Very Clinical: $18,000 Tips and Other Laser Myths with Dr. Bob Convissar
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Release Date: 09/30/2025
Very Clinical: Stepping Away with Dr. Frank Clayton
The Very Dental Podcast Network
This episode features hosts Zach and Kevin, who welcome returning guest Dr. Frank Clayton to discuss the psychology and process of retiring from dentistry. Dr. Frank Clayton, who sold his practice and fully exited clinical work in July 2023, shares his insightful journey and the various phases of retirement he's experienced, including the "honeymoon phase." Kevin, who recently sold his practice in August and is now navigating the associate phase, offers his perspective on the initial mental shifts of stepping away from ownership. The hosts and Frank delve into the factors that drive the...
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AME: Entropy and Reading Directions
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Alan reflects on his recent return to the Bioclear Learning Center, an experience that served as a powerful system reset for his restorative dentistry. He connects the challenge of maintaining new techniques in the dental office to the physics concept of entropy—the natural tendency of a system toward disorder. Alan explains that his initial failure to fully implement the prescriptive Bioclear system (including key steps like "bioblasting") was due to the energy required to fight against this entropy, often manifesting as personal laziness or team resistance to change. He stresses that...
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Very Dental: An Evening with Dr. Lance Timmerman
The Very Dental Podcast Network
This episode features host Dr. Alan Mead sitting down with his friend, Dr. Lance Timmerman, in the artsy Hotel Murano lobby in Tacoma, Washington, while Dr. Mead is attending a four-day Bioclear core certification course. The conversation flows between the excellence of the Bioclear hands-on CE curriculum and the company's continuous innovation in dental matrices (like the redesigned twin ring). Dr. Mead and Dr. Timmerman also share humorous and insightful anecdotes from their dental school days, discussing the crushing weight of modern student debt, the challenges of implementing new CE...
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Very Clinical: Tissue Issues: Grafting and Recession
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Hosts Zach and Kevin put the sports talk (mostly) aside to dive deep into a critical area of everyday dentistry: various scenarios involving soft and hard tissue grafting and the management of periodontal recession. They discuss how to handle common cases like recession in post-ortho teens (especially on the lower anterior teeth) and the different approaches for the challenging chewing tobacco patient. Zach and Kevin share their experience with generalized recession, debating when to refer for a graft—often noting that patient concern over esthetics or sensitivity drives the decision more...
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AME: Recommendation Engine--Tacoma Edition
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Alan records from his hotel in Tacoma, Washington, after finishing day three of a four-day Bioclear anterior and posterior certification course. Despite the dark and rainy November weather in Tacoma, Alan shares his enthusiastically positive experience at the Bioclear Learning Center, highlighting the high quality of the instruction and hands-on training. He then offers a "recommendation engine" based on his trip, covering a specific Bioclear product, a movie he watched on the flight, an airport security service, a local restaurant, and a final endorsement of the learning center itself....
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Very Dental: Dr. Tim Anderson has the Midas Touch
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Alan sits down once more with Dr. Tim Anderson to dive deep into the rapidly evolving landscape of digital dentistry. The episode begins with a hilarious, relatable discussion about the terrors of crashing recording software and the potential (and pitfalls) of AI, touching on everything from homework help to its role in revolutionizing clinical notes and reading X-rays. The conversation quickly pivots to Dr. Anderson's journey from engineering and architecture interests to his passion for the dental lab and in-house manufacturing, fueled by his residency and the purchase of a CEREC system. He...
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Very Clinical: Pickleball and Perio
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Zach and Kevin kick off this episode by catching up and discussing a shared, recent hobby: pickleball. They share their experiences, the learning curve, and their thoughts on why the sport has become so popular, acknowledging its accessibility compared to tennis. The conversation then shifts to a dental topic: periodontal disease. They reflect on the emphasis of perio in dental school and discuss their personal criteria for treating scaling and root planning cases in-office versus when to refer to a periodontist. Key referral points include cases with sudden, isolated deep pockets,...
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AME: Intentional Culture
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Alan gets candid about the concept of intentional culture, reflecting on his own experience taking over a dental practice where the culture was largely unintentional. He explains how he inherited a laid-back, reparative-dentistry-focused office, a product of the previous owner's lax style and the robust GM insurance benefits of the time. Alan admits that while his practice's culture has been adequate, making changes now is incredibly difficult because the unintentional status quo is deeply ingrained. He argues that new owners or startups have a massive advantage in establishing an intentional...
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Very Dental: Confessions of a CE Junkie with Dr. Lance Timmerman
The Very Dental Podcast Network
Alan welcomes his first-ever podcast guest, Dr. Lance Timmerman, back to the show for a candid look at the life of a "CE Junkie." Lance shares his extensive, and often scattershot, journey through continuing education—from early courses in sleep apnea and Botox to implants and orthodontics—and the key lesson learned: it's hard to dabble in specialty procedures. The discussion evolves into a broader reflection on how dentistry has changed, especially for new dentists facing massive student debt. Ultimately, Lance describes his successful transition to a semi-retired, three-day-a-week...
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Very Clinical: More Value, Less Grind with Dr. Sully Sullivan
The Very Dental Podcast Network
This throwback episode of the Very Clinical Podcast features hosts Kevin and Zach welcoming back Dr. Sully Sullivan to discuss his involvement with 3D Dentists. Sully details the Mastermind program, which focuses on business strategy for successful dentists, advocating for a shift toward comprehensive diagnosis and "fewer, well-planned visits" through the foundational use of full DSLR photography. He then describes the Digital Implant Continuum, highlighting its unique, all-encompassing curriculum that teaches everything from extraction and grafting to guided implant placement and restoration...
info_outlineIn this throwback episode Zach and Kevin feature Dr. Bob Convissar, a pioneer in laser dentistry with over 32 years of experience. He's a prolific author, lecturer, and practitioner who began his career after graduating from NYU in 1980 and acquiring a unique, century-old dental practice in New York City
The main topic is the ABC's of Laser Dentistry, starting with a critical distinction between true lasers (like CO2 and Erbium) and devices often called lasers but primarily used as hot glass tips (like diodes). Bob explains that diodes, which can operate at extremely high temperatures (750∘C to 1500∘C), work thermally, creating a burn, while CO2 and Erbium lasers are absorbed by the water in soft tissue and vaporize it at 100∘C.
He emphasizes that the CO2 laser is the best option for general dentists doing soft tissue work, as it creates a much smaller zone of necrosis (thermal damage) than ElectroSurge or diode lasers, leading to better healing. He also offers a crucial financial perspective, arguing that while a CO2 laser may have a higher initial purchase price (around $30,000), its lack of expensive disposable tips makes it a more cost-effective long-term investment than a cheaper diode laser (like a Picasso) with high operating expenses (potentially $18,000 in tips per year).
For a multi-faceted approach, he recommends dentists invest in a CO2 laser, a modern air abrasion unit, and a Photobiomodulation (PBM) laser (around $2,000 to $3,000). PBM lasers are purely palliative and can be used for pain management, like treating TMJ issues or for analgesia on deciduous teeth, and for promoting healing after invasive procedures.
Finally, Bob stresses that the most crucial factor in laser dentistry is training, advising listeners that any course focusing on only one manufacturer or wavelength is likely a sales pitch, not a comprehensive educational seminar. He promotes his widely used textbook, Principles and Practice of Laser Dentistry
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