Tell us about a product or technology that has recently changed your world.
Digital. I know it’s not recent, but the advances in digital technology have made dentistry one of the most sought-after careers around. This refers to the entire digital dental platform, which should include digital extraoral images, 3-D CBCT, and intraoral scanning. My practice is limited to dental implants and teaching dental implants, and there is no way that I could do my job effectively without these technologies.
Software changes every day, and what’s cool about it is that each new version or advancement makes my job easier and more enjoyable. Having the ability to digitally scan patients, merge this data with the CBCT scan or extraoral image, plan treatment using digital wax-ups and smile design, and then deliver dental implants using a surgical guide is just plain exciting.
This technology has so many more applications than just dental implants, including ortho, sleep apnea therapy, and patient education.
What’s a piece of advice you wish you knew five years ago?
Find something in dentistry that excites you. For me, it was dental implants and providing my patients with a true tooth replacement solution. It was only a matter of months after starting out in practice that I found burnout from so many denture and partial adjustments. Thankfully, I had an amazing mentor in Roger Plooster, DDS, who pushed me to learn and get better.
This is the second half of my advice: find a mentor. We graduate from dental school with minimal understanding of the complexities of private practice; we have to experience the rest to get better. Education and repetition are truly what make us better at our trade, and having the right mentor can make all the difference. Have fun—life is too short to do something you hate!
Name: Justin D. Moody, DDS, DABOI
Practices at: Implant Pathway
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Dental school: University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, 1997
Areas of expertise: Dental implants, technology, digital dentistry, practice enhancement
Social media: Podcast: Dentists, Implants and Worms
Facebook: facebook.com/justin.moody.1466, facebook.com/implantpathway
Instagram: @implantpathway, @jdmood71
Twitter: @drjustinmoody, @implantpathway
