One of the biggest and best industry meetings is this week. It's time for the Chicago Dental Society's MidWinter Meeting!
I'll be back next week with some reports on what I saw and what happened. It's hard to post on the road, so thanks for understanding!
First off, I try to be humble. No one wants someone else to always be droning on and on about themselves. However, I'm also a firm believer in celebrating your successes. I think, especially in dentistry, it's easy to ignore your successes and focus on your failures. So, with that out of the way, I want to celebrate a recent success...
Today I received word that The Dental Podcast Directory announced their results for the "Top 25 Dental Podcasts of 2025". In the 2025 voting, The Technology Evangelist Podcast came in at #7!!!
I'm incredibly honored and excited about this, which probably goes without saying. We only started releasing episodes in May of 2025 and I've been stunned by the reception we've received across the industry. Of course, like I've said here before, a podcast is nothing without an audience and I am *so* grateful for all of you who listen and watch every week.
I have been writing for dental publications since about 1998, but the one drawback to analog articles is that the author never knows if it was read by 1 person or 100k. That's what brought me into blogging. I could tell how many people were reading. I could actually look at the numbers and see if I was covering topics people were interested in.
However, video is a completely different animal. It allows the audience to actually get to know the people and to get some insights into what they are all about. To that end, I've really worked to bring a wide variety of guests in. There are so many interesting people in our industry and often they work behind the scenes. I've tried to give some of those people a way for everyone to meet them and understand what they do. It takes a huge number of smart people to keep dentistry moving forward and I love giving people a chance to tell their stories, provide their information, and let others learn about them.
If you voted for us, thank you! Rest assured there are many more episodes to come!
If you'd like to watch or listen, you can find us on the following platforms:
I'll gladly admit that I am a dental materials geek. I've always been fascinated by the 'why' and the 'how' of things. To be completely honest, I didn't realize how much that would come into play as a dentist. I was always drawn to the field and that interest started when I was just three years old. At that time in my life, I had no idea how much my choice to enter dentistry would factor into that interest. Because of that I've tended to do a deep dive on many of my materials choices over the years. One of the things that really piqued my interest was the subject of adhesive dentistry and composites.
There are a lot composite restorative materials on the market, but there are lots of differences between them. For sure the category is not a 'one size fits all' kind of thing. I've always been a guy who keeps a few different products around so that I can completely match a difficult anterior case. Sometimes I use a less aesthetic material in the posterior because the patient has a high caries rate. There are a lot of variables when it comes to materials *and* patients.
Then you factor in costs. Do you want to keep your money tied up in several different lines of composite? Can those resources be better served elsewhere? Doctors routinely are confronted with these, sometimes difficult, decisions every day.
Today let's discuss a way around that dilemma. SHOFU has a terrific material called Beautifil II LS and it is pretty amazing. The material is a nano-hybrid. Why is that important? Nano-hybrids have incredibly tiny filler particles and that makes them polish incredibly well. That's critical in anterior restorations. In the case of Beautifil II LS that structure also combines to create light transmission and diffusion properties similar to both dentin and enamel. That helps the material to blend really well and minimizes the need to layer to create life-like restorations. The polish and optics make this a great material choice for restorations in the cosmetic zone.
However, aesthetics are just one aspect that make Beautifil II LS a terrific restorative choice. It is a truly universal composite which is suitable for the posterior as well. Those same nano-particles are also amazingly important in posterior restorations. The material is highly filled (83.3%) and that high filler load gives it strong resistance to wear (0.52%) as well as low volumetric shrinkage (<2%) which gives it incredible strength under occlusal loading.
Beautifil II LS also contains SHOFU's proprietary Giomer Technology. There is a big focus for restorative materials to have "bioactivity", and I think that is a good thing. However, we don't have a lot of long term data on many of those materials. Giomer Technology has been around and in use for about 20 years and has a great track record.
Giomer is super interesting. It is a surface pre-reacted glass-ionomer (S-PRG) filler that was developed by SHOFU. It basically creates a hybrid material that has glass-ionomer like fluoride release and ion exchange being imbedded in a composite that has incredible aesthetics & polish.
However, just because it's *similar* to glass-ionomer, it also has some tremendous advantages. Giomer particles release:
A short post for today, but it's information I want to be sure you see.
We're only a week away from the Chicago MidWinter Meeting and I'm really excited to be heading there. As most of you know, I've been working with Medidenta on helping get the word out about the world of digital dentistry.This year on Thursday I'll be spending some time in the Medidenta booth with is number 2715. You'll see it readily identified as "Medidenta" and "Prophy Magic" (which is one of the biggest selling brands).
If you're planning on being in Chicago and stop by the exhibit hall, please come by and say hello. I'll be there to discuss the whole concept of "digital dentistry" and what the future holds. Medidenta has an entire line of equipment devoted to that goal and I'd love to talk to you about it and answer any questions. I'm super excited about the future of the profession. For years we've heard the term "digital workflows" but now, thanks to companies like Medidenta, it's actually a reality. So please stop by and see what the future has in store. I know you'll be as impressed as I am.
Dentistry is about to see some major changes in how we practice and I'm excited to share some of those with you. So be sure to stop by booth 2715 on Thursday. I'd love to meet with you and answer questions.
On Friday I'll be doing a lecture with Dr. Paul Feuerstein and Dr. Marty Jablow in the morning and then I'm participating in a panel Q&A with Paul, Marty, and Dr. David Rice on Friday afternoon. If you happen to be at either course, please come up and say hi.
I'm a Kansas City guy. I grew up in the area and never left. College? University of Missouri - Kansas City. Dental school? UMKC as well. I'm a midwest guy and I probably will be for the rest of my life.
Now KC doesn't have a lot of exciting things. We're just big enough to have an NFL team and my beloved KC Royals. We're also not big enough to have a lot of big city problems, which is one of the things I love. Yet, we *are* just big enough to have some cool things come to the area. About a decade ago, I was one of the first people in the US to have Google Fiber. KC was an early market for Google and I quickly had fiber both in my home as well as my office.
Now comes word of another cool tech coming to the area. In case you haven't heard, Amazon has been working on drone delivery for a few years now. The idea is for customers to order and within a short amount of time a delivery drone flies into your yard and delivers the goods. I'm not going to get into all the potential problems that come with drone delivery. Anytime a new tech comes along, there are always naysayers and there are usually problems. That goes with the category of improvement.
No, I'm not about the problems, I'm about the cool tech factor in this. I've been flying drones for years. Heck, I actually was buzzing my DJI around earlier today. My drone history goes back to the first one I flew. I had to buy a kit and I built a hexa-copter that looked more like an Erector Set than a flying machine. Needless to say I'm fascinated by how far drones have evolved. Welcome to Amazon Prime Air.
Amazon's delivery drones are currently capable of carrying five pounds or less and they have a fifteen mile radius. That means for this initial program, if you live within 7.5 miles from the facility, your light weight package may be coming right to your front yard. Even with that small area, Amazon can cover over 177K people and is planning on expanding that in the first half of 2026. KC isn't the first area to see these drones. From what I understand, there are 6 other cities in the US that are currently having deliveries via Amazon Prime Air.
Currently the drones are only flying in daylight hours with that five pound limit. However, those offerings will both expand with time. I'm going to do some digging and see if I can find out more about the navigation system they are using and how truly autonomous these things are. Militaries around the world are flying drones, large ones, routinely with little news of incidents. They have also completely changed the scope of the war in Ukraine. We're seeing tremendous advancements in the area of devices that can fly with minimal human intervention. I'm interested to see what the future holds.
A few years ago Marty came to me with an idea. He was working on creating a live event that would pair emerging dental tech entrepreneurs together with people who understood the business side of the industry. The dental industry is full of inventors and those individuals need to find people to help guide and fund their project into the business side of things.
That idea is now fully formed and in its second year. Marty's idea became the Dental VIP Summit. Last year it was an incredible event and this year looks to surpass that one on a whole bunch of levels. It is being held next week on February 18th in Chicago, which is the Wednesday before the Chicago MidWinter Meeting kicks off. If you are interested in seeing the future of the profession, I *highly recommend attending*!!! The official lineup is a who's who of people in the industry. I'll be there and I hope many of you will be as well. Read on for all the details...
With less than one month to go before the second annual Dental VIP (Venture, Innovation & Partnering) Summit, the promoters have released its final agenda, confirming a third keynote speaker and an expanded roster of speakers, panelists, and innovation showcase companies.
The boutique, invitation-driven conference will take place the day before the Chicago Midwinter Meeting on February 18, 2026, at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, bringing together dental entrepreneurs, investors, venture capital leaders, DSOs, clinicians, and industry executives for a full day of insight, deal-flow, and strategic collaboration.
“The Dental VIP Summit was built to be highly curated, highly relevant, and highly actionable,” said Marty Jablow, DMD, Co-Chair of the Summit. “With the addition of a third keynote and a significantly expanded speaker lineup, this year’s program reflects the accelerating convergence of dentistry, technology, venture capital, and new care delivery models.”
A-List Leadership and Expanded Keynote Program
Along with Dr. Jablow, the 2026 Dental VIP Summit is co-chaired by Jeremy Krell, DMD, MBA, Managing Partner, Revere Partners; and Travis Rodgers, President, Dental Venture Capital.
The finalized keynote program now features three nationally recognized industry leaders, including:
Together, the keynote addresses will explore the future of dental-medical integration, DSO evolution, innovation adoption, and capital formation in oral health.
Finalized Program Reflects the Full Spectrum of Dental Innovation
The updated agenda now includes:
Rather than listing the full speaker and panelist roster, organizers are directing attendees and media to the live agenda page, which reflects real-time updates as final participants are confirmed. View the full, updated agenda: https://www.dentalvipsummit.com/agenda
The Lifetime Innovator Award Debuts at the Summit
The Lifetime Innovator Award, presented for the first time during this year’s Dental VIP Summit, recognizes an individual whose career-long commitment to innovation has made a lasting impact on the dental industry. This honor celebrates visionary leadership, transformative contributions, and sustained influence that have advanced dentistry and shaped the future of oral healthcare.
Limited Attendance and Hotel Block Now Open
Attendance at the Dental VIP Summit is intentionally limited to preserve its highly curated, relationship-driven format. Registration will remain open until seating sells out https://www.dentalvipsummit.com/registration
About the Dental VIP Summit
The Dental VIP (Venture, Innovation & Partnering) Summit was created to showcase transformative dental technologies and accelerate innovation across the global oral-health community. The program unites entrepreneurs, investors, key opinion leaders, clinicians, and industry executives to foster collaboration, evaluate emerging solutions, and advance technologies that elevate patient care and business performance.
Of course, I also love tech and over the years endodontics has seen its fair share of amazing devices that make endo easier and more predictable. Many of the techniques and technologies that have been developed over the years are things to better debride and clean the canal. However, up until now it's been impossible to know how clean the canal really is. As the well known endodontist Dr. Brett Gilbert likes to say, "You can't see clean on an x-ray."
Endodontic instrumentation is important, but of equal importance is irrigation. It helps remove debris and to kill any remaining pathogens that can cause problems or reinfection at a later date. Many doctors spend a fair amount of time in this disinfection phase of the procedure. Of course the human eye cannot see pathogens, so we depend on irrigation to eliminate them. The problem has always been being confident the canal is clean... how we be sure when we have no way of determining that.
That problem is now solved with a new device from Vista-Apex Solutions called the Endocator. The device is a highly precise unit that is the first and only chairside device that detects trace amounts of ATP and other biomarkers inside the canal.
Once irrigation and disinfection have been completed, before obturation is started, a sample of sterile water is placed into the canal(s). It's then aspirated and a few drops of that water are applied to a 'test swab'. The swab is placed into a small tube, shaken, and the tube is then placed into the Endocator. The device then scans the sample and gives a numerical score indicating the amount of ATP and other biomarkers in the canal.
In the simplest terms, the lower the score, the better the odds of successful treatment. The Endocator removes the guesswork of disinfection. Knowledge is power and this device gives you a much better understanding of your disinfection for every case.
Whenever a new device comes on the market I consider three things...
The device has been studied clinically and has the science to back up its claims. Its inventor, Dr. Randy Cross, has a great history. He graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and worked in the biotech field prior to entering dental school. He graduated dental school and practiced as a general dentist for ten years, before starting an Endodontic Residency program. His knowledge of both biochemistry and endodontics was the perfect incubator for a device that merges those two branches of science.
I saw the device when it was in its infancy and I've watched its development closely. As a doctor who loves endodontics, I've been wanting to tell the profession about it for a while, but now that's available for purchase I wanted to be one of the first to give you the news. It's pretty remarkable and can give you much more confidence in your endodontic procedures. Personally, I'm a big fan and I highly recommend it.
Also, Dr. Cross will be a guest on an upcoming episode of "The Technology Evangelist Podcast" so you'll be able to learn much more about his story and the story of the Endocator.
