⬇️ Below the Gumline
Impostor syndrome is practically a rite of passage in dentistry. No matter how many years we've been cutting preps, placing implants, or managing tough cases, there’s that nagging voice whispering, “You’re not good enough yet.” But here’s the truth we rarely admit: feeling inadequate doesn’t mean we are inadequate. Dentistry is too complex, too variable, too human for any of us to ever feel fully “arrived.” And strangely, that’s the beauty of it. Growth never stops. The real win is recognizing your progress while still reaching for the next level. This week, challenge yourself to notice the proof that you are good enough—and still becoming better.
🔥 High-Speed Chatter
🦷 Removing fluoride from public water? A new study predicts 7.5% more decay and nearly $10B in added cost. Basically: chaos.
Read More >🎓 Dental school resident tuition is up 26% in 7 years… truly the final boss of student debt.
Read More >🇨🇦 Hygienists in Canada’s Northwest Territories can now practice without dentist supervision — what could possibly go wrong?
Read More >🌞 Low vitamin D during pregnancy linked to childhood caries — turns out sunshine is still undefeated.
Read More >💸 General dentist net income keeps declining… as if running a practice wasn't already spicy enough.
Read More >🚨 Mesa dentist arrested again on new sex-exploitation charges. Seriously, why is this a recurring storyline in dentistry?
Read More >👮 Dental board moves to suspend license of dentist accused of luring a minor — a reminder that the license is a privilege, not a right.
Read More >🧒 Dentist struck off after allegedly hitting a child patient on the head — in what universe is that an acceptable behavior?
Read More >🏊 Throwback: Dentist who built a $1M backyard water park using fraud money. Fraud is bad. The water slide looked incredible, though.
Read More >🦾 QuickSleeper 5 showcased at GNYDM — computer-guided anesthesia is here to expose all of our “I swear the bone was dense” excuses.
Read More >🦷💎 Kuraray drops Katana Zirconia ONE for implants — because your restorative workflow clearly needed yet another elite option.
Read More >
🧪 The Research Says
⁇ The Question: Is Warm Vertical obturation actually better than Single Cone with bioceramic sealer—or is this just another piece of dental folklore we’ve repeated for 20 years?
📚 The Evidence:
A brand-new 5-year RCT (2025) comparing Continuous Wave + AH Plus vs. Single Cone + bioceramic sealer found no difference in healing or success rates. Two additional randomized trials (2024–25) found equal outcomes and no difference in post-op pain, with significantly faster procedure times using Single Cone. A 2024 systematic review shows Warm Vertical looks better on micro-CT… but those voids don’t affect real-world clinical outcomes.
“Five-year success rates showed no significant difference between warm vertical compaction and sealer-based single-cone obturation.”
“Single-cone techniques reduced procedure time without increasing post-operative pain.”
✅ The Answer:
For routine RCTs, Warm Vertical is not clinically superior to Single Cone with a high-quality bioceramic sealer. Modern sealers are bioactive, expand slightly on set, and heal just as predictably—without the complexity of heat techniques.
The Application
Use Single Cone for ~90% of cases: round or mildly oval canals, standard molars/premolars/anterior teeth.
Switch to Warm Vertical only for anatomy that requires mechanical compaction: C-shapes, ribbon-shaped canals, internal resorption defects, or large irregular spaces.
This is a hybrid protocol, not a team sport.
💰 Business Bites
Track Case Acceptance by Provider — your hidden production leak.
Not all clinicians present treatment with the same clarity, confidence, or consistency—yet most practices lump case acceptance together as if everyone performs identically. Start pulling case acceptance by provider (doctor AND hygienist). You’ll quickly spot who needs support, coaching, or a different patient-education approach. One small improvement here can change your entire month's production.
🤯 Productive Pearls
Use Time Limits to Avoid Extraction “Black Holes.”
Extractions get difficult when you linger too long on one step. Set hard time limits for each phase—elevation, sectioning, troughing, luxation. If the step isn’t progressing, stop, reassess, and move to the next one. This prevents fatigue, reduces complications, and keeps your appointments on schedule.
💉 Mental Anesthesia
Sometimes you need a laugh that hits harder than 4% Septocaine.
🤝 Got a Question? Got a Friend? 🤝
We love hearing from our readers. Reply to this email with your question—clinical, business, or otherwise—and we might feature it (with an answer) in a future edition of The Dental Grind.
If you’ve got a friend, colleague, or dental school classmate who would enjoy this newsletter, forward it to them and invite them to subscribe here: Grind.Dental Let’s grow the conversation.