(by Kathryn Gilliam, BA, BSDH, MAAOSH, HIAOMT) Imagine your child turning into a different person, seemingly overnight. Suddenly your sweet, lighthearted child is moody, aggressive, defiant, and anxious. He laughs or cries at inappropriate times. He develops sleep problems and begins wetting the bed and having nightmares. Out of the blue, he has developed obsessive-compulsive behaviors, performs ritualistic repetitive behaviors, …
Don’t Be a Victim
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) Don’t you hate it when your patients blame you for something that wasn’t your fault? My tooth didn’t hurt until YOUUU worked on it. You put my crown on backwards, and now it doesn’t fit! You never told me I had to pay for these x-rays. Or how about the patient who refuses to wear the …
From Residency to Resilience: My Journey to Becoming a Dental Entrepreneur Woman
(by Valerie Woo, DMD) The Early Challenges Balancing the rigors of dental residency while expecting my first child was no small feat. I vividly remember those days, navigating the challenges of pregnancy while diligently working towards my dream of becoming a pediatric dentist. Little did I know, this journey would lay the foundation for my future as a dental entrepreneur, where …
The Golden Rule Reversed
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) The Golden Rule is great, but there is one area in which it is lacking. Howard Farran recently wrote a column in Dentaltown titled, “Follow the Golden Rule.” In it, he offered excellent examples of how we can share our greatest and highest good with patients. When it comes to clinical care, we should only do …
AI Is Transforming Speaker Development… Are We Teaching It?
(by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a shift—one that has quietly, but unmistakably, arrived in the world of speaker development. It happened earlier this month at WEvolution, during Tim McNeely’s powerful fellowship graduation presentation: How to Train Your AI. As he walked us through how to customize and train AI to reflect our unique voice …
Why Every Meeting Planner (and Speaker) Should Say Yes to DSIx Speaking Xtravaganza!
(by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) What if you could meet two dozen seasoned speakers—each with years (or decades) of experience—all in one place, on one powerful day, in one beautifully choreographed event? That’s the magic of DSIx Speaking Xtravaganza, happening September 10, 2027 in Phoenix, Arizona. For planners, it’s a one-stop-shop for discovering talent. For speakers, it’s a rare chance to …
Strong Systems, Strong Practice: Why Your Dental Office Can’t Thrive Without Structure
(by Angela Davis-Sullivan) Imagine designing your dream home with beautiful furniture, elegant flooring, and scenic windows—only to forget the support beams that keep it all standing. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many dental practices do when they focus on vision, training, and even technology, but neglect the systems that hold it all together. In Chapter 6 of *Coming Home to …
The Wake-Up Call for Change
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) I originally wrote this blog post, The Wake-up Call for Change, on March 30, 2021. It has since allowed me to form a beautiful friendship with Parul Dua Makkar, the sister of Manu Dua. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we all knew Manu. Manu had started blogging and had dreams and plans to turn …
Need a Speaker? We’re Here to Help
(by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) Planning a dental meeting comes with a lot of moving parts—and finding the right speaker is one of the most important. You want someone who brings strong, relevant content, understands the dental industry, and connects with your audience. That’s where Dental Speakers Bureau can help. We’ve created a trusted, easy-to-navigate platform designed specifically for dental meeting …
Live Your Inner Path
An Invitation to Brave Souls at the Crossroads (by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) There comes a moment when the external world no longer offers what we seek. The news, the noise, the norms—we see through them. And we feel the quiet tug. The sacred nudge. The invitation to turn inward. That is the beginning of living your inner path. For me, …