Brews and Tiny Teeth, The Unfiltered Pediatric Dentistry Podcast

Dr. Alex Otto, a pediatric dentist with a dynamic background, and her husband, Tim Otto, an MBA specializing in business systems, share their remarkable journey of launching three pediatric practices in Texas since 2020. They discuss strategic demographic analysis that guided their locations, the necessity of controlling overhead, and how current high interest rates can create unique opportunities. The couple dives into the future of pediatric dentistry, touching on the influence of corporate practices and the importance of remaining patient-focused amidst industry changes.

Dr. Arielle Faden is a pediatric dentist and practice owner out of Jersey City, which is a large metro area near New York City. She was a guest on the podcast almost two years ago when she talked about practicing as an associate in a large city like New York. Since that time, she has gone through the journey of partnering with her boss to become a 50/50 practice owner. We discuss how there's a lack of podcast content for dentists in these situations, but that partnerships are a great opportunity for dentists who aren't interested in either associating or going through the stresses of a scratch start. Some of the things Dr. Faden talks about: - How she knew that this office was the right fit for ownership - How they determined the value of the practice and purchase price - What did lending look like for this transaction - How did her income increase to cover the debt payment - How they structured the operating agreement to know who can buy what with company money, and how profits are split You can reach Arielle at ariellebethany@gmail.com

We all know the struggle of placing posterior pre-fabbed zirconia crowns on primary molars. Sometimes they fit like a glove, and sometimes they become a hot dumpster fire where you try 5 different crowns and none of them fit. Dr. Chad Davis, a pediatric dentist out of Arizona, and Dr. Andrew Johnson, a prosthodontist out of Arkansas, have worked together to develop Alphabyte. Alphabyte is a scanning system that allows you to quickly scan a primary molar and determine the correct crown size along with reduction discrepancies via a heat map to improve speed and efficiency with placing posterior crowns. Chad and Andrew come on the podcast to discuss how they developed this system, and how Alphabyte has practical applications beyond zirconia crowns. They will be at AAPD at the Kinder Crown booth where attendees can get a hands-on demo to see how the product works. You can learn more at https://alphabytedental.com/

I love interviewing a good power couple where we can have a drink and talk about teeth! Today we are joined by Dr. Beth Pfohl, a pediatric dentist, and her husband Dr. Chad Pfohl, an oral surgeon. The Pfohls are University of Iowa grads and at AAPD 2022 in San Diego, we had a few drinks at the welcome reception and I decided I needed to have them on the podcast.  Dr. Beth is unique in that she went back to dental school later in life with two kids at home, and continued for the additional two years to complete her pediatric residency. Dr. Chad is a partner at a large group practice and he shares some of his wisdom on how to find good team members and associates to bring into the practice. They come on the podcast to talk about life in the working world, as well as how to find work-life balance between running a full patient load at the office and raising good kids at home.  As pediatric dentists, we naturally love working with kids and tend to a be a very family-oriented profession. My wife announced that we will be having our first little baby girl in May, so I thought it would make for great conversation to discuss in the upcoming podcasts how having kids influenced or changed the way that pediatric dentists practice dentistry. 

Dr. Lee Boyd is a pediatric dentist and practice owner from Allen, Kentucky, a town of just 700 people. He joins us today to talk about how even in a rural practice, he is able to generate massive revenues from the incorporation of orthodontics and Invisalign.  We discuss how pediatric dentists are the oral-facial growth experts and that we should be doing our part to not only diagnose, but also to treat malocclusions and orthodontic problems for our patients. Dr. Boyd is an advocate for using iTero scanners to offer patients Invisalign (he starts over 100 cases a year), as well as using this technology to show parents different treatment outcomes during the mixed dentition phase. We talk about differences in treatment for both permanent as well as mixed-dentition cases, including how you can use clear aligners for expansion as well as impacted teeth in 90+ percent of cases.  Dr. Boyd is passionate about education on this topic, and you can hear him speak at AAPD in Orlando at the annual session in May. 

Dr. Reza Ardalan is a pediatric dentist from Port St. Lucie, Florida and the owner of Ardalan Pediatric Dentistry. He joins us on the podcast today to tell us about his practice story and his journey to become a well-known personality on TikTok as a pediatric dentist. Some of the things we discuss in this episode: - How Dr. Reza managed his $470k in student loan debt - The importance of CE and expanding your skillset - Growth of a pediatric office and when it's time to buy real estate, build, and bring on an associate. - The benefits of owning your physical office as a pediatric dentist - Why more pediatric dentists should take advantage of the power of social media Dr. Reza is optimistic about the future of our profession, and he encourages any listeners to contact him via any of his social media platforms. 

Dr. Debra Cohen is a pediatric dentist from New Jersey. She practices at Riverfront Pediatric Dentistry with Dr. Eyal Simchi. After seeing some of the recent cases on iPedo that Dr. Cohen had posted showing impressive before and after radiographs using LSTR, margin elevation, and Hall crowns, I decided it would be an interesting episode to have her on the show to discuss these techniques. Dr. Cohen talks about how at their practice, they try to use focus on positive patient experiences and avoiding sedation by using sedative fillings with glass ionomer to assess the health of the pulp. They are able to treat and save a lot of teeth without local anesthetic, complete caries removal, or the use of general anesthesia. This was a great conversation and it was interesting to learn more about treatment philosophies that deviate from what we were trained in residency, but may very well be mainstream and supported by literature in the future.  

Dr. Richard Marn is a dual board-certified physician in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology. He trained at NYU and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and was on Mt. Sinai Hospital faculty as one of their pediatric anesthesiologists for 11 years. He works in New York providing pediatric in-office sedations for pediatric dentists and oral surgeons through his company New York Medical Anesthesia. Dr. Marn is also unique because his wife Dr. Jessica Marn is a fellow pediatric dentist!  Drs. Richard and Jessica Marn recognized that medical education for dentists and oral surgeons is fragmented and incomplete. They co-founded an education company, Blue Pacific Medical Simulation, that teaches dental offices how to properly respond to medical emergencies in their office. In this episode, we review why pediatric dentists and their teams often aren't well trained or equipped to handle in-office anesthesia emergencies when things go wrong. We discuss common problems, review a recent pediatric dental anesthesia death in the news, and talk about how Dr. Marn's company runs simulations to train dentists on how to be better prepared. More info on Dr. Marn and his services can be found at the website below.   www.bpmedsim.com www.nymedicalanesthesia.com

Dr. Jon Lindblom is a pediatric dentist and practice owner from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He's been a practice owner for 10+ years in his small hometown in Oklahoma, and enjoys the benefits of practicing in a busy and uncompetitive environment that a small town has to offer. He's a firm believer in reinvesting and becoming involved in your local community (he donated $50,000 to sponsor and build a disk golf course for his practice). We discuss what his practice is like, and also how he uses oral sedations with chloral hydrate to overcome the access barriers to traditional GA in a small town. Dr. Lindblom tells us about why he decided to sell his practice to MB2. For those that aren't aware, MB2 is a dental partnership company that purchases equity and buys out dental practices. In some ways it's similar to a DSO, but in many ways different. Dr. Lindblom really did his due diligence, and he tells us about the benefits of his partnership and why it was a good choice for him and his practice. 

Dr. Gerardo Martinez is a pediatric dentist who practices out of Milford, Delaware. After spending time in California, Florida, and Texas, Dr. Martinez decided to start a practice in rural Delaware. We discuss a whole range of topics on this podcast, including the differences in patient populations he has treated throughout the country. He believes the future of pediatric dentistry is bright, and he discusses how much need still exists in the more remote areas like Delaware. Dr. Martinez has a unique practice philosophy. We talk about how he is okay with tougher/crying appointments and being aggressive with extractions while at the same time using SDF, Hall crowns, and glass ionomer products to manage decay.  I had heard that Dr. Martinez invested in and uses a scanner to take digital impressions for his space maintenance. I hate fitting bands and taking impressions, so we took a dive into the costs and benefits of purchasing and using an intra-oral scanner in a pediatric office. It definitely changed my perspective and is likely something I will purchase in the near future.