Candid Conversations. Compelling Insights.

Dr. Johnson left behind her aspirations to become an actress to pursue an unexpected career in dentistry. (She does, however, keep her interest in theater alive via her office’s humorous YouTube and Facebook videos.) She dedicates her time and practice to helping her hometown, including special assistance for veterans during the local Smile for Heroes initiative each November.

An interview with 40 Under 40 honoree, Dr. Kianor Shah, Desert Dream Dentistry & Spa, CA

Driving Dentistry Forward Podcast #14. An interview with 40 Under 40 honoree, Dr. Blake Warner of Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Warner specializes in Oral and maxillofacial pathology and is employed at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health.

“There are often setbacks in research and academics. You must be mentally and emotionally prepared to persist in achieving your goals while sharpening your patient-care skills. I think it’s also important to equally develop your empathy, competence and confidence—not only for yourself and family but for your patients too.” – Dr. Blake Warner

In 2020 Dr. Andrew Lyons and his partner in business and life, Dr. Joya Lyons, earned recognition from two national magazines, and successfully rebranded their independent dental practice in the midst of a pandemic. How did the Incisal Edge 40 Under 40 honorees and Dentaltown’s first cover couple triple their Charlotte practice’s bottom line in one month while turning a year of obstacles into opportunities?

For dentists wondering how highly-driven innovators embrace the future and move the profession forward, this new series will provide the questions – and the answers. This fall, Incisal Edge dental lifestyle magazine celebrates 10 years of recognizing brilliant achievers in dentistry, ages 40 and under. Fewer than 500 of America’s best young dentists have earned this prestigious designation, including the alumni featured in each installment here. Prepare to be motivated.

Starting a dental practice from scratch is not for everyone.
Dr. Dimple Desai, however, shifted successfully from associate to independent dental practitioner in the competitive market of Orange County, California.How did she reach her goals? Persistence.

At 15, she had shadowed her family dentist with positive outcomes, and as an undergrad at the University of Southern California she explored the option further. A career counselor suggested she visit the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry on campus, and once there, Admissions Director Mark Mitchell pointed her in the direction of the two-year hygiene program as an entrée to dental school.
Dr. Desai earned her dental degree and today is back on the USC campus regularly as a clinical adjunct professor. 

In 2010 Dr. Desai joined an Aesthetic Residency, and while working as an associate in a dental practice she continued to pursue academic and clinical education. From there she went from working part-time and raising two young children, to working full-time, setting up her own practice from scratch. From the Luminous Smiles logo and branding, to the color palette and lighting, she dedicated endless hours of research and planning to create a work of art, just as she does with each patient’s smile. Today, she implements the science and evidence-based dentistry she mastered while studying with Dr. John Kois.
On the clinical side, at Luminous Smiles, she requested spacious 125-square foot operatories, which today, in a post-pandemic environment, allow space for an air filter, scanner, photography cart and several other units. Dr. Desai is working diligently toward her next professional goal, which is to achieve accreditation from the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, where she is an Accredited Candidate.
Dr. Desai and her husband Sagar are raising their son and daughter, Dylan, 9 and Sydney, 7.

Chuck Cohen interviews one of Incisal Edge’s 32 Most influential People in Dentistry, Greg Minzenmayer, Chief Operating Officer at Glidewell Dental

FOR FIVE DECADES, Glidewell Laboratories has been the leading provider of dental lab products and professional services. With its founder, Jim Glidewell, at the helm, it has innovated in every aspect of dentistry—specializing in crowns and bridges, ceramics, implants, prosthetics and more, becoming the largest privately held dental laboratory on earth.

Mike Graham has fought on Capitol Hill for issues important to organized dentistry for 25 years – serving in various positions in the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Washington Office. Currently, he is the ADA’s Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, representing over 163,000 ADA dentist members.

In total he has 40 years of government affairs experience in the Federal and state legislative arenas. He has represented two other Associations; served as a gubernatorial appointee for two Maryland governors; worked for a U.S. Senator from Maryland; a Maryland Congressman; and a Maryland state representative.

The American Dental Association has always been an important advocate and sounding board for dentists nationwide, but it took on an urgent new role this spring: as a trusted adviser helping its legions of members navigate the extraordinary uncertainty of the Covid-19 crisis’ early weeks.

The ADA’s Health Policy Institute, a data factory spearheaded by Marko Vujicic, PhD, who serves as its Vice President, was quick to develop a system that tracked the impact of the virus to dental practices state by state.

“We realized that our data and market analytics were in huge demand in the industry,” he said.

As Envista’s founding President and CEO, Amir Aghdaei drives the company’s overall vision, drawing on more than a decade of leadership experience at Danaher.

Amir originally joined Danaher in October 2008 as Multi-Brand GM and VP of Fluke. He was named President of Tektronix in 2009, Group Executive in 2011, President of the Danaher Communications Platform and Danaher Russia in 2014, President of Dental Technologies in 2015, and President of Danaher’s Dental Platform in 2018.