Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Dr. Gerald A. Niznick was the founder and President of Core-Vent Bio-Engineering and Paragon Dental Implant Company (1982 - 2001) which he sold to Zimmer Dental. The Screw-Vent internal hex implant that he invented in 1986 is still the backbone of Zimmer's dental implant system 25 years later. Barron's Magazine Article on Dental Implant Industry Feb. 15, 2005 referred to Dr. Niznick as "a prosthodontist and entrepreneur who is considered by many as the godfather of American implant dentistry."   He started designing and manufacturing a new line of products in 2004 that were launched in October 2006 through Implant Direct International. In just four years, Implant Direct had a significant global presence in the implant industry with 300 employees, sales offices in the US, Canada, Switzerland and Israel, and with distributors in 30 other countries. Dr. Niznick's product and marketing strategy of selling high quality, innovative products with All-in-1 Packaging at about 1/3rd the price of the major implant companies captured about 4% of the global market, doubling the sales volume that Core-Vent/Paragon achieved after 20 years. Through Dr. Niznick's implementation of the industry's only lights-out 24/7 manufacturing and effective use of the internet for technical support and online ordering, he created a price-point shift in the industry, making implant dentistry more affordable for dentists and their patients.   In December 2010, Sybron Dental Solutions, a division of Danaher, a 15 billion dollar conglomerate, acquired 75% interest in Implant Direct International, leaving Dr. Niznick the president of a joint venture that also included Sybron's Attachments International and Sybron Implant Solutions business assets.   Dr. Niznick graduated from the University of Manitoba Dental School in 1966 and then earned a Masters degree in Prosthodontics at Indiana University in 1968. Throughout the 1980's and 90's he personally trained over 10,000 dentists worldwide on the placement and restoration of dental implants using lectures and live surgical demonstrations.   In the 29-year span between Core-Vent (1982) and Implant Direct (2010), Dr Niznick has had 35 dental implant US patents issued to him including the internal connection patent that has become the cornerstone of modern implant design. His newer patents include ones for micro-threads, double-tri-lobe connections, a 1-Piece with multi-unit abutment platforms, a healing collar retained by the cover-screw and several pending patents include the GoDirect 1-Piece implants and GPS™ abutment system, both compatible with Zest Anchor Company's LOCATOR® Attachment.   Dr. Niznick's significant contributions to the dental implant field have been recognized by academic institutions and dental implant organizations. He has received Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of Manitoba and from Tel Aviv University, as well as the prestigious Isaah Lew Research award from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He was also awarded Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity's highest award, the Achievement Medal, in 2007. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs issued a Commendation to Dr. Niznick for conceiving and funding the largest dental implant study worldwide at 32 VA centers that included 900 patients receiving over 2800 of Dr. Niznick's implants. Special issues of the Journal of Periodontology and the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery were dedicated to publishing the results of this monumental prospective, multi-center clinical study, which added significantly to dental implant knowledge.   www.ImplantDirect.com

Chris Moriarity, MA FA is the Vice President of Client Relations for the Productive Dentist Academy. As an SEC licensed stockbroker and student of behavioral economics, Mr. Moriarity has worked with hundreds of dental offices to help them become more effective at case acceptance, marketing, branding and inter-office communication. You may have witnessed his unique style and view point on ABC’s Shark Tank or HGTV’s Island Life.   As a fervent defender of small business, Mr. Moriarity believes that everyone has the right to be successful, and his job is help shape their ability to do so.    www.ProductiveDentist.com

Brandon Rodman is the CEO and co-founder of Weave, a communication system for small and medium businesses. Weave was the first Utah company to join Y Combinator, the top start-up accelerator that has backed companies like Dropbox, AirBNB, Stripe, and Zenefits. Weave launched out of beta in January of 2014, has raised $23m in funding, and currently provides the communication tools for nearly 3,000 small businesses throughout the U.S.   Brandon graduated from Brigham Young University in 2010, has been married for almost 12 years, and has 4 children.   www.GetWeave.com

Chuck has had the honor of working with various groups in the Dental Industry and is happy to continue to serve dental professionals and their practices.  We’ve been told that dentists are great at their craft, but are always wanting assistance with actually running their practices.  Chuck helps with the business side of dentistry and continues to present at various dental conferences across the U.S. (Hinman Dental Meeting, SiroWorld, SCN, Academy of LDS Dentists, etc.)  He continues to see significant results with the dental clients that he serves.    Chuck has had the honor of working with various groups in the Dental Industry and is happy to continue to serve dental professionals and their practices.  We’ve been told that dentists are great at their craft, but are always wanting assistance with actually running their practices.  Chuck helps with the business side of dentistry and continues to present at various dental conferences across the U.S. (Hinman Dental Meeting, SiroWorld, SCN, Academy of LDS Dentists, etc.)  He continues to see significant results with the dental clients that he serves.    Business owners and executives from hundreds of organizations and industries from around the world have applied Chuck’s proven business success tools and processes to reap the rewards of building a successful business.   To get a better handle on Chuck, please take a few moments to view this 15 min TED talk video on The Emerging Work World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewA2BqbWhUQ .   And he is also a weekly contributor at Inc. Magazine http://www.inc.com/author/chuck-blakeman   Chuck wants to get you off the treadmill and help you move from SURVIVAL, through SUCCESS to SIGNIFICANCE. www.ChuckBlakeman.com www.CrankSetGroup.com

Stephen Thorne is Founder, President and CEO of Pacific Dental Services, or PDS for short. PDS is a leading dental support organization (referred to as a DSO) that provides business services to over 540 dental practices throughout the US.   Stephen graduated from UCLA  in 1989 with a degree in Economics and Business. He earned his Masters in Health Administration from Chapman University in 1994. This year he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from A.T. Still University: the world’s first osteopathic medical school.   After college, Stephen worked for his father, a dentist, managing a struggling dental practice. He helped the office reach success and continued to work with his father for several years before creating PDS.   PDS strives to be the provider of choice for practicing dentists to maximize individual and professional God-given potential. PDS values service, not just for its customers, but also for the less fortunate through the PDS Foundation, a charitable organization that provides service programs for oral healthcare locally, nationally, and internationally.   Outside of PDS, Mr. Thorne is an active leader in the dental industry. He helped form the Association of Dental Support Organizations and served as the founding President for three years. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where he’ll be helping them to integrate oral health and medicine. He is also on a board of trusted dental scholars and professionals with the Santa Fe Group called the Strategic Advisory Council. They’re determined to expand oral health care access to aging Americans.   He resides in Nevada with his wife Pam of 25 years, and they have seven children.      www.PacificDentalServices.com

Dr. Bill Williams has served his patients with compassion and understanding since 1975. We believe your experience does make a difference. He is a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry and a Master of the International College of Craniomandibular Orthopedics as well as the team dentist for the Gwinnett Gladiators for 11 years. Check on some before and after photos of Atlanta Extreme Makeover patients and Deserving Diva Smile Makeover Winners here.   Dr. Williams is the dental director for Kenya Medical Outreach Dental missions with annual mission trips to Kenya from 2001-2011. Check out his 2005 and 2009 Honduras Dental Mission and 2008 Tanzania Mission pages. To listen to one of Dr. Williams 920AM Talk Radio shows, Atlanta Dental Expert talking about dental implants and cosmetic dentistry.   www.SuwaneeDental.com

Dr. Mike Kesner has practiced general dentistry in the Houston, Texas area since 1984.  He is author of the book Multi-Million Dollar Dental Practice, and founder and CEO of the practice management consulting company Quantum Leap Success in Dentistry.    Mike speaks nationally on practice management and how to build a low stress multi-million dollar practice.  He is a columnist for Dental Economics on practice management. Mike teaches cosmetic dentistry for the DenMat Corporation and was named the number one producer of Lumineers in the nation. After burn-out, selling his practice, a murder, the Oprah Show and a “made for TV movie”, Dr. Kesner purchased his practice back and took it from $675,000 to $4 million in just 5 years.    He now has 12 practices in the Houston area an employs over 200 people.  His business, Made Ya Smile Dental has been listed in the Inc. 5000 magazine for the last 5 years in a row as one of the fastest growing companies in the US.   His practice success strategies are practical, easy to learn and work in any economy.  He helps dentists around the nation increase their revenue, and cut their stress.   Dr. Kesner and his wife Debbie have been married 36 years.  They have 2 children and 6 grandchildren.   www.QLSuccess.com www.MadeYaSmile.com

Ellie Phillips, author of Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye, discusses the importance of oral health in preventing chronic health conditions, the misaligned incentives in the healthcare industry, the connection between oral health and overall well-being, the impact of antibiotics on gut flora and obesity, the link between autism spectrum disorder and natural living, maintaining a healthy ecosystem in the mouth, and the challenges faced while starting Dentaltown.

Dr. Brian Harris and Dr. Steven Frost sat down to discuss emergency dental care, endodontics, and much more!   www.OnCallDental.com

Dr. Nate Farley is an outright nerd who found his passion in dentistry.  He practices as a Prosthodontist at Gundersen Health Systems in Southwestern Wisconsin.  He is originally from Northern California, completed his undergraduate degree at BYU before heading east to attend dental school at The Ohio State University, and stayed at OSU for his prosthodontic residency.  There, he earned a Masters of Science with his thesis challenging the accuracy of CAD/CAM surgical guides against traditional guides used for implant placement.  A couple of years into practice, he received board certification in Prosthodontics.  As a true nerd, he loves to push the boundaries of digital dentistry through use of intraoral scanning, 3D modeling, virtual wax ups and implant planning, and in-office 3D printing.  He taught himself web development while in his undergrad, created an online forum for his dental class to discuss concept and share files, co-created dentaltoons.com in dental school, co-created whatimplantisthat.com in his residency, and continues to build online dental resources through Infodontics, LLC, which he co-founded with Dr. Kent Howell.  Outside work, Dr. Farley loves to hike, ride bikes, and build Legos with his wife and 3 kids.   Dr. Kent J. Howell is a Prosthodontist who maintains a specialty practice limited to Prosthodontics in Mesa, AZ.  Dr. Howell attended Case School of Dental Medicine in Cleveland, OH and then completed a 3 year prosthodontic residency at The Ohio State University.  During his residency, he earned an M.S. degree in the study of dental implants where his thesis challenged the accuracy of a new cad/cam technology called the Encode system from Biomet 3i.  He is also the co-founder of Infodontics LLC, and co-creator of whatimplantisthat.com.  Whatimplantisthat.com is a free online resource to aid in the identification of dental implants all over the world.  There are over 900 implants found on the site and it has been available online since 2010.  It was the inspiration for the FIRST mobile app for dental implant identification in the world, created and launched in 2013.  Dr. Howell loves to play golf, restore smiles, and spend time with his family.   www.WhatImplantIsThat.com