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Howard Speaks Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD

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A Decade of Dentaltown

Howard Farran, DDS
MBA, MAGD
Publisher,
Dentaltown Magazine
 I started Dentaltown with a simple goal – to connect dentists with one another so they would never have to practice solo ever again. We were all huddled in our own little office corners diligently working on our own patients, rarely reaching out to each other (or coming up for air, for that matter) and only finding out what "the guy down the street" was up to during conventions, seminars or when random sales reps stopped by and told us, "Dr. X is using Brand Y."

I thought dentists could communicate better. The information we received through staunch, stuffy academic journals and lecturers who bored us to tears for hours on end just wasn't good enough – at least not for any motivated dentists I knew. Any time I went hunting or on a fishing trip with some of my dental buddies, we'd learn more from each other in those few hours just "shooting the breeze" than from any mind-numbing two-day seminar presented by a doctor who was more interested in selling you stuff than teaching you something. I realized we all needed to connect with each other the way my buddies and I did on those fun excursions – and the way we could do it was on the Internet. It was through this Web site that I hoped the dental community would finally have the chance to openly discuss their problems and their passions, share their good times and their bad times, answer questions and question answers.

I projected that a small contingent of Internet-savvy practitioners would hop on every once in a while and help each other through the day-to-day trials of modern dentistry. I figured that by now, there would be between 5,000 and 10,000 users on the site. Boy was I wrong.

When Dentaltown.com went live in March 1999, never did I think that in 10 years more than 107,000 dentists from 177 countries would be registered members. Yet here we are, observing milestones like Dentaltown.com's 200,000th continuing education course view, and benchmarks like our two-millionth message board post (as of this writing we're only 22,000 posts from hitting that record – and at roughly 400 posts per day, we'll be popping the corks on our champagne bottles in the next few weeks).
"Ten years come and gone so fast, I might
as well have been dreaming."

— Paul Simon
This year, we're celebrating a decade of Dentaltown – and I owe it all to you. You believe in the work that you do. You believe in the community you've created. You believe in one another. You care for your colleagues the same way you care for your patients. You change lives in the office and online every day. Without your participation, there would be no message boards. Without your intense desire to learn, there would be no continuing education courses. Without you, there would be no Dentaltown.

Since the beginning, membership to Dentaltown.com and your subscription to Dentaltown Magazine has always been free, but the day-to-day operation of this company surely is not. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the hundreds of dental suppliers and service providers who, over the years, have supported the mission and the community of Dentaltown. These companies are as much a part of the Dentaltown community as you are, and their involvement has not only aided in creating a dues-free online society, but they have come to the call when you've posed questions on the message boards about their products and services.

Through the incredible success of Dentaltown, we've been able to venture out into other arenas. Noticing a need for an online community in the realm of dental hygiene, we created Hygienetown.com. We brought Trisha O'Hehir on board to help us develop the site, and also guide us into starting up our second publication, Hygienetown Magazine.
Howard Live

Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, is an international speaker who has written dozens of published articles. To schedule Howard to speak to your next national, state or local dental meeting, email colleen@farranmedia.com.

Dr. Farran’s next speaking engagement is April 2, 2009, at the Townie Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, please call 1-866-DENTOWN.

Apr. 2 • Las Vegas, NV
Townie Meeting

Apr. 24 • Tulsa, OK
Oklahoma Dental Association

May 8 • St. Louis, MO
Greater St. Louis Dental Society

Oct. 3, 4 • Honolulu, HI
ADA Annual Session

Oct. 31 • Fort Wayne, IN
Mid-west Oral Surgery
You might notice a little change in Dentaltown Magazine's content this month. Seeing as dentistry and dental hygiene go hand in hand, and that dentists are still very involved in perio treatment, we wanted to add a bit of a team approach in presenting dental and hygiene information to you. Now the content that would normally appear in Hygienetown Magazine is presented to you and your dental hygienists in a monthly Hygienetown section in Dentaltown Magazine.

Last year saw the birth of Orthotown Magazine – a publication, based on content derived from Orthotown.com, solely created for orthodontic specialists. With the guidance of board-certified orthodontist Dr. Wm. Randol Womack, as the magazine's editorial director, we're seeing some amazing continued growth and interest within the orthodontic specialty.

We're not stopping at all things dental either! This year we've expanded into the medical field with the addition of Hematology & Oncology News & Issues, a practice management publication for oncology offices. It is my hope that through the same kind of grassroots support we witnessed on Dentaltown.com, dental and medical professionals will think of TownieCentral.com first when it comes to online communities developed for health-care professionals. With our new expansion into the medical world, we're not just helping save one tooth at a time – but one life at a time.

We owe all of our success to Dentaltown, and we owe Dentaltown's success to you.

Thank you for making Dentaltown your own.
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