The end of 2017 is wrapping up a solid year of incredible dental blogs from our talented Pankey contributors. Our posts featured everything from techniques for occlusion and orthodontics to practice management and leadership.

There are tons of useful tips and plenty of information for dentists at every stage of their career on the Pankey Gram. Here, we’re compiling five pieces of sound advice from blogs in 2017 that are sure to get you excited for another year of practicing dentistry your way.

As Pankey dentists, we continue to strive for greater learning and growth in our professional and personal lives. Revitalize your hunger for education with these thought-provoking tips:

5 Clinical Tips From 2017 Pankey Blogs

1. Consider physiologic changes that occur over a lifetime when planning restorative dentistry.

In his blog on ‘Adult Growth of the Dental Arch,’ Dr. Roger Solow explored the slow craniofacial growth that can affect dentistry throughout a patient’s life.

2. Set splint therapy fees in such a way that you can actually make money off them.

In his blog, ‘How to Set Splint Therapy Fees,’ Dr. James Otten described how to individualize splint therapy fees and more accurately estimate therapeutic time.

3. Think like an orthodontist when advising patients on post-ortho care.

In her blog, ‘How Long Should Patients Wear Their Retainers Post-Ortho?’, Dr. Lee Ann Brady laid out important considerations for dealing with questions about retainers.

4. Recognize when patients are in denial and practice empathy toward them.

In her blog on communication, ‘From Denial to Acceptance and Action,’ Mary Osborne RDH enlightened with a description of patient denial in dentistry.

5. Improve you protocol for restorations by adding another dental assistant.

In his blog, ‘6-Handed Bonding,’ Dr. Mike Crete made his case for why an extra dental assistant can benefit dentists dealing with adhesive dentistry and tricky restorations.

And there you have it folks. Best wishes for 2018! 

Patients tend to want to spend as little time as possible in their retainers after orthodontic treatment. It’s common in my practice for patients to ask me how long they have to wear them, with the implicit understanding that an extended time period is undesirable.

As dentists, we don’t want to give the patient bad news, but we also want to ensure they receive the best healthcare possible. In this case, we can benefit most from looking at the question with an orthodontist’s perspective.

Though there isn’t a ‘right’ answer, we can find one that will serve our purposes best.

Why You Need a Strategy for Dealing With Questions About Retainers

I dislike questions about retainers because there isn’t a simple answer. It makes me uncomfortable when patients ask. For one thing, practicing dentistry has shown me the evidence that relapse occurs after ortho.

Patients will ask about retainers immediately at the end of their Invisalign trays or even years later when they still have a lingual wire. Instead of speculating about how to respond, I’d like to consult with an expert.

The short answer to orthodontic retention is that it’s never OK for patients to stop wearing retainers. But clearly this is not going to be satisfactory for many patients.

The long answer requires us to ask orthodontists:

1. What with regard to retention is the orthodontist responsible for?
2. When does their responsibility end?
3. What do I do if I have a patient whose orthodontist cannot or will not see them for retention?
4. Should I be responsible for a patient’s retention?
5. If so, what should I know about retainers?

It’s likely we will have to deal with patients curious about their retainers. This means we should have a strategy in place to answer their questions.

Look for the next blog with answers to these questions soon … How do you respond to patients in this tricky situation? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments!