Dental Slang

About Dental Slang

Welcome to Dental Slang, the podcast that peels back the curtain on the world of dentistry, now hosted by Dr. Reza Ardalan. If you're intrigued by what your peers are up to, you've just stumbled upon your new favorite podcast. Dental Slang brings together some of the most brilliant minds in dentistry and specialists from across the globe. Whether you're fascinated by the nuances of smile design, curious about the latest advancements in artificial intelligence applied to dentistry, or simply interested in the stories and insights of dental professionals who shape the industry, we've got you covered.

Publisher

Dr. Reza Ardalan

Category

health & fitness · science

Language

aa

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Sept 2019

Latest episode

11 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Sept 2026

   Why Gut Inflammation Shows Up in the Mouth First with Dr. Lucy Hooper

   Most dentists accept that oral health and systemic health are connected. The harder question, as Dr. Reza Ardalan puts it, is what that knowledge actually changes when a patient is sitting in the chair. In this episode, Dr. Lucy Hooper, a London GP and co-founder of the prevention-first practice Coyne Medical, answers from the physician's side of the referral. Her answer keeps returning to inflammation. Dr. Hooper explains why the gut-mouth relationship runs in both directions, including lab research showing that immune cells primed in the gut against P. gingivalis can travel to the gums and drive bone loss. She is candid that much of this evidence is still coming from the lab rather than from patients. She makes the case that recurring mouth ulcers deserve a second look in a patient with otherwise good home care, since oral signs of inflammatory bowel disease can appear well before intestinal symptoms. Very few of those patients are ever asked about their mouth by the physician managing their disease. The most practical stretch of the conversation is about antibiotics. More than 90% of patients carrying a penicillin allergy label aren't allergic, according to Dr. Hooper. The clindamycin they're prescribed instead can leave the gut microbiome altered years later. Dentists see that label constantly and are well placed to question it. Dr. Hooper also shares what makes a referral letter land with a physician: be direct, say exactly what worries you, and never assume the doctor knows dentistry. She explains why she believes saliva is about to become one of the most powerful diagnostic tools in medicine, and dentists are already the ones collecting it. Her advice for Monday morning is simple: ask one more question. Key Points Why the gut-mouth connection runs both ways, and where the science is still catching up How a questionable penicillin allergy label can cost a patient's gut health for years What recurring mouth ulcers can signal about disease beyond the mouth The open-ended question Dr. Hooper wants every dentist asking When a referral letter gets a physician's attention, and what to leave out Where saliva diagnostics is headed next Dr. Lucy Hooper is a general practitioner and co-founder of Coyne Medical, a private family practice in Fulham, London, focused on prevention, early detection, and unhurried, personalized care. A graduate of Imperial College London, she holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master's in Healthcare Law and Ethics, Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and a Diploma in Child Health. Her practice pairs traditional family medicine with advanced health screening, including genomics and biomarker-based prevention. She is a speaker at the upcoming Wellness Dental Forum 2026 and, with Dr. Hugh Coyne, teaches a continuing education course for dentists, Dentistry & Whole-Body Health. You can follow her on Instagram at @drlucyhooper.

2. 

   15 Jul 2026

   How to Do a Beautiful Class Four in the Same Time as a Regular Filling with Dr. Susan McMahon

   What if you could do a beautiful class four in the same 30 minutes you'd spend on a regular filling? In this episode, Dr. Reza Ardalan sits down with Dr. Susan McMahon, an AACD-accredited restorative dentist out of Pittsburgh and one of the most recognized clinicians in the country. Susan is the founder of Smiles in the City, a fee-for-service restorative practice she built from the ground up after starting her career in a drill-fill-and-bill amalgam office. The conversation takes a personal turn early when Susan tells the story of the $100,000 laser whitening system she signed up for without reading the contract — the moment her practice tipped from "what people need" to "what people want." From there, Reza and Susan go everywhere: why AACD accreditation rebuilds your eye, how she became a restorative referral source for teenagers and post-ortho cases, the conservative European mindset she picked up training in Italy, why diastema closure and class four restorations can be done predictably in the same time as a regular filling, and the tag-the-practice social media system that fills her chair. A key part of the conversation lands at the end. Susan walks Reza through her upcoming online restorative course — five one-hour modules built for general dentists who want to elevate their everyday restorations without slowing down their day. Module one is the class four. Module two is the invisible class three (no gray, no lost sheen). Module three is her five-minute finish — the polish that puts surface anatomy back so composite reads as enamel instead of plastic. Module four is using provisionals as the prototype for final restorations. Module five covers her full enamel treatment toolkit — microabrasion, infiltration, whitening combinations. It's the first time she's put her actual restorative system online, and if you've ever felt the gap between what you see on social media and what you can actually produce in your operatory, this one is gold. Key Points The $100,000 laser whitening machine she signed for without reading the contract — and why it changed her career Why a beautiful class four takes the same 30 minutes as a regular class four — if you know the system The invisible class three: how to finish without gray shadow or lost sheen Using provisionals as the prototype for final restorations — the move most GPs skip The full enamel treatment toolkit: microabrasion, infiltration, and whitening combinations Why AACD accreditation is closer to a board exam than a CE certificate How she became a restorative referral source for teenagers coming out of ortho Why 40% of clear orthodontic cases finish with black triangles What four trips to Italy taught her about being conservative with the drill Dr. Susan McMahon is a clinician and educator whose teaching focuses on conservative techniques that preserve natural tooth structure. She lectures internationally on minimally invasive cosmetic and restorative work, sharing the techniques she uses in her own practice with general dentists worldwide. As an Accredited Member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Fellow of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics, and Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, Dr. McMahon leads one of Western Pennsylvania's premier cosmetic dental practices. She has been named a Top Dentist more than 20 times, including consecutive annual selections as a Top Pittsburgh Dentist by her peers for more than two decades. Find Dr. McMahon on Instagram at @smilesinthecity and @DrSusanMcMahon. Learn more about Zero Trace Restoration on Dental Education Studios. Five techniques that make everyday restorations look like advanced esthetic dentistry — built around systems any general dentist can run in their existing appointment blocks. The course starts on Tuesday, Sept. 15th. Join live or watch the on-demand recordings.

3. 

   29 May 2026

   Whole-Body Health with Dr. Hugh Coyne

   In this conversation, Dr. Reza Ardalan sits down with Dr. Hugh Coyne, a London-based family medicine practitioner and the son of a pediatric dentist, who built Coyne Medical with his wife and clinical partner Dr. Lucy Coyne specifically to practice the kind of preventive medicine the NHS 10-minute appointment window does not allow. His training at Imperial College London and postgraduate work in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric health, and sports medicine give him a panoramic view of the screening opportunities most dentists are sitting on without realizing it. Dr. Coyne walks through the short blood panel he would build into every dental practice: HbA1c for diabetes risk that directly changes wound healing and periodontal outcomes, highly sensitive CRP for the kind of cardiovascular inflammation a UK Biobank study of over 400,000 people linked to a 61% higher risk of cardiovascular death, vitamin D with the K2 pairing that keeps calcium out of arterial walls, renal function, and a full blood count. From there, Dr. Coyne and Dr. Ardalan move into the oral microbiome shift from pathogen elimination to ecosystem restoration, the role of P. gingivalis in rheumatoid arthritis through citrullinated protein antibodies, and the cardiometabolic markers most patients never get tested for, including apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein(a). The third act covers GLP-1 medications, the Gila monster origin story, the medieval cautionary tale of Sancho the Fat, and the dental-chair implications most patients will never volunteer on a health history form. In this Episode: The short blood panel any dental practice can start with: HbA1c, highly sensitive CRP, vitamin D, renal function, and a full blood count Why vitamin D supplementation without vitamin K2 may direct calcium into the wrong tissues, including arterial walls How a UK Biobank study of more than 400,000 people linked elevated hs-CRP to a 61% higher risk of cardiovascular death in patients otherwise considered well What the 87% of patients open to in-chair screening tells you about how to introduce blood testing in your practice without losing trust The rule of halves for blood pressure, and why a 158 reading caught on a second visit can be profoundly consequential for a patient's long-term survival How the oral microbiome model has shifted from pathogen elimination to ecosystem restoration, and what that changes about prevention Why P. gingivalis turns up in rheumatoid arthritis tissue, and how oral pathogens correlate with colorectal, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers The bachelor-party analogy for apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein(a), and why every dentist should know their own Lp(a) number What every dental practice needs to know before sedating a patient on a GLP-1 medication Dr. Hugh Coyne is a London-based GP and the co-founder, with his wife Dr. Lucy Coyne, of Coyne Medical, a family medicine practice focused on preventive care and the early detection of disease. Dr. Hugh Coyne trained at Imperial College London with postgraduate degrees in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric health, and sports medicine, and is a featured speaker at the Wellness Dental Forum 2026. Find him on Instagram and TikTok at @drhughcoyne and the clinic at @coyne_medical. Want to go deeper on the oral–systemic connection? Dentistry & Whole-Body Health is a 3-part live CE series on reading the medical signals hiding in your patients' bloodwork — and knowing what to do with them. Session 1:  Hidden Signals · Saturday, November 7, 2026 The bloodwork your patients already have, read through a dentist's lens. HbA1c, hs-CRP, vitamin D, CBC — and when to monitor, pause, or refer. Session 2: Cardiovascular Clues · Saturday, November 21, 2026 The lipid markers most panels skip (ApoB, Lp(a)) and the oral–heart connection behind them. Yes — this is the bachelor-party one. Session 3: The New Weight Loss Era · Saturday, December 5, 2026 What GLP-1s are quietly doing to how your patients eat, metabolize, and heal — and the chairside adjustments that come with it. All 3-hour sessions run 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 4 PM UK, with 30-day recording access if you can't make it live. 9 AGD-PACE-approved CE credits across the series. Nothing here asks you to become a doctor — it gives you the medical layer that's already shaping your outcomes. Enrollment opens soon: $1,497 → Or try a single session — $625 More details coming soon!

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Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

11 ratings