Dentists of Instagram 1

Instagram dentists can be a worrying thing and not all is good, however, there are quite a number that are doing good things and provide valuable education.

The ones that I found most interesting were those promoting biomimetic dentistry. They have given me the opportunity to re-educate myself about “new” approaches to bonding and biometic dentistry. I feel that I am a better dentist for having found them on the ‘gram.

I thought I’d start with an Aussie dentist, as I think it is impressive that a general dentist from Adelaide can be making an international impact.

It’s interesting scrolling back the the start of Dr Bill Gergis’ Instagram journey. I’m not sure when he started, whether he knew where he was going, or whether he realised where he would be three years later and that would be interesting to find out. You don’t see holiday photos now and the colour of his rubber dam has changed 😆.

What do you get from spending time on Bill’s Instagram feed?

1. Rubber dam as integral to successful modern dentistry. He offers, videos and images of different practical ways to isolate teeth.

2. Every day real world cases and inspiration to work on developing good restoration/tooth contacts and anatomy.

3. Modification of matrices, using teflon tape, modifying wedges and modifying matrix to ensure optimal fit and contour.

4. He also posts hopeless cases that you might or might not want to try at home, however, when you have the 88yr old lady who doesn’t want that tooth out, maybe its worth a try (with informed consent of course).

I tried his techinque for trimming a matrix to elevate a deeper margin and it certainly wasn’t a win for me (or my DA!). Fortunatley he has now created these (not sponsored) that help the divergence at the margin and assist with obtaining a more optimal contact.

They were recently review by @dentinaltube

Bill’s dentistry reflects the challenges we face in practice of non ideal situations and he provides some ideas of how to face these challenges. They might not all work in the long term and he aknowledges that. With older patients, where you’re just trying to help them avoid extraction and all that comes with it, it’s good to have some arrows in your quiver.

He’s not promoting himself as an amazing glamour dentist but rather comes from a genuine place of helping dentists deliver better care and promoting the practice of good bonding and preserving tooth stucture, which is where the future of dentistry lies.

He doesn’t post many research papers, links or references; there are other people for that. That’s not to say that his work is not evidence based, rather that he is demonstrating the application of the evidence.

It’s interesting to see how he has developed his Instagram presence in the past four years without losing his personality or his principles.

I’d give him a follow; I’ve learnt from him and I would point young dentists or OHTs to follow him/ attend a course to develp their restorative skills

As always, please share with a dental friend and have a great week!

Rosie