Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

David has an educational background in accounting and finance.  Professionally he has owned, operated and sold a business which experience he uses to benefit his clients.  His career in banking began as an analyst / underwriter.  Currently he holds the title of Vice President and Business Banker at First Citizens bank specializing in dental finance.  Previously he taught and assisted in developing B475 – Financing New ventures for BYU – Idaho.  David was inducted to Beta Gamma Sigma recognizing his high scholastic achievement in business school.  He likes fast cars, motorcycles, greek food, and fishing.  He is blessed with a beautiful wife and two sons. 

Amir Abolfathi is co-founder of uLab Systems. He has over 32 years of operating experience in the healthcare industry focused on developing and commercializing cardiovascular devices, dental products, hearing prosthetics, and genomic diagnostics & analytics. Prior to uLab, he founded four other medical device startups since 1995. He was VP of R&D at Align Technology responsible for product development and clinical education during the first six years of Align inception. Prior to Align Technology, Amir held a variety of executive positions at Pfizer, Guidant, and Baxter-Edwards. Amir holds over 100 issued patents. Amir received an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Southern California and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. Charlie Wen is the cofounder and president of uLabSystems, an AI based software company to enable doctors to create computer assisted treatment solutions in office. A serial entrepreneur, Charlie has cofounded several companies in multiple markets including: OrthoClear, an orthodontic company exit by selling $20M; FourPosition, advanced indoor GPS device, Karegiver, an AI based senior assistant system, Dentul a device distribution company. Charlie is also known as first CTO of Invisalign, built technology to a successful $1B IPO. Prior to Align, Charlie worked for Hollywood, where two movies he worked on nominated for Oscar. Charlie is the inventor of 100+ patents, and won national math award twice in China. Charlie received his BS from University of Science and Technology of China. He received his MS from Caltech focusing on AI research 30 years ago. Dr. Mic Falkel is a class of 1987 graduate of University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, California. After graduation he attended his General Practice Residency at the Veterans Administration Hospital at West Los Angeles and has been in general Practice in Monterey California since 1989. Having experienced frustration with the performance of local anesthetic in his practice, particularly around the frequency of failed anesthetic, delayed onset, injection pain and post-operative discomfort, he began research into the pharmacokinetics of dental anesthetic. Based on this research, Dr. Falkel has developed an alternative new paradigm in anesthetic delivery science for dentistry. Dr. Falkel is the founder of Onpharma Company an anesthetic technology and products company. Dr. Falkel has a position as Assistant Professor in Local Anesthesia at The University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. In 2015 Dr. Falkel helped start uLab Systems, Inc. as the clinical founder.

Ed is nationally regarded for his disability practice and unparalleled track record of success over the past 26 years. His practice is unique. Unlike other disability attorneys, he only represents professionals (dentists, physicians, executives, other attorneys)—but, as he will discuss, most of his clients are dentists. Ed is consistently named on the Top 500 business leaders in Arizona by Arizona Business Magazine. His firm is ranked #1 in Healthcare in Arizona, over national firms, because of his niche professional disability practice. Ed is sought out for his expertise in this industry, and media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and U.S. New and World Report reach out to him when they have questions about industry news and developments. We’ve had Ed on the podcast before, and it’s always great to get his input on what’s going on in the disability industry, and specifically, how dentists are impacted. Ed’s also done some CEs and articles for Dentaltown that are available on Dentaltown.com, and is working on another CE for Dentaltown that will be coming out in the next few months.

Bob has a love of learning, a desire to grow people, and a history of integrity in all his interactions. He has been afforded many opportunities in his personal and professional life. His experience in marketing has given him the ability to communicate effectively. Bob adamantly subscribes to the "seek first to understand, then be understood" concept espoused by Stephen Covey. This process has given Bob the ability to help groups breakthrough stalemates and develop "win-win" strategies in his personal consulting business. A vast professional background includes leadership positions in communications, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and transportation. Bob is a servant leader who came to lead Dental Planet through their next steps of growth in 2017. Personally, Bob is a Christian who attempts to live out his faith everyday. He enjoys travelling and spending time with his family. His community service primarily centers around his work as a Trustee on the Wichita Falls ISD school board, where he has served since 2004. He met his wife of more than 35 years while attending Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. She is Office Manager for a busy medical practice. Their son is a 2019 graduate of Texas A&M University where he majored in Computer Engineering/Computer Science. He now works as a Software Developer and lives in Arkansas.

Dr. Seena Patel currently serves as the Associate Director of Oral Medicine and Associate Professor at the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health at A.T. Still University. She is also an associate at Southwest Orofacial Group in Phoenix, AZ, limiting her practice to orofacial pain, oral medicine, and dental sleep medicine since 2012. She is a Diplomate of both the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Board of Oral Medicine. Dr. Patel simultaneously earned her dental and master’s in public health degrees from the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health in 2010, and completed a 2-year residency in both orofacial pain and oral medicine at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California in 2012. Her educational interests are in myofascial pain, head and neck cancer and dental management, oral mucosal diseases, management of obstructive sleep apnea with mandibular advancement devices, and the dental management of medically complex patients. She has authored numerous publications and abstracts and also serves as a reviewer of several peer-reviewed dental journals. Furthermore, she has spoken nationally and internationally on orofacial pain, oral mucosal diseases, dental sleep medicine, and the dental management of head and neck cancer patients and has given over 50 professional continuing education courses. Dr. Patel maintains her membership in the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, American Academy of Oral Medicine, Central Arizona Dental Society, Arizona Dental Association, American Dental Association, American Dental Education Association, and Special Care in Dentistry Association.

Doctor Oleg Drut is the Chief Clinical Officer of Diamond Braces. He manages 23 current orthodontic locations. He is the leading Invisalign provider in the nation, currently completed or having in treatment over 10,000 comprehensive cases using Invisailgn and having supervised or completed over 100K fixed appliances cases during years. He is a mentor to multiple orthodontic specialists and treatment coordinators. Dr. Martin Rabinovich attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he earned his Bachelor of the Arts majoring in the Biological Sciences. He then went on to earn his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. After graduating from dental school, he traveled to Denver, Colorado obtaining his specialty training in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics and earning a Master’s of Science in Dentistry at the University of Colorado. Dr. Rabinovich is an active member of the American Dental Association (ADA), New Jersey Dental Association (NJDA) and the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). While in residency, Dr. Rabinovich represented the Rocky Mountain Society of Orthodontists on the AAO Council on New and Younger Members. Dr. Rabinovich loves to travel, stay active hiking and skiing, play ice hockey, and spend time with his friends and family.

Dr. Bhola is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. He received his D.D.S. from University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and his certificate and M.S.D. in Periodontics and Implantology from Indiana University School of Dentistry. Dr. Bhola is the former Director of Post-Graduate Periodontics at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and is currently the Director of Advanced Periodontics Institute, a clinical and education center that has locations in Plymouth and Livonia, Michigan. Dr. Bhola is a world-renowned periodontist, clinician and educator with over twenty-six years of clinical experience. His areas of interest include dental implants, oral plastic surgery and advanced bone and soft tissue grafting for teeth and implants. He is the author and developer of the new and innovative LipStaT® procedure for correcting a gummy smile. Dr. Bhola has been featured in several local, national and international news articles. He lectures and conducts several training courses in periodontics and implantology for dentists and specialists from all over the world and has over thirty peer-reviewed publications in leading dental journals. He is the recipient of the prestigious Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship award given by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation, a fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and a fellow of the OKU Nu Nu Chapter, a National Honor Dental Society.

Since earning his J.D. from Columbia Law School, Mr. Stone has amassed extensive legal expertise, dating back to his earliest experience as a law clerk for the Honorable Charles Sifton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Rick is a former partner at one of the countries oldest law firms, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He has been Lead Counsel on several major high profile successful consumer and securities class actions. Rick dedicates a substantial portion of time to philanthropy and is involved with numerous local and national charities such as the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Currently, Rick serves on the executive committee of Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches, and teaches economics at Palm Beach Lakes High School as part of its volunteer program that teaches pre-law programs at local high schools. Rick is an adjunct law professor at Shepard Broad Law School, Nova Southeastern University. He is President and Co-Founder of the Palm Beach Investment Research Group Inc., a membership based not-for-profit corporation comprising a group of family offices and other active investors.

Dr. Robert Bryan grew up in Southern Ohio, appreciating the friendly people and surrounding community. He was originally inspired to follow a career path in the field of dentistry after giving a speech in high school. Dr. Bryan enjoys the concept of working for yourself and the utilization of tools within medicine. The concept of working in science with the use of medicine is intriguing as he can perform both through oral surgery. After receiving a bachelor’s degree at Ohio University, he earned a dental degree, scholarship award, and went on to attend his surgical residency to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Dr. Bryan went straight into the private practice environment at Oral Surgery Specialists of Oklahoma in 2006. Dr. Jeremy Goodson grew up with a passion for playing the trumpet. He aspired to play in a symphony with his passion for music. He fractured his teeth as a kid, and when the local dentists and oral surgeons fixed his condition, Dr. Goodson was concerned that his oral surgery would affect his ability to play an instrument. He realized that his treatment to restore his smile allowed him and many others to play successfully for years to come. Dr. Goodson has always enjoyed doing small things with his hands and reconsidered his direction of studies to medicine during his college years. Dr. Goodson and his wife moved to Oklahoma during his surgical residency to pursue a new opportunity. He decided to join a private practice environment to work one on one with patients to provide the very best care and get to know people as if they are family. He began working at Oral Surgery Specialists of Oklahoma and loves to help our patients regain their oral health, function, and smile.

Dr. Porter Jones founded and was CEO of Dr. Porto, a chain of medical and dental clinics in Sao Paulo focused on providing high value patient care to the medically underserved. Prior, Dr. Jones spent 4 years at Hospital Albert Einstein where he managed the oncology department as well as the medical practice division. He currently is the CEO of Boka Sciences, an oral health company focused on preventative care through the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of xerostomia. Dr. Jones is a graduate of the University of Utah School of Medicine and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.