free

Online Dental CE

Earn live, interactive and self-study dental continuing education credits

Dental Blog
Available Now:  45 Posts

How many times a week, month or year do you inject local anesthetics? How often do you think about the potential risks that these anesthetics pose? If a patient has a serious reaction, how prepared are you to address the situation?

Did you know that combining silver diamine fluoride with the application of glass ionomer can be a long-term solution for restoring a badly decayed tooth? Although it may sound far-fetched, this approach is backed by a decades-long history of success.

You finally finished dental school and, perhaps, a residency. Your head is crammed with knowledge and you’re excited to launch your career. Woo hoo! What advice do established dentists have for you regarding how to make your new practice a success?

We’ve all seen the white spot lesions on our patient’s teeth. By any measure they’re not particularly aesthetic, and most patients would love for them to disappear. So why is it that most dentists don’t seem to be addressing them?

There are over 1,400 community health centers in the U.S., and these centers serve 31.5 million patients a year at more than 15,000 service sites. What is it like to work at one of these clinics? Is this a valid career choice that both new and experienced practitioners should consider?

It seems that zirconia is all the rage these days. But many dentists wonder if you can really bond it to the underlying tooth structure. Can you go with a minimally invasive approach and do an adhesive bond? Or is a retentive prep required?

General dentists are the first line of defense for the adult population with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As one dentist discovered, successfully serving these patients can be both emotionally rewarding and a significant practice builder.

If you’re a dentist who is artistic, enjoys creating beautiful anterior restorations and truly cares about conserving tooth structure, then you will probably find that anterior direct composite restorations are the ultimate additive solution.

You work so hard to make a beautiful restoration. The patient is thrilled when they leave your office – but they’re still numb. Then they go home, the numbness wears off and the postoperative sensitivity hits. How can you avoid this?

What’s a great way to decrease your chair time and lower your overhead while still producing great aesthetic results? Switch to single shade dentistry!

When you think of milling lithium disilicate blocks, you probably assume that those blocks will need to be fired prior to use – a step that adds time and expense to the process. But what if your lithium disilicate restoration did not need to be fired at all? How might that affect your practice?

If you’re a general practitioner, placing direct composites is something you do quite frequently. And yet, for a seemingly straight-forward procedure, things are not always so straight-forward.

Digital dentistry has revolutionized our profession. In fact, if you are doing implants without taking advantage of today’s digital technology, you’re missing out on the ability to improve your diagnosis, treatment planning, implant placement and more.

When it comes to your materials and medical devices, in addition to the on-label use there is often an excellent off-label use as well. This is the case for silver diamine fluoride. On-label, silver diamine fluoride is a desensitizer. Off-label, it can be used to treat active decay.

I love the process of getting my practice’s claims paid by my patients’ dental insurance providers,” said no dental professional anywhere, ever! Luckily, once you understand the claims review process from the point of view of a dental insurance claims reviewer, you’ll find it easier to get paid for the work that you do.

Why is it that roughly half of U.S. dentists have not yet made the switch to intraoral scanners? Perhaps because there are so many misconceptions about intraoral scanning. To make an informed decision, you need to separate the “myths” from the facts about this tool.

Doesn’t “Zirconia vs. E.max®” sound like the headline for a boxing match? You can just hear the announcer: “In this corner we have Zirconia, known for its incredible strength, while in this corner we have E.max® lithium disilicate, known for looking great in the arena. Which will be the winner in today’s material selection matchup?”

In today’s social media-fueled world, simple snapshots that in the past would have only been seen by a handful of people can now be quickly shared far and wide. It’s no wonder your patients want to look their best! With aesthetic dentistry you can help your patients achieve the beautiful smiles that they want.

Although burs may seem like a humdrum topic, they are a vitally important part of your practice. Whether you’re removing decay, reducing tooth structure, accessing the pulp or simply adjusting a pristine ceramic surface, your burs can have a significant impact on your clinical outcomes.

What if there was a very simple exam that you could do as part of every routine dental exam that could potentially save a patient’s life? Well, there is: an oral cancer screening. As a general practitioner, you are on the front line of detection for this potentially deadly disease.

Wellness dentistry is becoming more of a thing in dentistry, and for good reason. If you’re looking for a way to elevate your patients’ health and build your practice in the process, wellness dentistry can get you there.

If you’re in a rut in your career and feeling burned out, how do you reignite your passion for dentistry, feel healthy and maintain your enthusiasm for your practice? Perhaps more importantly, how do you avoid getting to the point of severe burnout in the first place?

Lithium disilicate restorations are the most popular aesthetic ceramic restorations being placed today. Understanding the material and how to handle and deliver it is therefore critical for most dentists. An essential part of this is mastering time-proven techniques that can decrease problems and increase the longevity of your lithium disilicate restorations.

When it comes to choosing the right material for an indirect restoration, the decision point has always come down to two things: strength vs. aesthetics. Now an innovative new zirconia is changing this.

Your dental handpiece is the workhorse of your practice. But even though you need it to perform reliably day after day, in a manner that gives you predictable clinical outcomes, chances are you take it for granted. Perhaps it’s time to change that!

Cracked teeth are extremely common. A patient will bite down on something hard and a crack will propagate right down into the dentin or pulp – even if the tooth already has a composite in it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could prevent this?

Your patients might think that their temporaries are, by definition, only meant to be a temporary way to provide them with functionality. In reality the role of temporaries goes way beyond this, so it’s very important that you get them right.

The seventeenth century English poet George Herbert once said, “Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” Which is true. But when it comes to offering veneer treatments for your patients, if you’re like many dentists you may have a great deal of fear because you worry that your skills are not up to the task.

When it comes to veneers, many will agree that the cementation process is the scariest part. There’s a lot of room for error here, so how can you ease the pressure? Learn how…

Webinar Calendar Iva Learning Instagram