We Are Talking About the Oral-Systemic Connection—But Are We Talking to Each Other?

Posted on August 28, 2026August 20, 2026 by Michelle Hougland

A New Way of Thinking For a long time, dentistry and medicine lived on separate islands. Today, we all know the truth: the mouth and the body are completely connected. We read the research on periodontal pathogens and systemic health, and we track the inflammation. But a massive practical gap remains: How do we actually talk to each other across that dental-medical divide? That is exactly why we started the Dental Referral Marketing Podcast and built Referral ...

The Secret Weapon – Part Two

Posted on June 12, 2026May 19, 2026 by Michael Goldberg DMD

In Part One, we explored how salivary analysis changes the patient conversation – helping patients better understand their health and why treatment matters. But its impact goes even further – empowering both the clinical team and the practice, which we explore below in Part Two. The Real Secret Salivary analysis isn’t powerful because it’s advanced. It’s powerful because it changes the story. It moves dentistry from:“Here’s what you need.” To: “Here’s what your body is telling us—...

The Secret Weapon – Part One

Posted on June 5, 2026May 19, 2026 by Michael Goldberg DMD

Every practice owner I know is chasing the same three outcomes—whether they admit it out loud or not. Better patients. Higher acceptance of the right care—free from insurance constraints. And referrals that happen naturally, because marketing has become expensive, exhausting, and unpredictable. Yet most practices are still reaching for the same familiar tools to get there: Better scripts. Prettier brochures. Tighter financial conversations. Hel...

Throwback: Words of Wisdom from Dr. John Kempton

Posted on May 29, 2026March 5, 2026 by John Kempton DDS

Every patient is different. Overcoming a patient’s obstacles to treatment may take some finesse. The diagnosis and treatment plan are typically the easier task. In this series, we have asked the experts from our Protocol Directory, “How would they help the patient overcome their obstacle(s)?” When we asked Dr. John Kempton from LAUNCH Oral Systemic Health to respond to “That’s more than I was expecting,” here is his approach. When patients respond to our consultation with “That’s more ...

How Did They Do That?

Posted on April 17, 2026April 2, 2026 by Michael Goldberg DMD

I was at dinner with my friends from OralDNA Labs — Amanda and Diane — talking about stories from my book Undeniable Hospitality. Little did we know, we were about to live one. The setting was spectacular — the kind of architectural beauty you might expect in the Museum of Modern Art. Elegant. Minimal. Intentional. But ambiance alone doesn’t create magic. The servers were polished. Smiling. Attentive. I did notice that no one introduced themselves by name — a miss in my world, be...

Throwback: Why? What? How?

Posted on January 30, 2026January 29, 2026 by Michael Goldberg DMD

WHY?…WHAT?…HOW? This is a philosophy that is often taught in dental and hygiene schools: Diagnose, Treatment Plan, then Treat. And yet, immediately after this is taught, a focus is placed on learning treatment, or the HOW. And then upon graduation the focus also becomes on treatment and production. The diagnosis (WHY) and planning (WHAT) become secondary. They’re only an avenue to an end…Production, a means to an end. That’s where the money is. In a nutshell, that’s the problem with our...

So You Want to Be a Dental Hygienist

Posted on October 24, 2025October 16, 2025 by Lisa Nitkowski, RDH

I have always referred to the dental hygiene profession as a hidden gem. Most people don’t truly understand what it means to be a dental hygienist — how special this profession is, not just for those of us who practice it, but for everyone we encounter along the way; whether they are our patients, teammates, or professional colleagues. When I entered dentistry twenty years ago as a dental assistant with no experience and no family background in healthcare, other than regular visits to my den...

Camp Hygiene: A Day of Learning, Inspiration, and Connection

Posted on October 3, 2025October 3, 2025 by Julia Dent, RDH

We're thrilled to share a continuing education event designed for your entire dental team: Camp Hygiene, hosted by Fortune Management in partnership with Patterson Dental. If you're a dental professional passionate about elevating your practice, mark your calendar for Camp Hygiene on Friday, October 17, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the UCI Research Park in Irvine, California. Why Attend? Hygiene is the lifeblood of any general dental practice, and Camp Hygiene provides a playbook f...

“Dental Hygienist Pay Up 20% Since 2020”: What That Really Means for Your Practice

Posted on September 26, 2025September 25, 2025 by Michael Goldberg DMD

Why This Should Concern Every Dentist and Hygienist Hygienist pay has risen 20% since 2020. That sounds great—until you realize that hygiene collectible production (not projected, not on paper, but truly collectible) must also rise by 20% just to keep pace. If reimbursements and fees haven’t increased by that much—and let’s be honest, they haven’t—then hygiene risks becoming a loss leader rather than a profit center. And if hygiene isn’t profitable, opportunities for growth—for both den...

Throwback: It’s Not JUST About the Science

Posted on September 12, 2025September 11, 2025 by Michael Goldberg DMD

At a time when “evidence-based” everything is all the rage; I would like to share my experience and philosophy in regard to salivary diagnostics. My approach comes from a non-scientific perspective garnered from my 40+ years of clinical experience. I come at it from both a trained scientific, human, psychological, patient management and pragmatic mindset. Several years back, I had a discussion with a well-respected career academic and journal editor about “evidence-based” medicine. He ...