Dentaltown

**When Should a Dentist Fire an Employee?**

It's one of the hardest calls a practice owner makes: is an underperforming employee the problem, or is the system around them? This article digs into how to tell the difference, covering hiring, training, objective performance measurement, and whether someone's had a fair shot to improve before termination becomes the answer everyone jumps to too quickly.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10055/when-should-a-dentist-fire-an-employee

💬 Where do you draw the line between coaching and letting go?

**Calibrating Full-Arch Immediate Prosthetics with Condylar Centric in the Digital Era**

Digital workflows have transformed full-arch implant dentistry, but Dr. Adam Hogan makes clear they don't fix a bad foundation. In this case, improper vertical dimension and condylar positioning led to a prosthetic failure that no amount of digital precision could correct after the fact. His takeaway: get the jaw relations right before you ever capture a digital record.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10051/calibrating-full-arch-immediate-prosthetics-with-condylar-centric-in-the-digital-era

💬 Has a digital workflow ever masked an old-school foundational error?

**Fluoride Is Not an Upsell: It Is a Recommendation**

Is fluoride a clinical necessity or an add-on sale?

This article makes the case that fluoride recommendations should be driven by evidence of caries risk, not insurance coverage, pointing to ADA guidance that supports fluoride for high-risk patients regardless of reimbursement. The framework: diagnose first, explain second, recommend third, no matter what the plan will pay.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10056/fluoride-is-not-an-upsell-it-is-a-recommendation

💬 How does your practice talk about fluoride with patients?

Stop the Wiggle

That instinctive wiggling motion during extractions? Dr. Jackson Bean says it's doing more harm than good. He makes the case that the traditional back-and-forth habit can damage the periodontal ligament, and walks through a twist-and-hold technique using ligament-expanding instruments that better preserves the socket for a future implant. It's a small adjustment with real downstream benefits for restorative planning and patient comfort.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10048/stop-the-wiggle

💬 Have you already made the switch away from wiggling?

Voco's MTA vpt is a tricalcium silicate pulp-capping material designed to keep your workflow moving, allowing immediate restorative coverage without an interruption.

This profile covers its biocompatibility, higher compressive strength compared to earlier MTA formulations, and a light-blue-to-white color-change indicator, useful for both direct and indirect pulp capping and pulpotomy on permanent and primary teeth alike in daily practice.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10059/product-profile-mta-vpt

💬 Have you tried MTA vpt in your practice yet?

**Industry Insights: Office Management Appreciation Month**

September is Office Management Appreciation Month, and this year's theme is "Let's Bloom."

This Industry Insights piece, featuring CareCredit's Angela Martinez and AADOM's Chavelle Galton-Rice, shares specific ways to recognize your office manager, ideas for celebrating all month long, and how to tie appreciation to real professional development rather than a single card or lunch out on a random Friday.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10058/industry-insights-office-management-appreciation-month

💬 How is your practice celebrating OMAM this year?

**Why Your Incentive Program Isn't Working**

If your bonus structure isn't moving the needle, the problem probably isn't the money.

Flint Geier of Scheduling Institute argues that incentive programs only work when they're built on a foundation of ownership and team empowerment. He breaks down how consistent training, accountability, and recognition turn a paycheck bump into lasting performance gains that actually stick around after the bonus is spent.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10047/why-your-incentive-program-isnt-working

💬 Has an incentive program actually changed behavior on your team?

**Howard Speaks: The DSO Debt Reckoning**

DSOs built on cheap debt are hitting a wall.

Dr. Howard Farran looks at recent restructurings at Affordable Care, DCA, and Aspen Dental, and what they reveal about leverage, cash flow, and rollover equity now that rates aren't so friendly. For private practice owners, it's a cautionary tale worth reading closely, especially if you've ever weighed a DSO offer yourself.

👉 https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/10046/howard-speaks-the-dso-debt-reckoning

💬 Do you think DSO consolidation slows down from here, or is this just a bump?