Are Your Patients Facing a “Big Desk” Barrier?

Did you ever notice how a judge in a courtroom sits higher up and farther back from everyone else? That’s no accident—the judge’s bench is meant to convey a sense of his or her supremacy in this setting. It’s designed … Read more

Will The Puzzles Never Cease?

This 44-year-old woman came into my practice yesterday with a chief complaint of non-painful throbbing at the area of her implant. Also, she didn’t like the “feel of the shape” of the existing provisional. She had the implant placed two … Read more

Listen Closely Or Your Patients Won’t Return

If a patient feels that you’re not listening to them, they will leave your practice. Recently I had a patient come in who told me she left her previous dentist because of untreated tooth pain. She had gone in two … Read more

Four Easy Steps to Midline Inclination

Midline inclination isn’t only noticed by dental professionals, anybody can notice an imperfect inclination even if it’s as little as one millimeter off.  With that said, in order for a smile to be esthetically pleasing, it must be perpendicular to … Read more

To Bleach or Not To Bleach?

Tetracycline is a very common antibiotic that is used to treat a wide number of bacterial infections. While these antibiotics are used to keep patients healthy and kill disease, they can leave unattractive staining on teeth while they are still … Read more

Temporary Removal

Dr. Frank Spear discusses how he removes temporaries.

How to Fix a Deep Overbite in Wear Patients

Deep overbites are a common condition in patients with lingual wear of their maxillary incisors and facial wear of the mandibular incisors. The deep overbite can occur from three different etiologies. First, as the teeth wear, the maxillary anteriors may … Read more

When Muscle Harmony Prevents Pain

The forces generated in occlusion are provided by muscle activity. These forces have a physiologic range that creates harmony with the joints and teeth. Understanding the relationship between elevator muscles and the lateral pterygoid will help you identify problems and treat your patients. Read more

The Four-Step TMJ Checklist

Before I learned about TMJ and occlusion at Spear Education, managing a patient with TMJ pain was always a challenge for me. Often these patients need to be seen in the middle of an already busy schedule. They are in … Read more

How Much is Enough?

In restorative dentistry there are certain requirements needed to fabricate restorations that will meet our needs as well as those of our patients. One of our main issues is providing laboratory technicians enough clearance/reduction to fabricate a restoration properly. Common … Read more

Temporary Removal

Dr. Frank Spear discusses how he removes temporaries.

Staging Comprehensive Care

If you asked most of your patients if they would fix their teeth if money were no object, the vast majority would say yes. We all have patients in our practice that need our services and want to have the … Read more

Reinforcing Temporaries

Dr. Frank Spear discusses reinforcing temporary bridges if they need to be in for an extended period of time.

Anterior Temporaries Part 8

In the final installment of his eight-part series on anterior temporaries, Dr. Frank Spear discusses how to adjust contour intra-orally.

Ovate Pontic Maryland Bridges for Implant Temporaries

Anterior implants are the most challenging implant to restore. Everything must be spot on for it to be considered a success. With the advent of cone beam technology, ideal placement in the bone is more assured than previous. With platelet … Read more

Patients Respond to Genuine Communication

Patients leave our practice; we don’t like it but it happens. Sometimes the reasons they leave are beyond our control. If they’re moving out of the area it’s understandable. However, what about those patients that leave for other reasons? We … Read more

How to Answer “The Big Question” Prospective Patients Ask

“What is your fee for ____?” This is one of the toughest questions to deal with over the phone. Some people are asking because they are simply price shopping. To them, one dentist is pretty much the same as any … Read more

How to help your patients visualize treatment

Case presentation is always a concern for me, whether it’s formal or casual, chairside or consultation room. I tend to have most conversations with patients chairside. Sometimes we need to gather more information and present it at another appointment. Each … Read more

Why No Patient Should Ever Get a “Cleaning” at Your Practice

“Cleaning” is what your patients do at home with a brush and floss. What you provide is professional care, expert evaluation and timely intervention. Read more

Three Components of an Effective Patient Welcome Message

What do you send to a new patient when they have confirmed their first appointment? Personally, I think it’s important to follow-up an initial appointment reservation with a welcome email, and this is what I think should be in it: … Read more

Welcome to The Greatest Profession in the World

Welcome to Dentistry! As the class of 2012 joins the ranks of dental professionals, I want to welcome all of you to the greatest profession in the world. Dentistry holds incredible potential and your career can be whatever you envision … Read more

Why No Patient Should Ever Get a “Cleaning” at Your Practice

“Cleaning” is what your patients do at home with a brush and floss. What you provide is professional care, expert evaluation and timely intervention. Read more

Three Components of an Effective Patient Welcome Message

What do you send to a new patient when they have confirmed their first appointment? Personally, I think it’s important to follow-up an initial appointment reservation with a welcome email, and this is what I think should be in it: … Read more

Send a Message Your Patients Won’t Forget

It’s one of the ironies of modern life that while we are more connected than ever it can be harder than ever to reach someone. A call to a home phone during the day is likely to go to voicemail; … Read more

The World Seeks Great Dentistry

This week at the Spear campus I am reminded that dental health professionals of all ages and experience levels from all around the world are seeking the same things. Read more

A Last Chance For a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

One of the great things about being alive in this time and in this part of the world is that everyone has the opportunity to have an extraordinary life. Not extraordinary on a grand public scale, necessarily, but a life … Read more

Dentist to Technician Translation Dictionary

While consulting on thousands of cases during my time as the director of education at Americus Dental Lab in Clearwater, FL, I’ve had many conversations with colleagues about their cases. Most of these were positive and constructive and some, well, … Read more

THE MEANING OF HOPE, AS SEEN IN A CHILD’S DRAWING

December is behind us; the time of year where our senses are inundated with the sounds, the smells, the language and customs of the holidays. And as the decorations come down and the parties end, the meaning of the season … Read more

The Gift of Opportunity

Someone sent me the link to this video clip awhile back and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since.

I find it pretty hard to watch that without getting a little choked up, and going by the responses of the judges and the audience, I’m not alone. Read more

Multiplying the Light

How is it that people enjoying the greatest standard of living in history can be surrounded by unprecedented abundance and still feel that something is missing from their lives? I don’t really think it’s a human failing, but it is … Read more

Manji’s Top 5 at 55

What a delight it was yesterday to log on to Facebook and find page after page of lovely birthday wishes from friends far and near. The outpouring of kind thoughts was staggering, and reminded me again of the power of … Read more

Google+ Launches for Businesses

Yep. Our worst fear has come true. It was already time consuming enough to update Facebook and Twitter accounts and now another player is on the block! With this week’s rollout of Google+ Pages, we find ourselves with another formidable … Read more

Facebook Ads for Dentists

Yes, dentists can use Facebook for more than just connecting with friends, family or patients. In fact, you can use Facebook to connect with 750 million potential customers (new patients)! I know what you are thinking, dentists don’t need access … Read more

Markus Blatz, DMD, PhD Added to 2012 Faculty Club Summit Speaker Roster

We are pleased to announce Markus Blatz, DMD, PhD as a confirmed speaker at the 2012 Faculty Club Summit. Dr. Blatz is professor of restorative dentistry and chairman of the Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences at University of Pennsylvania … Read more

Possibilities

This past week I was sitting in on the Facially Generated Treatment Planning workshop and Frank Spear was talking about possibilities. Possibilities as they relate to eliminating our filters when we treatment plan a patient. The ultimate objective is to … Read more

My Very First Blog Post: Building Airplanes While They Are Flying!

After I spoke on social media at our Faculty Club event this June, I had many requests to begin contributing to the Spear Education blog. The time has finally come that I deliver on the request. Welcome to my first … Read more

It Takes a Village to Treat This Dentist

One of my last blogs talked about my consternation around seeing myself differently when Lee Brady and I looked at my photographs. Lee and I did her case about four or five years ago and now the tables are reversed. … Read more

Whoa! Help the Doctor!

This is a case that could occupy us for days if we chose to enter into discussion and debate. I look at this case and see every discipline in dentistry involved. And I am certain that if I attempt to … Read more

What Does this Smile Say to You?

I met this person quite recently here in Scottsdale – what a beautiful smile! Those “laterals” are canines moved into the lateral position due to congenitally missing teeth and subsequently veneered to create this result. The maxillary first premolars are … Read more