Orthotown May 2023 - 44

OFFICE VISIT
Tell us the tale of the band
you're in, Mash Bill.
I've been playing music since high
school, starting on electric guitar
and migrating over to bass guitar in
college. I played in a couple different
bands in college, and one called Elëktrösurge
while I was in dental school.
After graduating, I got together with
friends from Wake Forest and a few
from Rutgers to periodically jam and
record music. Because we lived in different
states, we often rented a house
to record music for a long weekend.
Around 2009, we started collaborating
with Skylar Adler (who incidentally
is the audio engineer for The
Illuminate Orthodontic Podcast). I met
Skylar when I was practicing as a
general dentist in New Jersey-Skylar
was my patient while he was going to
school to study audio engineering. He
has recorded Mash Bill and also sat in
for us on drums. We have a couple of
EPs out on Spotify and Apple Music.
We are overdue to get Mash Bill back
together, actually!
What kinds of cases
excite you the most?
I've been excited to tackle some
impacted canine cases with aligners.
Because there are no fixed anchorage
appliances, this forces you to think
creatively!
If an open-exposure technique is
warranted, I'll ask the surgeon to
attach a clear button instead of a
gold chain. I'll then ask the patient to
attach an elastic in a bootstrap fashion
from the button to the aligner.
When a closed-exposure technique
is necessary, I've incorporated transpalatal
arches or cantilever arms until
the forced eruption of the tooth is
I absolutely love
seeing more
doctor-led and
doctor-directed
product innovation-
for orthodontics,
by orthodontists!
There was a period
when much of
the innovation
seemed to come
from corporations.
... But I love seeing
innovators leading
the charge of this
latest movement.
complete. Then I'll bond the button to
the tooth and continue with bootstrap
elastics until the tooth has erupted
enough for a regular Invisalign attachment.
These patients really appreciate
that you're offering them aligners,
because they're often steered toward
braces because of the impaction.
What's a trend that you love
in the profession?
I absolutely love seeing more doctorled
and doctor-directed product innovation-for
orthodontics, by orthodontists!
There was a period when much of
the innovation seemed to come from
corporations, which even led to some
brazen companies trying to eliminate
the orthodontist entirely. But I love
MAY 2023 | 44 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
seeing innovators-Dr. Alfred Griffin
III of LightForce, Dr. John Pham
of InBrace, Dr. Brandon Owen of
KLOwen Orthodontics and Dr. Adam
Schulhof of Grin, to name a few-leading
the charge of this latest movement.
I've had many residents ask about the
future of our profession, and I believe
it is bright.
What's your stance on more
and more dentists offering
orthodontic treatments?
This is always a sticky subject. I was
trained in Invisalign back in 2007 as a
general dentist, and I certainly didn't
understand or appreciate growth and
development, orthodontic biomechanics
or malocclusions as I do now as an
orthodontist.
Unfortunately, sometimes you just
don't know what you don't know, as
the saying goes. I think that's where
general dentists can potentially get in
over their heads, because the boundaries
between simple and complex are
not clear-cut in orthodontics. Orthodontics
can be a humbling profession,
even for specialists!
Give us a snapshot of your life
outside of orthodontics.
My wife and I recently purchased our
first home in St. Petersburg, Florida.
We don't have children yet, but we do
have a Maltipoo pup named Jagger
(after Mick Jagger). Last fall, we were
able to take a 10-day tour of Italy,
which was spectacular-we visited
Lake Como, Venice, Florence and
Rome. This summer, we're looking
forward to spending some time with
family in the Outer Banks, North
Carolina, to celebrate my parents'
50th wedding anniversary. OT
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Orthotown May 2023

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