Dentistry Uncensored With Howard Farran

Karen Daw is an award-winning national speaker, author of numerous articles and CE courses on safety in dentistry, and a consultant to practices across the country. She earned her BA from the Ohio State University and her MBA with concentrations in Healthcare Administration and Business Management. After graduation, Karen was recruited from the Emergency Department to her roles as Assistant Director of Sterilization Monitoring and Health and Safety Director for the OSU College of Dentistry. Karen draws on her rich background to educate audiences large and small on how NOT to do safety, and, best practices to avoid penalties, negative reviews and the 6 o’clock news!

Syed graduated with a Bachelors in Dental Surgery in India and decided to move to the United States for a better life. He and his gorgeous wife Ameena moved to Chicago and fell in love with it. After several struggles he got accepted into NYU Royal College of Surgeons' one year Oral Surgery certificate program for international Dentists. After completing that he joined University of Illinois at Chicago where he earned his DMD in the International Dentist Degree Program in 2015. After his graduation he associated for 4 different practices, figuring out different practice philosophies with his mentors and learning everything from building a practice to running a multi million dollar practice. He did his first practice in April 2016 in Chicago with 6 chairs and now is running 11 very successful practices hiring over 30 associates and 5 specialists. His goal is to make dentistry predictable, affordable, accessible and comfortable.

Matthew Cooke is the Vice President of Consulting Strategy at Call Box. For the past 10 years, Matt has worked with thousands of healthcare organizations to improve their strategic operations, optimize their caller experience, capitalize on marketing efforts, and streamline operational workflow. He's led numerous webinars and speaking engagements, specifically in the dental industry. Prior to his time at Call Box, Matt led project teams at Epic Systems, consulting with healthcare organizations of all sizes across the United States. Kimeran Johnson is the Director of Client Acquisition at Scheduling Institute. For the past 15 years, Kimeran has worked with dentists and their teams to streamline processes in the practice around new patient acquisition. She helps them leverage data and training to produce greater results in marketing and team performance. Kimeran has experience in training, management and marketing. A fun fact is Kimeran trained Howard Farran’s Today’s Dental team a decade ago on the 5-Star New

In his professional career Dr. Tahmasebi has done research and development work on laser whitening as the Medical Director of BriteSmile Company, introducing laser whitening globally. Subsequently, serving as C.E.O of Glamsmile in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, he then became the Vice President of Education as well as Research and Development at DenMat where he invented and brought many products to market including FirstFit Technologies. He continued the research and development of FirstFit at Viax Dental Technologies where he served as President and C.S.O. Today, Dr. Tahmasebi manages the FirstFit Technology for Global Distribution. In the course of his work at these companies he has introduced many products to dentistry, including a Diode laser, lesion detection light, the One Hour Veneer system, and most recently the invention of First Fit Minimally Invasive Technologies. He has appeared as a dental expert on CNN, CBS, ABC and other TV networks. He is recently featured on the cover of Inside Dentistry magazine

Kim Wright, DMD, MAGD is a 1989 graduate from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. She was born and raised in Alaska, At 21 she decided she better go to college, not sure what she wanted to do but knew what she did not want to do and she set off in a path that landed her in dentistry. She has been involved in organized dentistry her entire career and what she is most passionate about is education. Bringing great speakers, topics and innovation to Portland to share with her colleagues. The past 18 months she has been immersed in helping form the Oregon AGD Foundation which has built the Oregon AGD Foundation Center, “Where service meets education."

Carl Guthrie is with ETS Dental. He is the Regional Director of Recruiting covering the Southwestern U.S. including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Hawaii. ETS Dental was founded in 2001 by Mark Kennedy and is headquartered in Roanoke, VA. They specialize in locating and placing General Dentists and Dental Specialists with independent practices across the country. They have conducted searches in all 50 states for thousands of practices seeking Associates, Partners, and Buyers. ETS Dental’s recruiting team is made up of 6 general dentist recruiters and 2 dental specialist recruiters.

Kiltesh Patel is Founder and CEO at tab32, a cloud-based technology platform designed for better oral healthcare outcomes. The company provides the patient health record and practice management services for dental practices, and member outreach and education programs for population health. Prior to tab32, Kiltesh was the Director, Health Sciences at the University of California where he utilized data for medical informatics, genomics and translational science research activities. Earlier, he joined Mapquest.com/AOL as the Architect and was instrumental in developing migration strategies of legacy technologies and positioning products in highly competitive international markets.

Leo Pranitis has over 30 years of professional experience in various commercial roles, primarily within the dental industry. He has built and led sales, marketing and R&D teams that have produced award-winning, market-leading products, several of which continue to hold premier market share positions within the global dental market. In addition to his current role as General Manager for Prisyna Oral Healthcare, his previous roles include Vice President of Sales & Marketing, North America, for Southern Dental Industries (global dental manufacturer headquartered in Melbourne, Australia), Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Sonendo (early stage, venture-backed endodontic device, Laguna Niguel, California), and Vice President, Global Marketing and Innovation at Kavo Kerr (previously, Kerr Dental), a Danaher company. During his time at Kerr, Leo directed all new product development and commercialization of a global portfolio that generated over $300 million annually. Leo has been directly involved and

Dr. Paul Etchison is a practicing dentist in a south suburb of Chicago called New Lenox. He is the author of Dental Practice Hero: From Ordinary Practice to Extraordinary Experience. He is the host of the Dental Practice Heroes Podcast. Recently, along with Dr. Justin Bhullar, Dr. Etchison founded Dental Business Mentor, an online curriculum teaching all things dental business, as well as systems used in his practice. He currently practices only 6 days/month, and enjoys 12 weeks off per year. Dr. Etchison is married and has two daughters, Briella (8) and Alyssa (4).

Dr. David Guy, Hollie Bryant of Bryant Consultants, and Dr. Kevin Martin talk about the shooting that happened in Dr. Guy's practice in February that killed his office manager, the journey of transition with his dental practice and where he is now. This is a story that will touch your heart with the success that has come from Dr. Guy surviving this horrific event and encourage you to get prepared for what life may throw your way.

Dr. Pullen graduated from USC dental school in 1999. He then completed a 1 year AEGD in the Army Dental Corps in 2000. Dr. Pullen served 3 years in Landstuhl, Germany in the U.S. Army and then practiced as a general dentist for two years in Yorba Linda, CA. Dr. Pullen attended the Long Beach VA endodontic program and graduated in 2006. He opened a private practice limited to Endodontics in Brea, CA in 2007 and became board certified in endodontics in 2013. Dr. Pullen lives in Yorba Linda with his wonderful wife of 23 years and has two teenage girls and a 20 year old boy. His hobbies include speaking, surfing, Brazilian JiuJitsu, reading, and golf.

Matt has a bachelor’s degree from BYU, a masters of business from ASU and is a certified business appraiser. He has been engaged as a consultant by Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health. Matt is one of 20 Certified Valuation Analysts (CVA) nationwide who specialize in dental practice valuations. In the past, he has been engaged by some of the largest national DSOs and some private dentist-groups looking to sell or join private equity groups. On the topic of practice valuations, Matt has been engaged by dentists to provide expert witness testimony at trial and retained as a consultant by some of Arizona’s top law firms. He has successfully transitioned over 150 general and specialty practices in Arizona, including some of the largest transactions in the last decade. Matt has been a guest on numerous podcasts, spoken at dozens of CE events, study clubs and symposiums and has authored multiple articles published in the Arizona ADA magazine.

Jason Patrick Wood is a partner in the Law Firm of Wood & Delgado, a law firm focused on business transactions for dentists and doctors: leases, purchase agreements, partnership agreements, shareholders agreements, corporations, associate agreements and other business-related legal needs.  He has authored many articles relative to the business side of dentistry which have appeared in every major dental publication. His CE podcasts pertaining to the business side of dentistry are some of the most viewed dental podcasts in the country. He is a moderator for Dentaltownon all forums related to the business side of dentistry and enjoys helping and educating doctors throughout the United States. Prior to joining Wood & Delgado, Mr. Wood worked in Washington, D.C. for the Speaker of the House in connection with Presidential and U.S. Congressional campaigns and thereafter he worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, drafting legislation for various House committees. 

David has an educational background in accounting and finance.  Professionally he has owned, operated and sold a business which experience he uses to benefit his clients.  His career in banking began as an analyst / underwriter.  Currently he holds the title of Vice President and Business Banker at First Citizens bank specializing in dental finance.  Previously he taught and assisted in developing B475 – Financing New ventures for BYU – Idaho.  David was inducted to Beta Gamma Sigma recognizing his high scholastic achievement in business school.  He likes fast cars, motorcycles, greek food, and fishing.  He is blessed with a beautiful wife and two sons. 

Amir Abolfathi is co-founder of uLab Systems. He has over 32 years of operating experience in the healthcare industry focused on developing and commercializing cardiovascular devices, dental products, hearing prosthetics, and genomic diagnostics & analytics. Prior to uLab, he founded four other medical device startups since 1995. He was VP of R&D at Align Technology responsible for product development and clinical education during the first six years of Align inception. Prior to Align Technology, Amir held a variety of executive positions at Pfizer, Guidant, and Baxter-Edwards. Amir holds over 100 issued patents. Amir received an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Southern California and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. Charlie Wen is the cofounder and president of uLabSystems, an AI based software company to enable doctors to create computer assisted treatment solutions in office. A serial entrepreneur, Charlie has cofounded several compani

Ed is nationally regarded for his disability practice and unparalleled track record of success over the past 26 years. His practice is unique. Unlike other disability attorneys, he only represents professionals (dentists, physicians, executives, other attorneys)—but, as he will discuss, most of his clients are dentists. Ed is consistently named on the Top 500 business leaders in Arizona by Arizona Business Magazine. His firm is ranked #1 in Healthcare in Arizona, over national firms, because of his niche professional disability practice. Ed is sought out for his expertise in this industry, and media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and U.S. New and World Report reach out to him when they have questions about industry news and developments. We’ve had Ed on the podcast before, and it’s always great to get his input on what’s going on in the disability industry, and specifically, how dentists are impacted. Ed’s also done some CEs and articles for Dentaltown that are available on Dentaltown.com, and is wor

Bob has a love of learning, a desire to grow people, and a history of integrity in all his interactions. He has been afforded many opportunities in his personal and professional life. His experience in marketing has given him the ability to communicate effectively. Bob adamantly subscribes to the "seek first to understand, then be understood" concept espoused by Stephen Covey. This process has given Bob the ability to help groups breakthrough stalemates and develop "win-win" strategies in his personal consulting business. A vast professional background includes leadership positions in communications, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and transportation. Bob is a servant leader who came to lead Dental Planet through their next steps of growth in 2017. Personally, Bob is a Christian who attempts to live out his faith everyday. He enjoys travelling and spending time with his family. His community service primarily centers around his work as a Trustee on the Wichita Falls ISD school board, where he has served si

Dr. Seena Patel currently serves as the Associate Director of Oral Medicine and Associate Professor at the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health at A.T. Still University. She is also an associate at Southwest Orofacial Group in Phoenix, AZ, limiting her practice to orofacial pain, oral medicine, and dental sleep medicine since 2012. She is a Diplomate of both the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Board of Oral Medicine. Dr. Patel simultaneously earned her dental and master’s in public health degrees from the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health in 2010, and completed a 2-year residency in both orofacial pain and oral medicine at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California in 2012. Her educational interests are in myofascial pain, head and neck cancer and dental management, oral mucosal diseases, management of obstructive sleep apnea with mandibular advancement devices, and the dental management of medically complex patients. She has authored

Doctor Oleg Drut is the Chief Clinical Officer of Diamond Braces. He manages 23 current orthodontic locations. He is the leading Invisalign provider in the nation, currently completed or having in treatment over 10,000 comprehensive cases using Invisailgn and having supervised or completed over 100K fixed appliances cases during years. He is a mentor to multiple orthodontic specialists and treatment coordinators. Dr. Martin Rabinovich attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he earned his Bachelor of the Arts majoring in the Biological Sciences. He then went on to earn his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. After graduating from dental school, he traveled to Denver, Colorado obtaining his specialty training in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics and earning a Master’s of Science in Dentistry at the University of Colorado. Dr. Rabinovich is an active member of the American Dental Association (ADA), New Jersey Dental Association (NJDA) and the

Dr. Bhola is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. He received his D.D.S. from University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and his certificate and M.S.D. in Periodontics and Implantology from Indiana University School of Dentistry. Dr. Bhola is the former Director of Post-Graduate Periodontics at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and is currently the Director of Advanced Periodontics Institute, a clinical and education center that has locations in Plymouth and Livonia, Michigan. Dr. Bhola is a world-renowned periodontist, clinician and educator with over twenty-six years of clinical experience. His areas of interest include dental implants, oral plastic surgery and advanced bone and soft tissue grafting for teeth and implants. He is the author and developer of the new and innovative LipStaT® procedure for correcting a gummy smile. Dr. Bhola has been featured in several local, national and international news articles. He lectures and conducts several training courses in per