Mother of Pearls Conference 2021 Speakers
Speaker Bios and Topics
Lisa Alvetro
May the Forces Be with You: Clinical Pearls from 19 years in the Class II Universe.
Dr. Lisa Alvetro is a recognized orthodontist and lecturer known for delivering the highest standards of care while focusing on the entire patient experience. She has been invited to teach not only in the United States but worldwide as well. Dr. Lisa is well known for her passion in Class II correction and more recently as an early adopter of technology with the establishment of Alvetro Orthodontics 3D lab in 2015.
Her dedication to the orthodontic profession led her to become an advocate for 3M Oral Care, for whom she has collaborated with extensively since 2007. She also consults with 3Shape on various development projects and multiple 3D printer companies as a beta tester and advisor. Dr. Alvetro also conducts an in-office digital workshop for orthodontists and their teams entitled “Maximize practice efficiency with digital workflow.” Dr. Alvetro received her D.D.S. summa cum laude from Ohio State University and completed her residency at Case Western Reserve University. She currently is an Associate Clinical Professor at CWU where her most recent project was establishing their digital workflow and 3D print lab. As a firm believer in giving back, Dr. Lisa created several foundations. Smiles of Hope is working with housing, water, education, farming and nutrition in the village of Tarime, Tanzania. Her foundation St. Jude Dental Cooperative is a volunteer orthodontic clinic providing services in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia.
Class II correction is a challenge that orthodontists face every day in clinical practice. The use of Forsus as a Class II corrector is an efficient and effective way to correct various types of malocclusions. The key is knowing all the tricks to design the optimal force system using various installation techniques and arch wire selections. Dr. Alvetro will share her 19 years of experience using Forsus to ensure that your results in Class II cases are something to get excited about.
- Tips on creating a force system to accomplish your treatment goals
- Pearls on optimizing facial esthetics
- Thinking beyond simple Class II
Dan Bills
Say What? The Difference Between What You are Saying and What People are Hearing!
Dr. Dan Bills is an avid(yet barely competent) golfer and an amateur BBQ aficionado who enjoys spending as much time as possible with his wife Emily and his daughter Caroline. Dr. Billsreceived his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Lafayette College and his dental degree from Harvard University, both with Honors, after which he completed a three-year orthodontic residency at the University of Illinois. Heis a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. He maintains a state-of-the-art private practice, Innovative Orthodontics, with three locations in Southern New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. He has been honored as “Teacher of the Year” by the University of Pennsylvania Department of Orthodontics and by the Department of Dentistry at Virtua Hospital. He lectures regularly at orthodontic meetings, both stateside and abroad, and gives in-office courses about a variety of clinical topics as well as how to better utilize technology in the orthodontic office. One of his greatest passions is teaching his colleagues how to work smarter and, consequently, live better.
Orthodontists come into contact with hundreds of people every day–patients, parents, team members, dental colleagues, and more. Every one of these interactions is an opportunity to convince or reassure that they are the obvious choice for orthodontic care. However, quite often there may be a big difference between what we think we are saying, and what people are actually hearing. Our choice of words, our body language, our office décor and culture, and our choice of communication tools all say a lot more than what most people think. Communication mistakes can be costly. This lecture will dive deep into proven communication strategies to differentiate your practice in an extremely competitive orthodontic landscape. You simply can’t afford to miss this!
- Explore the ever-growing number of choices that a potential patient has when it comes to orthodontic care for them or for their child
- Review why there may be a big difference between what Orthodontists think are saying and what the people around them are actually hearing
- Discuss proven communication strategies to differentiate your practice as the obvious choice for orthodontic care
Heather Desh
No Limits with INBRACE
Dr. Desh is a board certified specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, a prestige only 1 in 3 orthodontists obtain. Raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Dr. Desh completed her undergraduate studies at Lehigh University. She graduated after three years Summa Cum Laude with a BA in pre-dental medicine and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society.
Dr. Desh continued her studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. During dental school, she was very involved in research and received several awards at various dental conferences for her work evaluating the role of masseter muscle metabolism in temporomandibular joint disorders. Dr. Desh graduated Penn Dental in the top 5% of her class and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honors Society. Upon graduation, Dr. Desh matriculated into the orthodontics program at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, PA where she received her orthodontics certification and masters in oral biology.
In 2012, Dr. Desh moved to Long Beach with her husband, an Orange County native, and after working for both private and corporate orthodontic offices, she opened HD Orthodontics in 2015.
In her free time, Dr. Desh loves to spend time with her husband Asher and two boys, Chase & Aaron. They love going to the beach, traveling and cooking together!
- Lessons learned from my First Hundred cases
- How we incorporate INBRACE
- Cases/ treatment mechanics and pearls
Alfred Griffen
The patient is the prescription, not the bracket
Alfred C. Griffin III, DMD, PhD, MMSc received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Virginia, then completed a DMD and PhD in Craniofacial Biology at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2014. Dr. Griffin’s research in skeletal biology and orthodontics has been published in several top peer-reviewed journals, presenting this research globally, winning research awards in Canada and Japan, and domestically including the 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research’s (ASBMR) Young Investigator Award. Dr. Griffin then moved to Boston for Orthodontics residency, where he met his wife, and finished a Masters of Medical Research and Certificate in Orthodontics from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) in 2017.
Dr. Griffin founded LightForce Orthodontics in 2015, the first company to apply mass-customization and advanced 3D printing technology to orthodontic brackets. Today LightForce is manufactured and sold exclusively in the US as the world’s only 100% customized bracket and represents a team of 23 based in Cambridge, MA who are passionate about digitizing “tooth-moving tools” that aren’t made of plastic.
Dr. Griffin is a member is the American Dental Association (ADA), the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS), is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) and currently serves on faculty at HSDM as a “Lecturer in the Department of Developmental Biology,” teaching biomechanical principles and applied technology to the orthodontic residents.
- Injection molding and 3DP for fixed appliances
- Treatment planning with digital braces
- Clinical - what is possible with fully digital fixed appliances
Christian Groth
Indirect Bonding for Dummies: Digital and Flash Free
Dr. Groth graduated from Emory University in Atlanta and received his dental and orthodontic training at the University of Michigan. As a lifelong technology enthusiast, he brought this passion into his orthodontic practice, where he is a partner with TDR Orthodontics, and commercial 3D printing laboratory, Motor City Lab Works. Dr. Groth is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and is an adjunct clinical professor at the University of Michigan where he teaches digital orthodontics. He serves as an advisor for several companies, lectures nationally, internationally and is published on digital orthodontic systems, the use and integration of intraoral scanners, and 3D printers in the orthodontic practice.
- Understand the elements of Digital Flash-Free Bonding and the different approaches available
- Review literature regarding indirect bonding and treatment efficiency
- Discuss how to compare treatment modalities from an efficiency perspective
- Discuss the lab procedure for in house 3D printing of indirect bonding trays
- Discuss the clinical procedure for digitally guided indirect bonding
Graham Jones
The State of the Union: Orthodontics in 2020 and Beyond
Dr. Jones graduated Magna Cum Laude from Simpson University in Redding, California with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. He then completed his DDS at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by his Masters of Science in Dentistry and Orthodontics Certificate at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Jones has been involved in the realm of scientific and clinical research and has published on clinical topics such as Class II correction. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) and has served as a board member and President of the Washington State Society of Orthodontists. Dr. Jones operates a private practice in Monroe, Washington. His areas of interest and speaking include interdisciplinary treatment, Class II correction, self-ligating bracket mechanics, and evidence-based clinical orthodontics.
EDUCATION
- Saint Louis University, Center for Advanced Dental Education - 2004-2006 - Certificate in Specialty of Orthodontics
- University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry - 2000-2004 - Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
- Simpson University - 1996-1999 - Liberal Arts - Magna Cum Laude LEADERSHIP
- President, Washington State Society of Orthodontists 2016-17
- Board Washington State Society of Orthodontists 2009-2017 AFFILIATIONS
- American Board of Orthodontists Board-Certified
- Northwest Angle Society of Orthodontists Affiliate Candidate
- American Orthodontics Clinical Advisor
LEADERSHIP
- President, Washington State Society of Orthodontists 2016-17
- Board Washington State Society of Orthodontists 2009-2017
AFFILIATIONS
- American Board of Orthodontists Board-Certified
- Northwest Angle Society of Orthodontists Affiliate Candidate
- American Orthodontics Clinical Advisor
Discuss the current environment of orthodontics for specialists and patients and review historical trends in our specialty. Our specialty’s history informs us about the present state and the future of orthodontics.-Orthodontics is a truly unique specialty in healthcare, I will describe the advantages that the orthodontic specialist possesses. The aim is to inspire orthodontists to embrace that we are exceptionally qualified to balance scientific knowledge and quality, patient-centered care in our practices. -We will discuss tangible ways to foster trust and respect for the specialty of orthodontics as well as suggestions for continued improvement.-Applicable clinical and practice pearls will be presented with honesty.
Neal Kravitz
Everybody gets an expander
Dr. Neal D. Kravitz, D.M.D., M.S., is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, a member of the Edward Angle Society North Atlantic component, and clinical faculty at Washington Hospital Center. Dr. Kravitz is a graduate of Columbia University and received his D.M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania. He maintains two thriving orthodontic practices in Northern Virginia. Dr. Kravitz is a prolific writer and a passionate editor for numerous journals. He lectures internationally on treatment planning, practice management, clinical pearls, and ethics.
Seemingly every child who presents for an orthodontic consultation with moderate crowding is being presented a treatment plan for an expander and anterior braces. I can hear Oprah shouting to her audience, “You get expander! And you get an expander. Everybody gets and expander!” But is this really appropriate diagnosis and treatment, or are we simply eager to start the patient for collection goals? In this fun presentation, we will review the literature on expansion. I will also share my changed philosophy on Phase I treatment. Perhaps finding the truth will be the real take-home prize.
- Education versus treatment approach
- Review of literature
- Nonextraction handcuffs
- My changed philosphy
Brent Larson
Create Happiness – Create Success!
Dr. Larson received his dental degree from the University of Minnesota, completed a general practice residency and practiced general dentistry for 3 years in the U.S Air Force. He then received his Orthodontic training at the University of North Carolina before joining the staff at the Mayo Clinic. At Mayo, he served as Program Director in Orthodontics and received several “Teacher of the Year” awards. In 1996 Dr. Larson left Mayo for full-time private practice in Rochester, MN where he continues to practice 1 day a week. In 2004 he returned to full-time academics at the University of Minnesota where he currently serves as Professor and Director of the Division of Orthodontics. He has published many scientific articles and recently collaborated with his mentor, Dr. Proffit, on the latest edition of the Contemporary Orthodontics textbook.
Dr. Larson has received the Distinguished Dental Alumnus Award and Century Club Professor of the Year from the University of Minnesota. He is also the 2018 recipient of the Jarabak Award given for significant contribution to orthodontic teaching and research.
Dr. Larson is active in organized orthodontic associations both locally and nationally. He is a Past-President of the Minnesota Association of Orthodontists, the Midwestern Society of Orthodontists (MSO) and served as the 2018-2019 President of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). He and his wife Cindy have 3 sons, 2 of which are orthodontists, and 5 energetic grandchildren.
Sustainable practice success can be achieved more easily by creating happiness. As an orthodontist, you have the ability to create happiness for your staff, your patients, your family, and yourself. There are a few important keys to happiness that can help you create a positive and rewarding environment for everyone.
- Learn the 3 keys to happiness that apply to everyone.
- Understand the relationship between money and happiness.
- How to use simple techniques to create happiness in people around you, and in yourself.
Cole Johnson
Confessions of a Bed Wetter & Rice and Other Thieves of Happiness
Dr. Johnson is as unique as he is intriguing...some things you may not know about one of all our favorite Orthodontic speakers:
- He loves children. Like, probably too much. He has 8 kids of his own...at least as far as we know.
- His pastimes include hanging out at crosswalks, volunteering as a photographer for local swim teams, and slowly smelling bottles of fancy shampoo in the aisles of Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
- Dr. Johnson has an array of talents! He Leads a men’s tumbling troupe and boasts the ability to eat his weight in birdseed. This frisky Capricorn wields a firm command of the Klingon, Na’avi, as well as MS Dos languages. He was the Multnomah County Athletic Club’s 2012 Pilates Instructor of the Year and is a 3-Time Mavis Beacon ‘Shirts n’Skins Speed-Typing’ Champion.
- Dr. Johnson considers his greatest accomplishment to be the time he ate his standard lunch of 1/2 cup skim Cottage Cheese off the stomach of a guy who kind of looks like well-known B-list actor, Jason Bateman.
Doctor Track: Confessions of a Bed Wetter
- OBJECTIVE: Discover and embrace who you are as a practice owner.
Staff Track: Rice and Other Thieves of Happiness
- OBJECTIVE: Understand the things that rob you, your family, and your office of joy.
Bob Miller
Hope, Purpose & Orthodontics – The INBRACE Story
Having earned his B.S. degree in Zoology from Clemson University in 1979, Dr. Miller went on to receive his DMD degree in 1983 from The Medical University of South Carolina. After dental school, Dr. Miller completed an orthodontic residency at the Medical College of Virginia in 1985.
After completing his orthodontic residency, Dr. Miller served proudly in the USAF where he was Chief of Orthodontics at Clark Air Base in the Philippines for three years. Dr. Miller began practicing in Culpeper Virginia in 1988 and became a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics in 1992. He later voluntarily recertified in 2006. Dr. Miller is a past president of the Virginia Association of Orthodontics (1995). He is a pioneer in the area of orthopedic correctors, having developed the Flip Lock™ Herbst device in the early 1990′s. Recently, Dr. Miller assisted in the development of the Esprit™ spring and now lectures worldwide on this latest, most technologically advanced Class II corrector, including the latest, 3D metal printed fixed class II correctors.
Since his initial work with the Flip Lock™ Herbst, Dr. Miller has been an innovator in several other areas of orthodontics. He has lectured throughout the world to many orthodontists seeking creative new ideas to better serve their patients, and currently enjoys lecturing to orthodontic residents throughout the US. His current lecture topics are precision bracket placement, temporary anchorage devices (TAD’s), Class II correctors (Esprit™), office system efficiency, improving staff relations, and treatment protocols for unique orthodontic appliances. More recently, Dr. Miller moved to Park City Utah and started a new practice with his wife, and continues to work closely with Opal Orthodontics in the development of the new Esprit Class II corrector.
Dr. Miller is the author of numerous professional publications in orthodontics. He holds membership in the American Association of Orthodontists, the World Orthodontic Federation, the Southern Association of Orthodontics, Virginia Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, Virginia Dental Association, and the Northern Virginia Dental Society, and the Leader of the Spear Study Club of Northern Virginia. He is also a member of the Northern Virginia Orthodontic Study Club. More recently, Dr. Miller joined The Angle Society North Atlantic component after presenting original research to fellow members in Barcelona Spain, March 2012 http://anglenorthatlantic.org/. His research was later published in The Angle Orthodontist in May 2013.
Outside of his practice, Dr. Miller has developed and integrated marketing software (www.contentLAVA.com), designed to curate Facebook content to share engaging content for social media sites promoting orthodontic practices. This interest recently has attracted him to speak at orthodontic conferences where he is recognized as an innovator in social media in the dental care space.
A new technology was developed from an unprecedented collaboration among the top orthodontic and engineering research programs at the University of Southern California (USC) that brings together the latest advancements in digital treatment planning algorithms, artificial intelligence, biomaterial science, and direct digital manufacturing technology. By using a unique friction-free force delivery system in a new custom designed lingual orthodontic device, this digital technology sets a new standard in aesthetic orthodontics in treatment efficiency, precision, and ease of use in the 21st century.
After this lecture you will be able to:
- Learn how the INBRACE system treats various malocclusions successfully
- Learn how you can differentiate your practice from the commoditization of clear aligner therapy
- Mobilize your practice in the face of a changing orthodontic landscape
Brandon Owen
The KLOwen Custom Braces System
- First-ever Winner of the AAO Ortho Innovator Award.
- Inventor of the KLOwen custom braces system
- 9 patents granted and 20+ pending
- Offered the position to lead digital braces development at 3 of the 4 largest orthodontic bracket companies
- Former lead consultant for digital and lingual orthodontics for GAC Dentsply
- First orthodontist in North America to do in-office digital indirect bonding
- First dentist in North America to do a CAD/CAM 3D printed night guard
- Consultant to numerous companies involved with digital dentistry/orthodontics
- Graduate of the Innosphere startup incubator program
- Board member for Delta Dental CO
- Full-time faculty at the University of Alberta
- Member of the Angle Society, CDABO, ABO, AAO, PFA, AAFE, ICD, ADA, CDA
- Learn about the features of the KLOwen Braces System
- Learn about the efficiency custom, digital braces provides
John Pham
Hope, Purpose & Orthodontics – The INBRACE Story
John Pham DDS, MS is an entrepreneur, team builder, former aerospace engineer, and practicing orthodontist. As CEO and Co-Founder of INBRACE, Dr. Pham is using his leaderships skills and treatment innovations developed from years of research to disrupt the orthodontic industry with an invisible, consumer-friendly solution for today’s active patient. He is responsible for infusing his passion for patient centered care into the company’s DNA and turning his belief in a diverse and empowered workforce into motivation for all to contribute and be successful.
A new technology was developed from an unprecedented collaboration among the top orthodontic and engineering research programs at the University of Southern California (USC) that brings together the latest advancements in digital treatment planning algorithms, artificial intelligence, biomaterial science, and direct digital manufacturing technology. By using a unique friction-free force delivery system in a new custom designed lingual orthodontic device, this digital technology sets a new standard in aesthetic orthodontics in treatment efficiency, precision, and ease of use in the 21st century.
After this lecture you will be able to:
- Learn how the INBRACE system treats various malocclusions successfully
- Learn how you can differentiate your practice from the commoditization of clear aligner therapy
- Mobilize your practice in the face of a changing orthodontic landscape
Benjamin Pliska
OSA and Orthodontics: Separating Fact from Fiction
Dr. Benjamin Pliska is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario School of Dentistry, and obtained his Certificate in Orthodontics and Master’s Degree in Dentistry from the University of Minnesota. He is an Associate Professor of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry, an Orthodontic Consultant at B.C. Children’s Hospital and maintains a private practice in Vancouver as a certified specialist in Orthodontics. Dr. Pliska is a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentistry of Canada and member of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists, and his research interests include craniofacial imaging and sleep medicine.
Sleep Apnea has become a buzz word in Orthodontics, and the role the Orthodontist can play in the management of OSA patients has become somewhat controversial. Should we be expanding every patient we can in order to save them from the disease? Can CBCT imaging help detect sleep disordered breathing in orthodontic patients? If I prescribe extractions for my orthodontic treatment will I be causing harm? Answers abound to these and similar questions – this presentation will aim to separate the facts from fiction.
- Review the pathophysiology and phenotypic traits of obstructive sleep apnea
- Explain what CBCT imaging can and cannot tell us about the airway
- Review what happens to airway function when we expand the maxilla
- Provide clinical pearls for management of OSA patients using oral appliances
Susan Podray
No Limits with INBRACE
- Lessons learned from my First Hundred cases
- How we incorporate INBRACE
- Cases/ treatment mechanics and pearls
Nick Salome
THE GRAIL: Predictable Class2 Correction with Aligners
Nick Salome is a Board Certified orthodontist who brings a unique perspective to dental education. With 20 years of experience in private practice in Austin, Texas and teaching at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, he is comfortable with the analysis of the latest dental research as well as recognizing its real-world clinical application. He lectures internationally with an emphasis on the esthetic alternatives for orthodontic treatment and the psychology of esthetic orthodontic treatment.
- To understand the concept of “Loss Aversion”, and how it impacts patients motivated by dental esthetics.
- To learn how loss aversion undermines the use of elastics with Clear Aligner Therapy making class2 correction problematic and unpredictable.
- To gain new clinical techniques and protocols that make corrections of class2 malocclusions more predictable with Clear aligner Therapy.
Seats are going fast! Book your spot now!
For questions contact: [email protected]
Refund Policy: Tickets are non-refundable but fully transferable.
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