Tooth or Dare Podcast

By Irene Iancu @Toothlife.IreneScience Medicine Health & Fitness Education Life Sciences

Tooth or Dare Podcast episodes

June 22, 2020 Episode 43: Howard Farran, Uncensored and Shirtless.
Dr. Howard Farran DDS, MBA
Another epic recorded live at Voices of Dentistry and kindly sponsored by our friends at Dentsply Sirona. DS has been consistent and amazing in providing continuing education online while we have all struggled with being home due to COVID. Here are some links to complimentary CE that Katrina will be doing in the coming weeks generously sponsored by Dentsply Sirona.
Click ----> HERE
1 hr 15 min
June 09, 2020 Episode 42: Helping make change with Martelle Coke of @BrownGirl.RDH
Martelle Coke, RDH is the founder and CEO of BrownGirl RDH. She shares the remarkable true story of her upbringing, which was spent in hotels, her mother selling crack to feed ten children. Martelle was responsible for raising her younger siblings. She knew from a young age that dentistry was her dream job. She worked toward that goal while raising five children, facing medical issues, and suffering physical and emotional abuse. She successfully became an RDH and started her own non-profit in spite of massive racial inequality and financial hardship.
Martelle created BrownGirl RDH, a non-profit organization promoting cultural diversity within the dental hygiene field, in April 2018. Her entrepreneurial spirit seems to arise out of a deep sense of compassion to offer assistance to people who have struggled in the same ways she did. She started the business completely out of pocket, offering scholarships with her own money. She now offers 12 scholarships a year, based on need, with no deadline attached. She hopes to increase that number to 24 scholarships a year.
As stated on browngirlRDH.org, statistics show that minorities represent less than 4% of dental hygienists. Martelle speaks about attending dental conferences and counting the few black and brown bodies in a sea of white people. She points out how black speakers at these very events are paid less than their white counterparts.
Systemic racism pervades the dental industry. We are so thankful to Martelle Coke for coming on and telling her story, and helping us understand how we can become more impactful allies to friends and colleagues of colour in our lives and in our work.
The Tooth or Dare podcast sees you, hears you and stands with you. BLACK LIVES MATTER
Please consider donating to the Brown Girl RDH non-profit here: https://browngirlrdh.org/Donate
Follow Martelle Coke:
IG: @browngirlRDH
https://www.facebook.com/BrownGirlRDH/
https://browngirlrdh.org/
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Find more of our episodes at https://www.toothordare.ca/
Follow us on Instagram!
Podcast IG: @toothordare.podcast
Irene: @toothlife.irene
Katrina: @thedentalwinegenist
1 hr 51 min
May 25, 2020Episode 41: @Hygiene_Gangster Building a brand while being yourself.
The Hygiene Gangster
Live from Voices of Dentistry: Kindly supported by our friends at Dentsply Sirona.
DS has released a new section to its website titled "Managing Aerosols" This resource provides great information on things like
Possible transmission routes of COVID-19 in a dental office
Aerosols generated by handpieces and ultrasonic scaling – current recommendations
Principles of blocking possible transmission routes in a dental office
Further here is the link to the webinar Katrina mentioned- Pump Up the Volume! A Multi-Layered Strategy for Effectively Managing Aerosols

Melissa Sottosanti AKA The Hygiene Gangster. On this episode
of the Tooth or Dare Podcast, Melissa, a badass entrepreneur and dental hygienist, shares her
dental journey and how she built a brand and started her own business while working as an
RDH. Her website https://hygienegangster.com/ is the result of years of work learning graphic
design and business ownership. She is currently developing classes for budding entrepreneurs
in the dental industry and is in the process of publishing two children's books! She is a singular
personality and her brand speaks true to who she is.
The Hygiene Gangster shares the origin story of her name and business. She answers many of
our questions such as:
● How do you build an authentic brand?
● How should one create a business?
● What the hell is an LLC and why do I need one?
Melissa is a terrific example of how to combine one’s own interests to live a fulfilling creative and
professional career. Her advice for creative souls: Write down what you want to do, and do it, on
the side, at night, take a class. You avoid burnout in your career and build something along the
way.

Follow Melissa:
Ig: @hygiene_gangster
https://hygienegangster.com/
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Follow us on Instagram!
Podcast IG: @toothordare.podcast
Irene: @toothlife.irene
Katrina: @thedentalwinegenist
1 hr 11 min
May 11, 2020 Episode 40: Getting sober with Dr. Alan Mead
This is a very special episode.
Dr. Alan mean is an open book with us about his drug and alcohol use as a practicing dentist, he shares where it started, how it progressed and the details about getting and staying sober.
This episode is not your classic Irene/Katrina episode slightly off-brand but a necessary topic we probably can all relate to in some way shape or form.
To reach out to Dr. Alan Mead:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Dental Hacks Nation
Instagram: @Dentalhack_al
Much thanks to our buddy Alan for sharing his personal info with us. He is always there for a good chat so feel free to slide into his DM's. He is one of the best humans we know.
If you want to meet the man in real life, check out Voices of Dentistry and come by to attend the awesome conference.
1 hr 45 min
April 30, 2020 Episode 39: No excuses with Amanda @that.deaf.girl
Amanda, a deaf dental hygenist, started her career as an NFL cheerleader. She appeared on MTV's
True Life for pursuing a role as a professional cheerleader. She cheerleaded for a soccer team in Baltimore
until ultimately landing a cheerleading position with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Northern Virginia Community College offered Amanda guidance and hands on help
to ameliorate the difficulties of being a deaf person in hygeine school.
The ladies talk about finding the perfect dental home when moving to a new town and failing
boards exams and the difference in examiners from test to test.
Irene found Amanda's instagram account the night before we recorded this super last min episode where Katrina wasn't even a co-host yet!
Here is the link to the photo we mentioned on Amanda's Instagram account that made Irene KNOW, we needed to share her story.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvRXckaArh6/?igshid=1rhxm53etox8f
Amanda shares with us her journey of triumphs and defeats in the dental world
as well as a very special announcement about her family!
She also shares how hygenists can best accomodate for dental patients that are deaf.
"I encourage people to break down the barriers. There's no reason for anything to hold them back.
Life can be easy." -Amanda
Videos about her Journey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQSpgFau0w
Blog:
https://thatdeafgirl.com/2018/04/08/that-deaf-girl-from-mtv/
https://thatdeafgirl.com/
ig: @that.deaf.girl

Here are some awesome FREE CE courses to tune into brought to you by Dentsply Sirona:
Current Infection Prevention Protocols and Recommendations - Are you in Compliance?
Current Infection Prevention Protocols and Recommendations – Are you in Compliance? - Part 2
1 hr
April 13, 2020 Episode 38: Speaking moistly with Jo-Anne Jones RDH
BONUS EPISODE!
What is up PEEPS! This week we had the pleasure of chatting with an RDH living legend. Jo-Anne Jones is a household name in the CE world. Fellow Canadian and a huge advocate for dental hygiene, oral health awareness and isn't afraid to have the word SEX in a lecture title.
This episode was recorded during dental hygiene week in Canada and smack in the middle of Oral Cancer awareness month.
Jo-Anne has some amazing knowledge to drop on oral cancer screening tools and has worked with some awesome companies that provide solutions to all dental peeps. One in particular that Irene is now obsessed with called Throat Scope. A super affordable resource for anyone to use chairside that will assist with providing better lighting for our intraoral assessments.
Throat Scope should be in all of our ops - Irene's humble opinion.
https://throatscope.com/ check out the link to view some awesome photos on how the product works.
In this episode Jo-Anne share some "must do" oral cancer screening methods for every dental person out there. Irene struggles with directions as per usual.
To contact Jo-Anne Jones visit:
Instagram: @jjlifeandtimes
Facebook: jo-anne jones
Her epic articles and future speaking engagements are all on her website: jo-annejones.com

1 hr 9 min
April 06, 2020 Episode 37: Dr. Erin Elliott is Changing the way people breath!
Dr. Erin Elliott - Changing the Way People Breathe (and Sleep!)
Kindly sponsored by our friends at Dentsply Sirona and recorded live at Voices of Dentistry!
In this episode, Irene and Katrina chat about the importance of staying up with CE during this downtime from private practice. Irene watched an awesome webinar about how to handle a global pandemic.
Here are some awesome FREE CE courses to tune into brought to you by Dentsply Sirona:
Current Infection Prevention Protocols and Recommendations - Are you in Compliance?
Current Infection Prevention Protocols and Recommendations – Are you in Compliance? - Part 2

Instagram: @erinelliottdds
Email: [email protected]
Podcast: The ZZZ Pack

Are you or a loved one not getting the sleep they deserve? This episode will give you some wow moments about airway and breathing issues.
This week we are thrilled to invite Dr. Erin Elliott to the show. Dr. Elliott specializes in dental
sleep medicine. She has spearheaded a movement in dentistry to help dentists and patients
identify the signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and eliminate the myriad problems caused
by this condition.

In this podcast, Dr. Erin Elliott answers tons of our questions such as:
● Can a dentist diagnose sleep apnea?
● Should a dentist or RDH tell a patient if they are at risk for broader medical conditions?
● What are the telltale signs of sleep apnea?
● Is there a special checklist a dental hygienist can use to help identify obstructive sleep
apnea?
● Could melatonin be a cause of sleep apnea?
We are pleased to present to the dental community:

The Elliott Evaluator is linked below and can be found on our website Toothordare.ca
Dr. Elliott has created a visual checklist for all dental peeps to help identify signs of sleep
apnea.
Click here to download Dr. Erin Elliott's checklist for sleep signs in the mouth.
Click the link above, print it out, and use it in your practice!

What to look for when identifying sleep apnea:
● Bruxing wear (treating the airway makes bruxing events go down)
● Scalloped tongue
● Airway swelling
● Acid Reflux

The Big 4: If a patient has a history of these, they are at risk for OSA:
● Hypertension
● Acid Reflux medication
● Anti-depressants
● Diabetes medication

Dental hygienists have an opportunity to make a life-changing difference to the health and
the well-being of patients by asking patients these simple questions. Hygienists can be powerful
educators in the time they spend by the patients’ side.

Dr. Erin Elliott’s Links:
https://sleepapneanw.com
https://www.vivalearning.com/member/classroom.asp?x_classID=3281
Dr. Erin Elliott's webinar will give you an overview of dental sleep medicine and how you can
improve your patients' health and quality of life.

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Follow us on Instagram!
Podcast IG: @toothordare.podcast
Irene: @toothlife.irene
Katrina: @thedentalwinegenist
1 hr 6 min
March 23, 2020 Episode 36: @DrBrianHarris Pivot points and Flexing.
Dr. Brian Harris
@drbrianharris
[email protected]

DM him even with 435K followers he checks every message!
Everyone goes through the shift in dentistry where they wonder what they want to do;
for Dr. Harris, it was smile design.
His wife helped him trailblaze an avenue for his social media presence, she said: "if this is what
you like, it's what you should do." Women are wise!

After Dr. Harris started branching out and doing consults via Instagram, People started reaching out
and he started virtual consults which became a very popular way of doing
smile design. His life changed after this as people started organically reaching out
through word of mouth referrals. He found a way to show what he was great at and people responded. He grew his practice
in this way through word of mouth referrals. The success was such that he started Smile Virtual.
Smile Virtual is a certification course where Dr. Harris consults dentists on how exactly to build an online
presence to build the practice that they want using video consultation software that he has created.
https://www.smilevirtual.com/

Some topics we cover with Dr. Harris' path in dentistry:
- So many dentist's miss out on being social on social media. It gives them a
chance to market to a huge audience of millennials.
- Dr. Brian Harris started giving digital consults for smile construction via Instagram
- His background at Arizona State and grew up in a family of dentists
- The day to day of his dental practice, how he shifted from general dentistry to only doing smile design cases.
- How and why you should always tell a patient if they are not a good fit. You should be honest with a patient if you feel it
won't work out.
- It's not about the money, but it's about the people, but it’s also about the money.

Dr. Brian Harris leaves us with a powerful message:
"If you have a good idea, it should be explained in 15 minutes. Don’t make it boring as F***."

We felt this was the perfect episode to drop in light of the current global events. It was a perfect depiction of how the world is adapting to a digital approach.
Our generous friends at Dentsply Sirona sponsored this live episode at Voices of Dentistry and feel the same way about going digital and allowing us to connect.
In this episode, we discuss what we ought to be doing and using when treating patients. This episode is dedicated to all the RDH perio slayers working right now.
Perhaps we all have learned lessons about risk management for ourselves and patients.

The product we discussed is the PureVac high volume evacuation system. Perhaps a good addition to your practice.
Here are some great resources to use that discusses how this product reduces aerosols exponentially AND provides a truly ergonomic way to using an HVE very different than the conventional systems.
I like this youtube video that shows how it's used and the benefits of HVE vs. standard suction https://www.dentsplysirona.com/en-gb/explore/preventive/purevac-evacuation-system.html#videoId=Gvvng8LKk7c
Katrina video with PureVac!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhCWJ-QR9GU
1 hr 19 min
March 09, 2020 Episode 35: Founding Springfield and placing implants with Dr. Jedediah Huss
Instagram: @restoredsmiles
https://restoredsmilescourses.com/
Jedidiah Huss joins us to talk about his work as a dental surgeon and teacher.
He has private practices in Westlake Village and Moorpark, if you’re in the area, go see Dr. Huss! https://www.moorparkdentalgroup.com/ & https://www.linderocanyondentalgroup.com/meet-our-team.html)
Live from the Orapharma booth @ GNY
Dr. Huss got popular on instagram posting his implant surgeries online. He takes photos and videos of his patients as he performs surgery on them.
Combining social media, dentistry and education. It isn’t as simple as it looks. Dr. Huss shares some advice about how he makes it all work for him and how he uses his instagram as an educational tool.
Dr. Huss does work with the Brighter Way non-profit foundation created “to provide comprehensive oral health care for vulnerable adults, children, veterans, those experiencing homelessness, and individuals with special needs.”
He teaches practical, hands-on courses to help dentist’s learn new oral surgeries on his website: https://restoredsmilescourses.com/
Preferences for surgery:
-Guided vs. Unguided
-Cone beam?
Irene speaks on her writing process
Dr. Huss talks about taking a step back to enjoy the impact of the work dental surgeons do. Giving people a chance to change
Erin Huss, his wife, writes comedic mystery fiction! Find her at https://www.erinhuss.com/
Jedidiah Huss dares Irene to do yoga poses on the Greater New York convention floor.

1 hr
February 24, 2020 Episode 34: Building a Dental Fiefdom with Dr. Josh Austin and Dr. Gina Dorfman
Dr Joshua Austin
ig: @joshuaaustindds
https://www.joshuaaustindds.com/
https://www.schedulewidget.com/
Use Promo Code "Josh"
Dr. Gina Dorfman
ig: @DrGinaD
yapicentral.com
Our friends Dr. Joshua Austin and Dr. Gina Dorfman join us on Tooth or Dare, today!
Both Josh and Gina own dental practices and run their own dental podcasts.
Gina’s podcast, Behind the Smiles, focuses on dental practice management and clinical topics. On her show, she hosts interviews the best of the best in the dentistry biz.
Josh’s podcast, Working Interferences Dental Podcast, covers topics that the average dentist faces. No question is too controversial on Working Interferences.
Listen to their latest episode with our very own host, Irene! Episode 102: Fireball Scope with Toothlife.Irene
Irene is at the “shave my head” moment of opening her new dental practice in Toronto and gets some advice from these industry experts.
Gina's approach is old school: She has come to the understanding that the good work and care you provide in your office will translate to
great reviews and happy patients. She has curated a presence in her community that does not rely on internet marketing. An efficient office
structure has led to the organic growth of her practice and how she created Yapi, a digital practice managmane tool with cloudbased charts and easy to use forms.
Josh shares with us the newest tool he has been using called Schedule Widget that helped him gain 78 new patients in 8 months. He values ease of booking on the patient side, advocating for multiple ways
for people to book appointments that cater to different types of people. When it comes down to the basics
of running a dental practice, Dr. Austin advises, "Value peoples time, if we run on time, patients are thrilled. Efficiency differentiates us...
Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up and be easy to work with."
We talk meditation, relaxation, not shaving your head, and what to do if and when nothing goes according to plan.
Irene shares a truth she recently has adapted “Other people’s opinion of you is none of your business”
1 hr 20 min

About Tooth or Dare Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Hold on to your suction, it’s about to get viscous.
Irene, aka @Toothlife.Irene, on social media is the first (and only) Canadian Restorative Dental Hygienist with a podcast. Sharing her story…