Protecting the Public?
The last time organized dentistry and dental boards tried to “protect the public” they warned of the dangers of tooth whitening done outside the office of a licensed dentist. Of course there was n...
What Is Comprehensive Treatment?
I hear disparaging comments all the time from orthodontists when they talk about anything other than what they consider “comprehensive treatment”. But this begs the question, what exactly is the d...
Why 3000 Is More Than 5500
Marc Ackerman Ben Burris We have discussed repeatedly our belief that the average fee for orthodontic treatment will trend lower. This prediction has been met with shock and horror from the majority o...
5% of Patients Cause 95% of Issues
By Bridget Burris We all know how we feel when we see “that” patient on our schedule for the day. Dread and anxiety set in and our day is already starting out with a negative attitude. No fun at a...
Playing Offense or Defense?
By Marc Ackerman Lower incisors have to be positioned upright over basal bone and you must measure this on a lateral cephalometic radiograph before and after treatment. If you don’t finish your ...
They Can’t Get Away with That!
Marc Ackerman Ben Burris One of us went to an emergency meeting of the Massachusetts Association of Orthodontists last week. It was held at a small hotel in a nondescript meeting room with about 20 or...
If We Were Selling to Orthodontists…
We had another interesting thought experiment today. We imagined that we wanted to go into business selling a product (tangible good) to orthodontists and thought about what that would be. It was toug...
Market Penetration Will Outstrip Increasing Competition, for Some
I keep thinking about the generally agreed upon fact that roughly 3,000,000 people in the USA receive orthodontic treatment each year. That may sound like a lot but when you look at 3MM in the contex...
Calling It Like We See It: Two Questions
It’s highly possible that at some point in the next couple decades it will be legal for non-dentists to provide tooth straightening with clear aligners directly to the consumer. Outcome data from pa...
Couch to 5K
So it’s obvious that I need to lose weight and get back in shape. This is not the first time I’ve allowed my fitness to go by the wayside. Over the last 5 years I’ve been overly focused on busin...