Dental Slang is going all the way to New Zealand to talk to Dr. Andrea Shepperson — digitally, of course. Dr. Shepperson is a dentist and educator who has spent much of her career building an international family of dentists. When she took a year off from school to travel the world, who would have guessed she'd create a network of dentists and mentors from all over the globe!
We never stop learning as dentists, she says, and this motto has carried her through her career. When she started her own practice, she was lucky enough to have mentors to guide her and develop her knowledge as both a business owner and a dentist. She shares some of the most important mentors to her, including Dr. John Kois, Dr. Laurence Walsh, and Christian Coachmen of Digital Smile Design.
Digital dentistry is a big part of Dr. Shepperson's practice. First, she describes her dream digital dental office for us, then walks us through the digital tools and new technology she is using in her office right now to help patients battle tooth erosion.
From wireless servers that make it possible to access files and photos from anywhere in the office, to "patient-specific motion" scanners that capture how individual patients use their teeth, these digital tools are changing the way we practice dentistry.
Dental technology not only makes our job easier but can actually help us build better relationships with our patients. Things like digital photography and 3D printing put dental care into a context that a patient can see, touch, ask questions about, and understand. Using technology to take an emotional approach to dentistry like this makes it easier to have those hard conversations about preventative treatments and expensive implants.
Dr. Shepperson is flipping the traditional dental process upside down, starting with that first appointment with new patients, and she has tips for how dentists can make treatment plans that fit within a patient's budget. Going digital can change the cost of things and give you the ability to manufacture many things in-house. Dr. Shepperson shares the dental slang she uses to help patients understand tooth wear and the different treatment methods she offers.
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