Howard Speaks By: Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, Publisher, DentalTown Magazine

Before DentalTown we were all isolated, fragmented and divided, while working away in our little operatories cut off from each other and all alone! Then, thanks to Al Gore, came the Internet and shazzzaaaammm–we are all meeting in a little website message board 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year. The conversations are so passionate, powerful, honest and intense that over 1,000 new dentists join us each month.

The whole concept behind DentalTown is that no dentist would ever have to practice solo again. Dentistry is so stressful that dentists crave camaraderie and company with their peers. When you are a dentist where else can you turn to ask a tough question? Who can you ask this very minute about your root canal situation? If the tooth is sensitive to percussion and has a periapical radiolucency should you temporize it with CaOH for 6 weeks or obturate today? Can I seat my first Lava crown with Vitremere? The patient is in the chair! Do self-etching bonding agents really have zero sensitivity? What is the fastest way to put a finish on an anterior composite?

The “Townie Choice Awards” are a very logical extension of our DentalTown mission. Every single day thousands of dentists from around the world wonder what everyone else is doing and using. Do you know why this is so important? Because dentists are excellent consumers. Dentists do not make fast decisions. Dentists have 8 to 12 years of college. Dentists suffer from paralysis by over analysis. So knowing what every other dentist is using would be very useful knowledge. Who cares what one dentist is using? What is everyone else using? Why are dentists so dogmatic about the products they use? Because they need to work—our success depends on the performance of our equipment and products. You can fool some of the dentists some of the time, but you cannot fool the majority of the dentists all of the time. Thus the birth of your first annual “Townie Choice Awards”.

This is really a very historical event because the registered members of the DentalTown community will determine the winners. No homespun science, no big marketing budgets, no flashy ads; just a simple democracy–one dentist Townie–one vote. There is no other award in dentistry that takes the pulse of the dental community so directly. Winning a ‘Townie’ will be as important as an ‘Oscar.’ In fact the award was custom designed, cast, and gold plated by the very same company which makes the Oscar!

It is our duty as dental colleagues to take the time and vote so that every other dentist can get the low down on what is hot, and what is not! What is leading edge technology verses bleeding edge technology! To cast your VOTE and make your voice heard please visit “your” website at www.DentalTown.com and click on the Townie Choice Award icon!

The ballot results will be published in the December issue of DentalTown Magazine and mailed to over 112,000 dentists in the United States. Additionally, the complete results of the Townie Choice Awards will be posted online at www.DentalTown.com/awards.