Episode 118
118: Live From The Seattle Study Club Symposium 2018 in La Quinta, CA with Dr. Bill Robbins and Dr. Bob Margeas
I am live at the Seattle Study Club Symposium Legacy Tour with Bill Robbins and Bob Margeas. They are both great dentists and amazing educators. Dr. Robbins has a full-time practice and is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at San Antonio Dental School. He has also authored two textbooks.
Dr. Margeas is known as the dentists dentist. He also has a private practice, and he believes in dentistry built on relationships, honesty, and trust. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Iowa and has written numerous articles on esthetic and implant dentistry. The three of us have a great conversation about the symposium, the importance of mentors, communication, and the extremely bright future of dentistry.
You can find Bill and Bob here:
Show Notes
[02:09] Bill Robbins is a restorative dentist in San Antonio, Texas.
[02:30] Bob Margeas has a full-time practice in Des Moines, Iowa. He has been practicing for 32 years.
[03:21] Bill thinks the legacy tour is an interesting program because there are amazing lecturers. The content has been leaning towards the heart side of dentistry.
[04:20] The people here are our mentors. The ones we grew up looking at. It's almost surreal to be on the stage with them.
[04:46] It's important to be a continual student. You can't think that you know everything.
[05:26] Bill likes to go to study clubs and get his CE in small doses.
[06:19] How going to the Seattle Study Club is like going to a big family reunion.
[07:27] There has never been a more exciting time to be a dentist especially with airway and other things going on with orthodontics.
[08:08] What orthodontists can do today actually allows us to do less dentistry.
[08:18] We can be conservative and think about what's right for the patient.
[09:36] Using bonding and minimally invasive dentistry.
[10:32] How are thinking gets challenged. It's not just the technology but it's also the thinking.
[10:58] The implications of the ortho and restorative interface. We can now intrude posterior teeth.
[13:38] Simple high-quality restorative and telling the truth really works.
[14:29] How the patients decide when they want the crown done. Don't biopsy a patient's wallet.
[15:46] Diagnosis is neutral. Sometimes when we try not to overwhelm a patient, we actually underwhelm them.
[16:19] The importance of communication and how leaders aren't born they are created.
[17:09] The importance of spending your CE money on leadership training and communication skills.
[18:00] Getting into the arena with the best thinkers and not getting overwhelmed.
[18:25] How young dentists are overwhelmed with debt and having to pay off student loans or a house or a car. You also need to communicate. You're already in debt, so you might as well spend money learning how to communicate.
[18:46] The importance of finding a mentor to help you and guide you.
[19:36] How bill has an amazing gift for breaking things down.
[20:29] When people spend their whole lives writing a book it's worth it to pick it up.
[21:16] The smartest way for a young dentist to get their CE credits is to join a study club. A study club is also the best place to find a mentor.
[22:45] There are no limitations on how well you think.
[23:50] Using the systematic approach to look at more complex problems. Treatment planning in a study club will force people to think.
[25:49] Everyday dentistry and how popular Bob Margeas is in the Seattle Study Club circuit.
[27:28] How the whole key is to share knowledge. There is really no competition.
[27:59] How teaching is actually enjoyable.
[28:16] When you are looking at smiles it's the eyes that smile. When you get that perfect video it's all about the eyes.
[29:29] The greatest gift to being a teacher is when one of your students becomes your teacher.
[30:55] The most frustrating thing is seeing what can be done but not having the whole team that can help you do that. That is why it is important to bring your whole team to the Seattle Study Club.
[34:22] An honest meaningful lecture often shows the things that go wrong.
[36:41] If you're not nervous at the Seattle Study Club when you're giving a presentation, you just might not be really prepared.
[37:40] Start out with great integrity. Think about the patient as if they are one of your family members. Tell the truth, be honest, and know your limitations.
[39:18] A cool thing about the Symposium is that we also get outside speakers that aren't just dentists.
[40:16] If you start out from a place that does not have integrity it is very hard to move the pendulum back to a place of integrity. Start out with integrity and always stay there.
Links and Resources:
Global Diagnosis: A New Vision of Dental Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
