The longer I practice, the more I realize that cosmetic dentistry is often less about making something look better and more about understanding why it looks the way it does in the first place. A chipped tooth is not always just a chipped tooth. Worn edges, fractures,...
When a patient tells me, “I want veneers, but I don’t want them to look like veneers,” I know exactly what they mean. They don’t want a smile that feels too white, too uniform, or disconnected from the rest of their face. They want to look better, but still like...
Opening a new brush365 location feels very different to me now than it did earlier in my career. There’s more confidence because we’re not building from scratch anymore. We have stronger systems, better infrastructure, experienced leaders, and years of lessons behind...
When someone comes in asking about a smile makeover, I don’t start by asking which cosmetic procedure they want. I start by looking at the whole case. Of course I want to understand what they’d like to change. Maybe it’s the color of their teeth, spacing, alignment,...
Young dentists do not need lower expectations. They need to understand what strong work looks like and have enough support to grow into it. The early years of practice ask a lot of someone at once. Clinical judgment is becoming more consistent while communication,...
One of the things I pay attention to in mentorship is whether a doctor is becoming more capable of making decisions without me. Early on, it is normal for someone to want reassurance. They may want help with diagnosis, treatment planning, communication, leadership, or...
I have always believed that some of the most valuable learning in dentistry happens after the formal lecture ends. It happens when someone brings up a case that did not go as expected. When another doctor explains why they would have approached the treatment...
Dentistry can be very social on the surface. You work with a team, see patients all day, talk with specialists, vendors, and other doctors. And yet, parts of the profession can still feel isolating. As responsibilities grow, the decisions become more personal....
Thought leadership is often associated with visibility: posting regularly, speaking publicly, sharing opinions, and becoming known for a particular subject. Those things can expand your reach, but they do not necessarily make the ideas behind them more useful. The...
Personal branding can make very accomplished dentists feel strangely self-conscious. The moment someone says you need to “build your brand,” it can start to sound like you also need to become more visible, more polished, more opinionated, and somehow more interesting...
