⬇️ Below the Gumline
One of the trickiest tightropes we walk as dentists is how we phrase the difference between “preventive” and “necessary.” A slightly cracked cusp with no symptoms today may not feel “necessary” to the patient — until it blows up into a root canal and crown tomorrow. Do we soften the language and call it preventive to make it sound optional, or do we risk sounding pushy by stressing the real danger of waiting? This is the moral dilemma we live with: balancing honesty, urgency, and respect for a patient’s autonomy. The words we choose matter — they can tip a patient into trust, action, or delay. Here’s the challenge: the next time you explain a treatment, ask yourself, “Am I making this sound optional when I know it’s inevitable?”
🔥 High-Speed Chatter
⚖️ A patient says a dentist literally broke their jaw mid-treatment — now the lawsuit begins. Read More →
🏛️ A California dentist tried to dodge an Illinois malpractice case… the court says nope. Read More →
🤖 Tooth sensitivity relief may soon come from tiny, magnet-guided robots. Sci-fi at the hygiene chair? Read More →
🎨 Got a hobby? Turns out your painting, running, or strumming might make you a better dentist. Read More →
💎 Polished zirconia vs. glazed crowns — research says smoother really is stronger. Read More →
🏢 New grads are chasing DSOs harder than recruiters chase them — and here’s why. Read More →
🪥 Scientists just made toothpaste out of hair proteins that coat teeth naturally. Yes, really. Read More →
💸 A Georgia woman swiped $29k from Great Expressions before getting caught. Ouch. Read More →
📣 One dentist must pay $1.85 million for defaming another — maybe keep that drama off Facebook. Read More →
💰 A Colorado dentist got 3 years in prison for tax evasion. The IRS always wins. Read More →
☠️ Chilling video shows the convicted dentist entering his wife’s hospital room less than a minute before the cyanide injection. Read More →
🧪 The Research Says
How long do crowns actually last — 5 years, 10 years, a lifetime?
⚖️ The Evidence: Systematic reviews and long-term cohort studies paint a consistent picture.
5 years: ~95% survival rate.
10 years: ~80–85% survival rate.
15 years: ~70% survival rate.
20 years: ~62% survival rate.
Gold historically holds the crown (pun intended) for longevity, but modern zirconia now performs just as well as PFM and even rivals gold. The number one reason crowns fail? Recurrent decay at the margin (38%), followed by loss of retention (26%) and fracture (12%).
“At 10 years, survival rates of PFM, gold, and modern zirconia are not significantly different.” (Journal of Dentistry, 2022)
✅ The Answer: Most crowns last well over a decade, and many will go 20+ years — but they are not lifetime restorations. Modern zirconia crowns are as durable as PFM and nearly as long-lasting as gold.
🏠 The Application: When patients ask, give them confidence: “Crowns last an average of 10–20 years, and most make it beyond 20 if you protect them.” Reinforce the controllable factors — excellent hygiene, caries prevention, and night guard use for bruxers. That’s where longevity is won or lost.
💰 Business Bites
Stop Letting Denials Steal Your Profit
Every denied EOB isn’t just lost money — it’s a free training opportunity you might be ignoring. If your team is simply writing off denials without reviewing them, you’re bleeding revenue and repeating the same mistakes. Make it standard practice to review every denied EOB — check coding errors, missing documentation, and submission timing. Correcting the process not only recovers today’s claim but prevents the same denial from happening again.
🤯 Productive Pearls
🧹 A Clean Office = A Clear Mind
Let’s be honest — when your desk looks like a hurricane of lab slips, sticky notes, and random burs, you’re not exactly operating at peak motivation. A cluttered office kills organization and drags down productivity. Take 5 minutes at the end (or start) of every day to tidy your space — straighten stacks, clear the desk, toss the junk. You’ll walk in feeling more focused, more motivated, and ready to actually get stuff done.
💉 Mental Anesthesia
🤝 Got a Question? Got a Friend? 🤝
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