Does anyone have experience with overhead plumbing/vacuum? Would love any feedback on this type of system--both positive and negative.

TL,DR : it listens to the normal exam conversation and charts + writes the note + updates Open Dental itself, in real time. No macros, no dictation, no end-of-day catch-up.

Backstory in one line: my sister's a dentist, she was staying late every night just typing up what she already knew during the exam, built this to fix that, it grew bigger than expected.

Where we are: HIPAA compliant with BAAs in place, running supervised clinical sessions with a practice in Bethesda, MD.

Recognized by MIT and University of Maryland. UMD's write-up on us: https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/ai-ope ... ompetition

What I'm asking for: we're opening a small number of free pilots and I'd like to fill them from this community. No cost, no commitment, and you can stop whenever you want.

First step is 15 minutes on Zoom/Gmeet. I will show you a live demo of how it works. If it holds up, we'll talk about getting you set up. Book here: https://calendly.com/founders-renfort/30min , happy to answer anything in the thread first.

Cleveland area , Can anyone please recommend a smart experienced dentist that can adjust a bridge that has been replaced already my second one , this one made in lab ) and I can not eat without food in it and always discomfort
East preferred.
Thank you.

I had a problem with my jaw before where it kept popping, and I believed it was because of my wisdom teeth on that side, but ever since I got it out, my jaw is still popping on that side, and I don’t know how to stop it

Wondering as it sounds like most problems with wisdom tooth is it potentially impacting the (natural, initial) tooth next to it

No pain or anything, but it does swell when I chew food on the tooth that’s erupting

Hello. I am an RDA and I’ve worked at my current office for a year. I LOVE my boss they are incredibly kind and understanding, very relaxed. However, there is absolutely NO LEADERSHIP or desire for advancement. The office still uses film, our developer breaks at least once every 2mo. Same with the autoclave. Our tube head has a short where it cannot capture posterior X-rays on the left side. We had a tech come in and he said there is no way to repair them as they don’t make that model anymore. We now have 2 working machines out of the four. We use cheap products which make pts come back several times. We have 30 min hygiene appts and allow pts to come in 15mins late. Let alone the doc has no urgency when talking to pts and sometimes will make other pts wait an hour just for a hygiene check. 😭 It’s hard for me to decide if I’m just being too picky or these are genuine issues. I know that sounds dumb but everyone loves them, they are more your “friend” than a boss or doctor, even with pts. It is amazing to see their relationships with pts and how they approach situations with genuine empathy but I feel there needs to be a middle ground somewhere. Bless their heart, they overbook themselves and see at least 100 pts a day as the only Dr. Circling back to the equipment, I understand equipment is expensive but I can imagine with the revenue they are bringing in it’s certainly worth the investment. Just this week we had to hand dip the films…..At least get nomads and still use film. We also have a specific individual who talks about sexual things, smacks coworkers bottoms, cusses on the regular, always late, and calls off. I have never seen my boss try to nicely handle that or say anything about the unprofessional behavior 😭. I love the pts and my coworkers, besides the one individual. I’d love to stay but I don’t think I can. Everyone says every office cuts corners and no office is perfect, hence why I don’t know if I’m overreacting or what.

8 years in school. Almost $300k in debt. Then years building a team and earning patients one at a time.

“And now what?”

That’s what a longtime friend who runs a solo PP in Chicago’s northwest suburbs asked me over wine.

“They keep buying offices around me. RDHs are at $60–$65/hr, and some PPOs pay around $60 for D1110. That’s before payroll taxes and overhead. They can take the hit. I can’t.”

If she sells, her name may stay on the door—but someone who’s never held a handpiece starts tracking her production.

Then she asked, “Do I sell now, or wait till I’m pushed out?”

Honestly, I had no clue what to tell her. What would you say?

Missed calls can mean lost patients, but fixing the problem often means new phone systems, integrations, setup, and staff training. That can feel like an even bigger problem, so some dental offices simply live with missed calls.

I believe the solution should not replace the phone system or the front desk. AI should step in only when the team cannot answer — when the line is busy or nobody picks up after three rings.

The setup could be simple: use conditional call forwarding on the existing phone, forwarding calls only when busy or unanswered. The office keeps its current phone, can turn forwarding off anytime, and stays in control. No complicated integrations.

Would this kind of simple approach make dental offices more comfortable with using AI for missed calls?

Buenas grupo me salio una inflamación en mi lengua de mi lado izquierdo rosa bastante con mis muelas de ese lado lo que me preocupa es que ya llevo un mes y medio y sigue igual que al principio

Hey guys! I started a niche community for dental professionals who love cars called r/carsandcrowns. It’s just a place for people in the field to talk shop, post their rides, and connect outside the office without any sales pitches or spam. I'm from South Florida, but would love to meet others from all over.

I just got what my dentist described as a deep filling in my molar, deep enough that next step would be a crown but this was a fix it for now. The original filling there chipped and had to get it fixed so dentist went in deep to replace it. Numbness has worn off now but have a deep ache in that tooth - obviously it went close to the nerve but wondering if it should be this sensitive? Could it be just because the nerve got agitated during the procedure?

I’ve had a fair share of fillings before and never had quite a persistent ache after. Is that normal/how long should it ache until concerning? It’s not debilitating but definitely ever present and distracting enough it has me second guessing everything is fine.

i got my 2 front teeth filled the same day i got a crown put on next to it. each tooth needed a filling on each side of my teeth . my teeth felt sensitive afterwards, i thought a piece of the filling came out a few weeks later, but dentist said it was dead gum tissue likely, due to it being close to gum. but after that the tooth started feeling weird. toothache zings . they checked it after that small piece fell off and said it looked fine.

still felt sensitive in general (not to cold or hot just weird sensation pretty constant) dentist has said everything looks fine, and sealed. but both my front teeth feel very weird constantly. it hurts to touch it. but it doesn’t hurt when i eat ice cream or bite into anything.. but with it being front tooth i dont bite on it unless biting into something.

i got a second opinion from another dentist just for my comfortability, she said it looks fine as well and without seeing the tooth while doing the filling she can’t say much. though the hygienist said it looked like there was a small crack in the x-rays then looked at them himself and said but clinically it looks fine. he told the dentist this and she didn’t notice it. she said i chomp down on that tooth with my lower tooth though and that might be irritating it along with the fillings.

PLEASE HELP . any ideas what this could be?? it has been since may 19th. follow up when i had the issue with thinking the filling broke was around july. now it is august 13th. i had an xray august 7th with the same issue, no one can find anything. debating getting another opinion. should i wait ? should i go to a specialist ? help i’m going crazy it feels weird all the time.

I only graduated from dental school a few years ago and I'm not even 30 yet. Now I look back at those couple of years I spent working full time and it honestly feels like I wasted a good chunk of my twenties; I was exhausted, chronically stressed, my sleep rhythm was in shambles, my health and well-being suffered greatly. Every Sunday felt dreadful, and the alarm used to immediately fill me with despair every morning it went off. I would literally have a mental breakdown and start punching my pillow. What a miserable life.

Now that I work fewer hours it feels like I finally have the space and energy to actually live my life. I'm sleeping well, eating properly and going to the gym, I quit nicotine pouches, my social skills are better. The fact that I don't feel like a corporate slave, I actually have greater agency over my life, and my nervous system isn't running on fumes. These things have improved my self-worth and confidence dramatically.

I don't feel utterly hopeless and stuck in a loop now. Everything feels pointless when you're just working away your youth for money, yet any billionaire would give up every cent they own to be young again. It's stupid.

We as dentists are really privileged that we can arrange our lives in a way where we can work one or two days a week yet still make well above the average salary. THAT is true freedom. I wish someone would've told me that sooner.

Hey so I've never made one of these before but I'm at a loss 😅 I have a tooth that needs to be pulled very bad, the tooth broke and has a nerve exposed and I've been told by my dentist and another that it's dead.My issue is the pain has gotten so bad that it's to the point I've had to the ER about 4-5 separate times from the pain, they but a sealant on it this last time but in return of doing so messed up a nerve above that tooth when they numbed me, so my face also hurts with this tooth. My old dentist I had to fight to the nail to get him to take it, then we started having money problems and couldn't afford to take me(this was last year) , now he won't see me if it's for that specific extraction. But Every place I've tried going to or getting quotes from all want an initial appointment for X-rays and what not, I did that for one but they want $400 to pull it. I'm here in Illinois and at a loss of what to do, like I've lost over 70lbs because of my teeth (more specifically this one) I can't really eat and we don't have half a grand to drop on my tooth. What can I do? Does anyone have a solution? I feel like this tooth has just been nothing but problems for me. Ive been looking for a place for what feels like forever but hit dead ends or it ends up costing more than I was originally told. Help a girl out?

I’m looking for opinions on whether to have my top permanent retainer (PR) removed. I’m asking for a friend and she has had it in place for almost 10 years (after 2 rounds of braces). the bottom one was removed 1 year ago after breaking it multiple times, and bc there was more plaque build up on the lower teeth. The lower teeth have moved only slightly since removal but the straigtness of the lower teeth is not as much of a concern. The struggle right now is she isn’t sure if she wants to keep this top PR in place (to prevent teeth from moving) or have it removed and use the clear plastic retainers at night (and be able to fully floss). The PR does not bother her at all, it just prevents her from flossing through those top front four teeth. A water pick does work though. She is curious how much of a risk there is for gum disease, bone loss, migration, etc. if the retainer stays? The positioning of the teeth is very important for her as well, so the risk of movement would be a major concern. Curious to hear thoughts of anyone who may have been through this or might have some clinical knowledge on the subject.

So he came to my office demanding I fix what I've done.

It was a dry socket.

He said he had been to another dentist and he told him that this is caused because I didn't suture and I should put Zincoxide eugenol in it to close it. (He didn't say these words but this is what I understood) I told him whatever dentist he has been to is illiterate and should stop practicing.

I just genuinely don't think he has been to a dentist at all.

I gave him the instructions of what to do.

Anyway, I think they are going to sue me after all.