The Very Dental Podcast Network

37 episodes scanned. 14% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. Very Clinical: Getting Ahead of It, part 4: Endodontics

   Nov 3, 2026

   Dr. Alan Mead joins co-hosts Zach Miners and Dr. Kevin for the fourth installment of the "Getting Ahead of It" series, focused on endodontics. The discussion covers setting patient expectations before treatment, including managing hot teeth, pre-op steroid use, post-op soreness, and explaining crown and occlusal decisions in advance. The hosts also share practical clinical tips on rubber dam sealing with Liquid Dam, CBCT and microscope use for canal navigation, and the handling of necrotic and infected teeth.

2. AME: True Stories

   Nov 2, 2026

   Dr. Alan Meade, a dentist and podcaster, presents a solo episode on how social media algorithms, "negative hook" ads, and political advertising have undermined authentic storytelling. He draws on Seth Godin's early blogging philosophy, dental-meeting conversations, and his own experience blogging since 2008. He closes by making the case for long-form podcasting as a more genuine form of storytelling and describes his plan to reduce social media use.

3. Very Dental: Dr. Tuan Pham on Regret Minimization and Dental Maverick AI

   Oct 30, 2026

   Dr. Alan Meade interviews Dr. Tuan Pham, a former dentist who retired early to spend time with his young children and later launched Dental Maverick AI. Tuan discusses his path from clinical practice to dental software, including the influence of Jeff Bezos's regret minimization framework. The conversation covers how the platform handles insurance verification, chart-to-claim narratives, and revenue cycle work through native Open Dental integration, and how freeing front-desk time can support ethical case acceptance.

4. Very Clinical: Getting Ahead of It, part 3: Fixed Prosthodontics

   Oct 27, 2026

   Dr. Alan Mead joins hosts Zach Miners and Kevin for a pre-Halloween episode of the Very Clinical podcast, which opens with childhood Halloween prank stories before turning to fixed prosthodontics. The discussion covers chairside patient communication for crown and bridge cases, including provisional sensitivity, gum soreness after cord packing, CEREC milling wait times, anesthesia at seating, contact and bite adjustments, and post-cementation sensitivity. The hosts conclude that clear verbal exit communication helps reduce post-op callbacks and patient complaints.

5. AME: Dueling AIs

   Oct 26, 2026

   Dr. Alan Mead, a practice-owning dentist and host of The Alan Mead Experience, delivers a solo monologue on the growing number of AI tools in dentistry. He covers his experience with subscription-based AI products such as Gemini, Heidi Health, and dedicated AI recording hardware, and how overlapping features are making some tools redundant. He also previews Pearl AI's ambient charting and radiograph features and explains why he believes frictionless, operatory-integrated tools matter most.

6. Very Dental: Treating the Disease, Not Just the Tooth with Dr. Josh Solomon

   Oct 23, 2026

   Recorded live at the Bioclear Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, pediatric dentist Dr. Josh Solomon talks with host Dr. Alan Mead about high magnification and microscopes in daily practice. The conversation covers caries control with glass ionomer, air polishing, chairside communication such as recording treatment plans, and strategies for getting parents and children engaged in home care.

7. AME: The Absurdist Dentist

   Oct 19, 2026

   Dr. Alan Meade, a practicing dentist and host of the show, solo-hosts this episode on the burnout and mental health pressures in dentistry and how social media portrays idealized clinical work. Drawing on the philosophy of absurdism and the myth of Sisyphus, he argues that restorative work breaks down biologically over time, so dentists should view inevitable failures as buying patients dignified time rather than as personal failures. He also shares a recent foot wound and infection treated by his podiatrist, and mentions a David Sedaris performance he attended.

8. Very Dental: Dr. Taras Konanec on Bringing Modern Restorative Techniques to Dental School

   Oct 16, 2026

   Dr. Taras Konanec, Director of Operative Dentistry at McGill University, discusses the challenges of standardizing clinical teaching across instructors who volunteer their time in the faculty's clinics. He describes how McGill integrated the Bioclear method and heated composites into its curriculum, starting with preclinical and progressing to clinical use by year. The conversation also covers minimally invasive care, selective caries removal, and why a solid peripheral enamel seal matters more than removing decay near the pulp.

9. Very Clinical: Getting Ahead of It, part 2: Everyday Operative

   Oct 13, 2026

   Dr. Alan Mead, a restorative dentist from Michigan, returns to the Very Clinical podcast with hosts Kevin and Zach to discuss avoiding patient complaints in everyday operative dentistry. The conversation covers shade discrepancies from tooth dehydration, lingual thickness and opposing occlusal contacts, clinical photography for documenting chipped restorations, and handling rubber dams and wedges (called "separators") with patients. It also addresses postoperative sensitivity and spotting nail biting as a habit red flag before restorations fail.

10. Very Dental: The Art of Longevity with Dr. Marco Maiolino

    Oct 9, 2026

    Dr. Marco Maiolino, a Sicily-based dentist with over two decades of clinical experience, joins Dr. Alan Mead at the 2026 Bioclear Summit in Scottsdale to make the case for longevity dentistry over superficial aesthetics. The conversation covers informed consent as a psychological process, a stepped, minimally invasive protocol for worn dentition using Smile Cloud, mock-ups, and reversible PMMA appliances that open the vertical dimension, and the choice to save teeth rather than extract them. They also discuss how fee structures and insurance incentives shape treatment decisions, and Maiolino's organization of the Injection Summit.