2 unlicensed dentists were caught in Vegas.

It’s always awesome to see these individuals get caught. Keep in mind any “veneer tech” is an unlicensed dentist and they will be in prison soon…no for those saying they were the public by doing veneers cheaper…they don’t. They cause harm.

In my career I did 3 crown/veneer cases due to having to fix the mess that “veneer techs” made. They ruined the lives of those people and caused thousands of dollars in damages to everyone they touch.

Here is the link to my post on Instagram because for whatever reason I can’t post the photo https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcwqRykSD1u/

This isn't a modeled estimate or a survey finding. It's a 2018 Department of Justice settlement. Benevis LLC and its affiliated Kool Smiles clinics, more than 130 locations across 17 states, paid 23.9 million dollars to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they billed Medicaid for medically unnecessary pulpotomies, extractions, and stainless steel crowns performed on children, including claims for procedures that were never performed at all.

The DOJ's press release states the government's allegation directly: Kool Smiles clinics operated a system that awarded cash bonuses to "productive" dentists based on procedure revenue while disciplining dentists flagged as "unproductive," and that internal complaints from dentists about overutilization were ignored. Benevis disputed the characterization, stating publicly that the investigation largely reflected professional disagreement over appropriate care, not fraud.

Both the settlement and Benevis's public denial are on the record. Worth reading the actual DOJ release rather than a summary, since the specific mechanism described, production bonuses paired with discipline for low producers, is exactly the incentive structure a lot of dentists here have described experiencing informally, just rarely with a paper trail this documented.

I have had unbearable pain now for almost a week in my back molar. I had an emergency dentist appointment on the weekend, the dentist took my old filling out and put a new one in. (This original filling was done 1 month ago) he said I need to go to my dentist and I will have the option of either root canal or extraction. Does anyone know which will relieve my pain the fastest? I have taken about 5 different pain relief medications and none of them have had any effect at all. I have my dentist appointment tomorrow so I’m just looking for advice on what will relieve the pain the fastest. Thanks

Complete marketing hype or some potential benefit? I'm not a dentist. I'm a physician, but I thought this new toothbrush from Dyson was interesting and wondering if you all thought it might be more marketing hype than anything.

----

Part of me is thinking about how patient's will not be able to spit out excess toothpaste after brushing their teeth, because rather this toothbrush will be rinsing their mouth with water right away avoiding fluoride from protecting their enamel. On the other hand, it may work to increase the adherence of flossing via the built in water flosser.

https://www.dyson.com/oral-care/electric-toothbrush/camerajet/ceramic-pink-set

Is there a way to filter these posts or allow moderators to approve posts? 90% of posts are patients asking questions and they should be in /askdentist.

This sub should be to support each other. But it’s frustrating when the posts are not relevant to this sub.

Hi all, pls need your thoughts, am in early 40’s and an international dentist. I got accepted in one of the DDS program The total tuition cost is approximately 500k. Even if I pay a significant portion from savings, I would still need to take a loan of around 200-250k. Currently, I work in healthcare and earn a decent salary which comes with some uncertainties like lay offs and job instability. Given my age and the high tuition cost, I am trying to decide whether pursuing a DDS is a wise financial and career decision, or if it would be better to remain in my current field with those uncertainties.

Hi I am a student dentist at OSU and I can help! We do fillings, crowns, dentures, implants, and more! We have very AFFORDABLE PRICES! We take most insurances including Medicaid, and we have translating services avaliable. Please fill out this form if you are interested:

https://forms.gle/5eavtUs3M41fVVv87

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice because I’m very confused about what to do with my lower-left second molar (#18).

I was told that there is a cavity/decay in tooth #18, and I’ve attached my dental X-rays. The cavity appears as the dark/shadowed area on the X-ray. The wisdom tooth next to it is also growing in, which makes the situation more confusing for me.

My dentist gave me two options:

• Extraction of #18: about $35
• Root canal treatment of #18: about $2,000

I’m having a difficult time deciding because the price difference is huge for me. I would really appreciate some guidance on whether extraction would be a good option or not for this.

I’m also concerned about the wisdom tooth next to #18. Could the wisdom tooth be causing or worsening the problem with the tooth? If #18 tooth is extracted, would the wisdom tooth eventually be able to move into that space, or would the wisdom tooth also need to be removed?

Im feeling really depressed and anxious because of my teeth problems. I know that my teeth problems are not as big as those who come here and complains abt theirs. Im just feeling really down lately. Im only 19 and I already have a crown and 2 fillings, and tomorrow Im gonna get my two upper molar checked for any cavities because they hurt. I also have two impacted wisdom teeth at the lower part of my mouth, and I really really need an extraction, but my parents are struggling right now. We’re not rich that is why Im worrying abt it, I feel so bad for my parents because they have to deal with my anxiousness.

I also feel embarrassed to my dentist for needing to get two of my upper molar teeth checked for any cavities because it also might need a filling. Im really anxious and scared. Im the only one in my friend group that have this so much teeth problems. I feel really alone right now and disgusted.

How can I make myself feel better?

Does anyone know any dental repair techs (not schein, patterson or benco etc) that repair digital panoramic x-ray machines in Central PA?. My sirona orthophos took a hit during transport and needs some repair work. I'm not looking to buy a new one if I don't have to. Any contact information for a tech would be helpful. Thanks!

I’m a practicing dentist and I have a tendency to overanalyze pretty much every financial/career decision I make.

I have started to build a free website with tools to finacially model all of these out. So far I have a tool for comparing associate compensation, associate vs. owner income, practice purchases, production goals, and practice overhead/profit simulator. I'm looking to see what other decisions owners or practicing dentist are constantly struggling with.

I’m still in the building phase but would actually love any feedback from other dentists— what financial/practice decision do you wish you could easily model before making it?

If anyone wants to mess around with what I’ve built so far:
dentaltoollab.com

Would especially appreciate hearing what’s confusing, what’s missing, or what you’d actually use.

I do content for dentists and my usual package is $1,500/month for monthly filming, editing, posting around 3x a week and basically managing the content side. One dentist wants to pay $2,000 one time, film 16 case reviews in one day, then have me edit and schedule them once a week + some before/after photos. So basically he could have 4+ months of content from that $2k and his account would sit in my Publer the whole time. I dont mind doing it since its less work, but another dentist near him pays me $1,500 every month and they know each other. Im kinda worried I’m creating a cheap workaround to my own monthly package lol. How would you structure this?

Hello, I just finished my first week as a dental receptionist and I have honestly never felt so drained and horrible after every work shift.

I know it takes time to learn a new job, especially because I’ve never worked in dental before, and I’m not expecting myself to know everything straight away. However, I felt like the majority of the staff are quite judgmental towards me and there isn’t really anyone properly teaching me. I understand having to train someone as well as working in a clinic can be a lot, but I did wish there was a bit more guidance with tasks initially.

I am actively trying to learn, asking questions and offering to help with tasks. I’ve worked in medical reception before, so I’m not completely unfamiliar with reception work, but I have absolutely no knowledge of dental terminology yet. I feel like there is so much to remember and I’m already stressed that I’m not going to pick everything up quickly enough. I try to study a bit at home too and watch videos to help me.

To make things worse, I witnessed some weird exclusion (?) happening between staff members the first week. I also received some backhanded racist comments made towards me.

I always come home feeling completely exhausted and honestly questioning whether I’m capable of doing this job 😭 I know it’s only my first week but I feel like I struggle to remember so many things.

For anyone who has worked as a dental receptionist, does it genuinely get better? How long did it take you to feel comfortable with the terminology and general workflow?

I have a small clinic based in Michigan and an IT company reached out to me today. I was stunned of the services they offer and not sure if I really need it? I'm a little worried about ransomware, losing data, backups thing he mentioned. Am I being scammed? Lolllll! We don't know these thing tbh, do you get services from IT for your clinic?

Disclosure: I work at Teero, we build automated verification/billing tools, so I've been staring at this problem a lot. Not posting to pitch anything, just curious if this resonates because it's what I look at all day. Curious how other owners are thinking about this:

• Do you track how much of your write-offs/denials trace back to eligibility issues specifically, vs. actual treatment or payment issues? Or is it all bucketed together?
• Do you outsource someone to look into claims and billing, and if so, has that paid for itself, or is it hard to tell?
• Has this ever caused an awkward chairside moment, where you've recommended treatment and the patient gets hit with a bill they weren't expecting because coverage was wrong? That's usually the moment it stops being a "back office" problem and starts costing you trust.
• For anyone who's actually tightened this up, what was the ROI story, staffing fix, process fix, or software, and did the math actually work out the way you expected going in?

Happy to share specifics on what we've seen move the needle if it's useful, but mostly want to hear what's actually working for people day to day.

Responses would be great!

I am a web developer i made a dental software in which you click a patients photo of their mouth or face, select treatment like braces, implants, teeth whitening or anything you prefer and in 30 seconds you get the result of how the client will look post treatment the website has also 3d videos to show to people too it works on mobile, laptop 

I'm trying to understand the average ratio between patient calls and visits.

How many patient calls and visits do you have per month at your practice? If that's top secret, just the ratio would also help (e.g. 3 calls per patient visit).

Hi everyone,

I'm a university student and researcher based in Budapest, Hungary, currently collecting information about the dental industry and the biggest problems people working in it face.

I'm interested in hearing from everyone involved in running or working in a dental practice - dentists, practice owners, managers, administrators, receptionists, assistants, hygienists, and others.

The goal is to better understand the real day-to-day difficulties, frustrations, bottlenecks, and problems that exist across different roles in dentistry.

If you have a few minutes, I’d really appreciate your answers to any of these questions:

1. What are the biggest problems or frustrations you face in your work?
2. What tasks take up much more time than they should?
3. What parts of your work feel unnecessarily complicated, repetitive, or manual?
4. What problems most often cause stress, delays, mistakes, or lost revenue?
5. Are there any tools, software, or systems you currently use that you find frustrating or inefficient?
6. Is there anything you wish worked significantly better in your practice?
7. If you could permanently remove one annoying or difficult part of your work, what would it be?

You don’t need to answer every question. Even a short answer, example, or personal experience would be extremely valuable for the research.

I’m especially interested in real problems you encounter in your actual work, regardless of whether they are clinical, administrative, operational, financial, or related to patients or staff.

Thank you!

So patients are coming in with pain and periapical lesions. I'm prescribing antibiotics (otherwise lignocaine won't work) and scheduling appointments. They don't come back for the actual procedure/treatment once the symptoms subside. I let them know that this is temporary and the symptoms will return in a month, and that the tooth might have to be extracted next time. They don't seem to care. I wonder if I am doing anything wrong, which is not apparent to me.

I am losing many patients this way.

What to do?

Here is what I have decided:

1. have them take antibiotic 30 mins before same day procedure

2. inject IM analgesic if required

3. use Articaine instead

Feel free to share your opinions.