Dentistry Gone Digital

Dentistry Gone Digital

changing vertical dimension

Changing Vertical Dimension: When is it Safe?

February 16, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyThe Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com If you follow The Dawson Academy protocols, altering the vertical dimension is going to be the exception rather than the rule. We can work with the vast majority of patients vertical dimension and still fulfill the five requirements for occlusal stability and get a…

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How Does the Occlusal Plane Relate to the Anterior Teeth? By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDS Clinical Director, The Dawson Academy The Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com One of the most common mistakes I see in occlusal restorations is also the easiest mistake to observe. It is interference of the posterior teeth with the anterior guidance. A perfected occlusion allows the anterior teeth to contact in centric relation simultaneously and with equal intensity with the posterior teeth. This harmony of contacts occurs with complete seating of the condyles at their most superior position, which is bone braced. This means that there is an ideal distribution of compressive contact starting at the TMJs, and continuing all the way through front tooth contact. This is the contact distribution that we want for centric relation. When the jaw moves from centric relation, in a perfected occlusion only the anterior teeth contact. All posterior teeth distal to the cuspids should immediately separate. This is called “posterior disclusion”. Separation of the posterior teeth should occur, whether the jaw moves forward, left, or right from centric relation. The reason that posterior disclusion is such a desired effect is that the moment the posterior teeth separate, almost all of the elevator muscles shut off. This reduces the horizontal forces against the anterior teeth which are carrying all the forces in protrusive or lateral movements of the mandible. it also reduces the loading forces on the TMJ’s. But even more importantly, it is impossible to wear or overload the posterior teeth if they cannot rub. Keep Reading: How to Use Splints in Your Treatment Plan

How Does the Occlusal Plane Relate to the Anterior Teeth?

February 9, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyThe Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com One of the most common mistakes I see in occlusal restorations is also the easiest mistake to observe. It is interference of the posterior teeth with the anterior guidance. A perfected occlusion allows the anterior teeth to contact in centric…

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3 Fatal Flaws of Denture Design

February 2, 2024

Overcoming these 3 common flaws will give you very happy patients! By: Dr. Kimberly Daxon, D.D.S.The Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com There are three main areas that need attention when designing complete denture prostheses. When these three things are not accomplished, it can lead to misfits and patient dissatisfaction. I see it all the time.…

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invest for the future or fomo

Invest For the Future – or FOMO?

January 31, 2024

Treating your savings as another “must pay” bill is more likely to set you up for long-term success,but still allows you to enjoy life along the way.  By: Todd Doobrow, CFP Let’s go ahead and get it out there – I don’t like budgets. The concept is great, but in reality, very few people stick to…

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help my dental assistant wont learn new things

Help! My Dental Assistant Won’t Learn New Things!

January 29, 2024

Don’t be the dental assistant who won’t learn new things.Find comfort in the new thing – even if the new things are scary at first. By: Ronda Holman Hi dear reader, my name is Ronda Holman and I have been sitting across from a dentist for a living for the last 25 years. I thought…

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anterior teeth

Why Do I Keep Having to Adjust the Anterior Teeth When Restoring?

January 27, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyThe Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com One of the main problems we see when we are restoring an anterior tooth that’s just recently chipped is that we always have to adjust occlusion. Whenever you see a chipped tooth you have to ask yourself why. Why is that chip there?…

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dentist creating a better financial situation

New Year, New Approach? Shifting Your Financial Mentality

January 24, 2024

By: Todd Doobrow, CFP Your life as a doctor is complex in many ways.  It started with dental school – additional years of training accompanied by hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.  And as can be expected the focus of your classes was clinical; doctors get very little business training. Upon graduation, starting salaries…

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splints in treatment planning

How to Use Splints in Your Treatment Plan

January 19, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyThe Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com Hi, everybody, my name’s Dr. Leonard Hess. I’m one of the senior faculty members at the Dawson Academy. I’d like to spend a few minutes talking with you about where splints, or occlusal splints, work into a treatment plan when…

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clinical failures

Why am I Experiencing Clinical Failures?

January 12, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyThe Article Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com If we’ve been practicing for any length of time at all, we’re going to see some clinical failures. I think sometimes the perception is if we’re faculty at The Dawson Academy, that it never happens, and you should know that…

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what script do i need to order an mri for a patient

What Script Do I Need To Order an MRI for a Patient?

January 5, 2024

By: Dr. Leonard A. Hess, DDSClinical Director, The Dawson AcademyArticle Originally Appeared on TheDawsonAcademy.com So what script do we need if we order an MRI on our patient? Now, it used to be, several years ago, that MRI was kind of the gold standard for us to look inside the joint. That is not the…

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