean you should. A little prep of enamel will not be THAT detrimental for the tooth.

Thank you Aaron for helping this episode happen as our first question! It is about a technique dear to my heart – Resin Bonded Bridges!

Firstly, if you know nothing about the Dahl technique, you totally need to listen to the episodes with Tif Qureshi on Dahl Part 1 and Part 2.

It CAN be a good way to place Resin Bonded Bridges in a way to eliminate any preparation for the occlusal surface – in young patients it can be very successful.

However, it just seems a shame to prop someone’s bite open on just ONE tooth and allow what naysayers refer to as ‘unpredictable orthodontics’ to work it’s sweet magic.

I am totally fine with a little prep – staying in enamel (which is so key!) – every case is unique so treat on it’s merits. In a younger patient, I am more likely to consider that approach.

I hope this helps! If you find this useful – send it to a colleague.

I cover Dahl RBBs extensively in the Resin Bonded Bridges CPD Online Masterclass as well as Zirconia RBBs.

When Mike Gow first told me that he helped place dental implants on patients WITHOUT local anaesthetic, I thought he was lying. Then I found out they have also done a sinus lift without LA…what?!

You read that correctly! Mike Gow has centred his practice around the management of nervous and anxious patients. Don’t you think we can learn so much about management of dental anxiety from someone who has achieved the above?

This is exactly why I brought him on as my guest of honour for Episode 50 (50 not out!) and you will love this, gem-packed podcast with valuable ways to help us become better Dentists to anxious patients.

The Protrusive Dental Pearl is to check out Anydesk (it’s free!) to gain remote access to your work computer in a secure way, so you can access X-rays and treatment plans any time, from any where! This has helped me on so many occassions!

Also check out the 1 hour free training on Teeth Whitening by Dr Payman Langroudi of Enlighten Smiles.

We discuss:

Mike’s resources as promised:

ISDAM Website

ISDAM Facebook page

His practice, the Berkeley Clinic

And of course, Mike on the news!:

Dr Mike Gow also runs InterDental TV for the latest in Dentistry.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Dr Libi’s 2 episodes on Paediatric Dentistry!

As our level of Dentistry gets more comprehensive or complex, sometimes it is useful to write a treatment plan letter to your patient. In some practices, this is considered absolutely essential.

The problem with writing treatment plan letters to your patients is that….it’s not easy! It takes time. It takes thought. You need to come up with solutions to the unique and complex problems for our patients, and be able to present an estimate of fees at the same time.

Not only that, but the letter should ideally be easy to understand, visual, detailed enough to be valuable but at the same time concise enough not to complicate it.

Oh and by the way…after all that time and effort, the patient may not proceed with treatment. There goes that Saturday afternoon away from family, totally wasted, right?

I found a solution. Kind of. It’s called MakeMeClear and it generates easy to understand, visual and beautiful treatment plan reports and letters. Once I got slick at using Make Me Clear, I still found it takes time. There is no shortcut/hack to good treatment planning. But there is a shortcut to creating wonderful letters that increase your case acceptance. Thank you, MakeMeClear!

Protrusive Dental Pearl – Do the 21 Day Free Trial for MakeMeClear and do not make the same mistakes I did of not taking action! (It will be more clear when you listen to the episode).

If your dental practice subscribes to MakeMeClear then all of the associates and Specialists can use the same membership. Let that sink in! Thank you to Jorge for this awesome deal.

Click here to check out a sample report / example treatment plan letter produced using MakeMeClear.

I am joined by Dr Jorge Cardoso, founder of MakeMeClear, to discuss:

So many great themes of challenges with comprehensive Dentistry discussed with Jorge.

If you missed his eBook I gave out in the last episode, check out 16 Steps to get More Treatment Plans Accepted Today.

If you enjoyed this episode, you will love Think Comprehensive with Zak Kara.

Do you make ‘shotgun’ treatment plans? A shotgun treatment plan is like a shotgun wedding. It is rushed, on-the-spot and poorly consented..

I am back with a Fan favourite – Dr Zak Kara who absolutely bamboozled with his communication gems from episode 10 (must listen if you have not already!)

In this mammoth 80 minute episode we dissect how to PRESENT treatment plans to patients. Should we use their chart? Should they get a quote for extensive work at Day 1? Should it be at a second visit or all at their first visit (after all…this what they expect from us, right?) Do we need a separate consultation room (LOL)?

Protrusive Dental Pearl 1: ebook Download for 16 Steps to get more Treatment Plans Accepted Today

Protrusive Dental Pearl 2: Thank you for Mini Smile Makeover Composite Course and Enlighten Smiles for sponsoring this episode!

I talked about my favourite composite instrument I learnt about from attending Mini Smile Makeover – it is called the CASI 3C and it is the perfect non-stick instrument for anterior bonding. Those in the UK can get this from Enlighten Smiles, and those in the USA or Worldwide can get it from their Cosmedent supplier.

We also discussing about getting comfortable talking finance with patients – what are our limiting beliefs about money and fees? Is that holding us back? It did haunt me for many years…

Do we need to give exhaustive documentation afterwards? What is the point of all this? What is the patient and you do not share the same ethos and values?

This is the App Dr Zak Kara mentioned he uses: DDS GP only on the App Store

What I loved about the episode was learning why Zak DOES give an itemised plan for Phase 1 treatment, but not Phase 2 or 3:

If you gained value from this episode, be sure to subscribe and share it with a friend!

If you enjoyed this, you will of course love Zak’s first episode on Protrusive: Think Comprehensive!

Periodontology has some good studies and evidence base – but what is the current thinking in the role of occlusion/parafunction in the aetiology and progress of periodontal diseases?

I am joined by Specialist Periodontist, London-based Dr Richard Horwitz to discuss exactly the correlation and link between occlusion and periodontitis.

This episode’s Protrusive Dental Pearl I picked up from Dr Dipesh Parmar on his fantastic Composite course Mini Smile Makeover – it is to use a sectional posterior matrix band (like the B100 from Garrison or Tor VM) in a vertical fashion to create perfect mesial and distal contours for your anterior composite restorations such as Class IVs.

I also revealed that the team at Doctify are offering all listeners to this podcast 50% off for the first 4 months – you just need to tell them you listen to Protrusive Dental Podcast.

I had a really fun chat with Richard which included so much:

If you enjoyed this episode, you will like my episode with Endodontist Kreena Patel on Cracked Teeth!

We think we know what a tooth looks like….but most of the restorations that we see on a daily basis…how many of them have truly natural or morphologically correct tooth anatomy?

I am joined by Dr Jurgita Sybaite who is the undisputed Queen of Tooth Anatomy! (Full video on main website) She works with Dr Basil Mizrahi and is passionate about Restorative Dentistry.

The Protrusive Dental Pearl for this episode is to use a Thermacut bur (by Dentsply) to remove the interdental papilla when managing very deep, subgingival caries – an example case was posted on Instagram and Facebook for you to see how this works.

Do check out Jurgita’s Instagram profile to see clips of her producing stunning anatomy! She also is a prominent teacher in this field – check out her website!

If you enjoyed this episode, check out Composite vs Ceramic with Dr Chris Orr.

As always, hit subscribe on your podcast platform and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

Interproximal reduction (IPR) is a useful way to create space in Orthodontics, but it has to be performed carefully to make sure it looks good and is effective.

If you are new to Orthodontics or have never performed IPR before – this episode is for you.

I am joined by Dr Devaki Patel, specialist Orthodontist, to discuss IPR techniques and the nitty-gritty details and answer the questions you always wanted to ask about IPR…but never did!

GDP Orthodontics has boomed in the last 10 years. More and more of us are treating orthodontic cases and often this may be referred to as Short Term Orthodontics (STO), or Anterior Alignment Orthodontics (AAO).

Protrusive Dental Pearl: If you view a ClinCheck or a similar 3D simulation, make sure that the initial bite/occlusion is set yup correctly. You will be surprised in how many cases this may be wrong and it has not been picked up!

If you are starting out with Ortho cases, IPR may be something that worries you. You may have questions like:

A really great and helpful guide to IPR

If you enjoyed this orthodontic episode, you may also enjoy my episode with Dr Almuzian on whether Class I molars are really that important?

I appreciate you all listening – do subscribe on your preferred podcast platform so that you do not miss the latest episodes.