Dr. Michael Yar Zuk is a general dentist in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada who hit the global headlines when he purchased John Lennon’s rotten molar for a Guinness Record. What most people didn’t know was he had published a tell-all book titled Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist to assert his position against over-treatment that had become rampant in the profession. Within weeks of striking marketing gold of a lifetime, the local dental authority crushed his book with a publication ban. His professional journal started with buying an embezzled mall practice, moved through the cosmetic rage, time as an elected board member and is ending with a brutal war against his province’s dental authority. Could you be the next victim of abuse of power?

Dr. Zadeh is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. He received his doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Southern California (USC) Ostrow School of Dentistry in 1987. He has completed post-doctoral clinical education in Periodontology and earned a PhD degree in immunology from the University of Connecticut, Schools of dental medicine and medicine in 1992. Dr. Zadeh is internationally recognized for his clinical and scientific expertise. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.  He served as the president of the Western Society of Periodontology in 2017.  Dr. Zadeh directs the VISTA Institute for Therapeutic Innovations with blended educational pedagogy and directs the Southern California Consensus Symposium. He maintains a private practice limited to periodontology and implant surgery in Southern California. Southern California Consensus Symposium on Feb 6-8 https://www.learnvista.com/southern-california-consensus-symposium/ Use promo code "townie" to get 20% off of general session or Dental Hygiene session and $50 off of workshops.

Becky Bye is both a licensed attorney and licensed dentist, and practices in the area of medical malpractice law, including dental malpractice law, as well as other areas of personal injury. Becky practiced law for a large law firm and in the government before choosing to use her previous background in science and her passion for healthcare to attend dental school. While Becky was in dental school, she maintained an interest in law and continued to use her legal background for the benefit of patients. During her time in dental school, she was elected President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Student Dental Association and was also elected to serve on the board for her student chapter of Alpha Omega. After graduating dental school and practicing general dentistry in the Denver metropolitan area, Dr. Bye merged her passion for law and the health sciences as a practicing attorney at Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP.

Dr. Petruska grew up in Hungary and after graduation immigrated to the US in 1988. After passing his dental boards he started practicing as an associate in Santa Barbara, Ca. During his employment he introduced implant dentistry, orthodontics and complex prosthodontics in his employers practice tripling it’s production. He ran two of his own practices for 7 years, but found practice ownership too demanding. He sold his practices and right after was diagnosed with cancer. After his recovery he continued his career as an independent contractor, coaching his colleagues in their own offices to perform molar endos, implant dentistry and surgical procedures. He started a dental advocacy and marketing group to elevate the status and prestige of dentistry within the medical profession, society and media.

Laura Turner attended the University of California at Davis, graduating with Bachelors of Science degrees in Aeronautical Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Following completion of her undergraduate degree, she completed a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles. Laura worked as a software and information technology project manager in Southern California. Laura currently serves as the Executive Director for the Student Doctor Network, a non-profit family of websites that help students become doctors. In this role, she coordinates a network of remote employees to build online tools and resources which are provided for free or at-cost. Riley Edmister is a soon to be dental student, currently finishing up her undergraduate degree. Riley works as a Student Consultant at Student Doctor Network. She spends most of her time studying, volunteering, and shadowing dentists.

Robert Fontana has served as ADMI’s Chief Executive Officer since the company’s inception in 1998. Under his leadership, ADMI has advanced from its Northeastern roots to become one of the largest and fastest-growing dental support organizations in the United States. With a unique grasp of the intersection between retail and healthcare, Bob has pioneered an operating model that breaks down barriers to care and puts patients at the center of everything Aspen Dental-branded practices say, do and promise. He has led Aspen Dental’s successful national expansion entirely through organic growth, with a new office opening every four days, giving patients more choice, greater value and better access to care.

Dr. Allington started working in his father’s dental office in Peterborough Ontario at the age of 14.  After finishing his BSc and MSc at Queen’s University he did 1 year internship and Hoffmann La Roche in Basel Switzerland.  In 2001 he entered McGill Dental School in Montreal Quebec graduating in 2005.  Following a 1 year AEGD residency at the University of Connecticut, he returned to Montreal working in variety of practices in Ontario, Quebec and Vermont and teaching part time at McGill.   His goal was to get as much experience as possible prior to moving to his ultimate destination Bermuda in 2008.  He worked as an associate from 2008 until 2018 when he purchased the practice where he works full time.   He has served as the President of the Bermuda Dental Association and is the current Chair of the Bermuda Dental Board.  Dr. Allington is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, Fellow of the ICOI and has been an Invisalign gold plus provider.  Recently, he has begun organizing dental continuing education bringing speakers to Bermuda to help educate his office and the rest of the Dental community.

Brandon McCarty is the CEO and Co-founder of CureMint Inc, a technology startup that provides the power of enterprise procurement for any sized dental organization. Before that he was the COO and Co-founder of CGC an innovative consulting firm that provides fundraising and marketing services to nonprofits. He also served as an adjunct professor for Pepperdine’s MBA course where he taught “funding entrepreneurial ventures”. And just 5 short years ago, Brandon served as a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment where he deployed 4 times and conducted over a 100 special operation missions.

Dr. Geoffrey Sharpe grew up in the north of England and graduated from Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences in 1998 with distinction in Restorative Dentistry. In 2010, Dr. Sharpe was invited to join a renowned clinic in Dubai as their in-house periodontist. He held this role for seven years prior to creating The Perio Clinic in 2017. Until recently, he also held a part-time role at Mohammed Bin Rashid University in Dubai where he enjoyed teaching and mentoring the next generation of periodontists. Dr. Sharpe lives in Dubai with his wife, Kim, and their one-year old son, William. In their free time, they enjoy early mornings at the beach, camping in the desert and exploring travel opportunities from Dubai.

Brant E. Herman, Co-Founder and CEO, is the visionary leader of MouthWatch. His overall responsibilities include product development, industry relations, strategic partnerships, and day-to-day operations. Widely known in the field of teledentistry, Brant is a frequent public speaker and author of articles in leading publications explaining the benefits of teledentistry to patients, practitioners, and policy makers. Brant is an experienced entrepreneur and grew his passion for building companies during the first Silicon Valley technology boom. He currently lives in Central New Jersey, close to the MouthWatch headquarters, with his wife, son, daughter and crazy dog. www.mouthwatch.com https://vimeo.com/327177460