Join Kosta and his guest: Dr. John Shanks, DDS Owner and Dentist at Golden Oak Sedation Dental and Implant Center and Northside Family Dentistry.
Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is recorded in Cookeville, TN.
Find out more about Dr. John Shanks, DDS and Golden Oak Sedation Dental and Implant Center:
https://www.goldenoaksedationdental.com/
Find out more about Kosta Yepifantsev:
http://kostayepifantsev.com/
Join Kosta and his guest: Dr. John Shanks, DDS Owner and Dentist at Golden Oak Sedation Dental and Implant Center and Northside Family Dentistry.
Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is recorded in Cookeville, TN.
Find out more about Dr. John Shanks, DDS and Golden Oak Sedation Dental and Implant Center:
https://www.goldenoaksedationdental.com/
Find out more about Kosta Yepifantsev:
http://kostayepifantsev.com/
You know, really truly our goal across the board, whether it's cavity risk, Periodontal risk, or by risk and our smell risk is really to lower those risks from a patient throughout the treatment. So, based on those risk factors is how we make recommendations.
Morgan Franklin:Welcome to Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev, a podcast on parenting business and living life intentionally. We're here every week to bring you thoughtful conversation, making your own path to success,challenging the status quo, and finding all the ways we're better together. Here's your host, Kosta Yepifantsev.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Hey y'all, it's Kosta. Today I'm here with my guest, Dr. Johnny Shanks owner and dentist at Golden Oak sedation, dental and Implant Center and Northside Family Dentistry. Johnny as someone who grew up in Crossville and came back to the upper Cumberland to open multiple dental practices. How does it feel to be giving back to the community that raised you?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Because the thanks for having me on and appreciate you guys building this podcast here. Absolutely. So originally from Crossville my father's people are from the Baxter area. Oh, nice. And so my my mother's folks are originally from Sparta. And so you know, the upper Cumberland has been on my heart for some time. And so originally from CrossFit opened up our practice there, Northside dentistry ended up building a new facility here in Cookeville, Tennessee nice, and it's just really neat for us to be able to bring back the technology to bring back those dental services that people really need in a community that we feel is the best place on earth in writing between Knoxville and Nashville, a great, beautiful area, you know, our hometown. And so being able to bring that back to serve the people that are part of our community, man, that's a huge, you know, just a feather in our cap.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Isn't it a great place to raise kids? Man, it's the best, right?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:You can't get much better. I
Kosta Yepifantsev:know, I was actually talking to a friend of mine the other day and the like one of the major tenants that always comes up whenever we talk about Cookeville is a great place to raise family. It's it's fantastic. People are coming from literally the entire country to Cookeville to raise family.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:You know, it's interesting, we're, of course, we get new patients every day. And, you know, patients from New York, California to Oregon, people really want to feel connected and community. And I think that's, you know, Cookeville is a wonderful place to do them.
Kosta Yepifantsev:So let's talk a little bit about the technology and the different services that you bring. I want to talk about Golden Oak sedation, dental and Implant Center, because this isn't your run of the mill dentist office, would you share a bit more about the technology and equipment that's available at this location.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:So first of all, Golden Oak is a sedation Dental Implant Center. And so our focus is on patients that have anxiety patients that might not be able to receive the routine care that they need in, in a normal environment. So not only do we have sedation services, but we also do general dentistry. Yeah. And so some some patients selected to get that general dentistry done in a, you know, in a safe welcoming environment. Yeah. And that's, that's what we can provide. So not only dental implants and the surgeries that go on involved with that, but general dentistry as well. You know, when you mentioned technology, I don't know if you're technology geek,
Kosta Yepifantsev:but all may totally, I mean, I think it's gonna save the world. Yeah.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:So if it's if there's something new involved with tech, I think I'm on it. So from the digital scanners to the 3d Cone Beam X rays to the on site, dental lab that we have, which is fantastic. The ability to actually manufacture these dental prosthetics here in the upper Cumberland, right? It's really cool.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Can I tell you a funny story. So I there's one vivid memory of my childhood in Russia that I never forget, just to tell you what it was like, growing up in a third world country. I went to this dental office, I'll never forget it. And like, there's blood everywhere. Like on the floor, and they and all I remember is the dentist like drilling this poor lady's mouth and I'm just like walking like, I don't want to be here. What's what's happening, drilling this poor lady's mouth and just telling her like, okay, spit, and she has to like turn and spit into the into the bowl, right, which is also covered in blood. So when I came to the United States, because at one point, I had had a broken jaw. Yeah. And I had to get my mouth wired shut. And I'd really never been to the dentist prior to that. And so I was expecting a similar experience. And it was great. And I will say that dentists in the United States and specifically sedation dentistry, going to the dentist is painful. And it doesn't have to be painful.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah, it doesn't have to be, you know, we've been able to take care of a lot of patients that you know, have really transcended some of that anxiety. You know, and I tell patients with a lot of anxiety, there's two things that you need to give yourself number one is grace. And number two is forgiveness. And, you know, when we were little as a child going through an event that was maybe a little traumatizing, right, as we grow into adults, you know, it's really no longer, you know, mainstream to be be scared as an adult. Right. Right. And so a lot of people have trouble transcending that. And that's something that we help people do. You know, because dental health is important. It's an important part of not only your dental specific health, but also your systemic health as well.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah, I agree. And I'm fascinated about that. But it's a little bit later on in the show, but how the health of your teeth and gums affects the health of your overall body. That's amazing. Yeah. But I want to talk about cosmetic dentistry first, over the past decade, cosmetic dental procedures like veneers and implants have become even more popular. What are your thoughts on purely cosmetic dental rejuvenation? And what should patients know before getting the services you know,
Dr. Johnny Shanks:so cosmetics have really exploded throughout the throughout the country. And you know, some of the some of the new techniques that I think are incorporated now would be what I would express to some patients that are interested in cosmetic dentistry and be a component that I've seen in the dental field is just the implementation of the digital workflows and the digital technology when it comes to to rejuvenating a smile. The first thing is smile design. So every everything now is more of a digital makeup and a digital design specific to the patient.
Kosta Yepifantsev:So you can see what your smile is going to look like before you do any of the work.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Absolutely. So one of the cool pieces of technology that we have is a facial scanner, so we can actually scan the face, right? Yeah, scan the face, create a design on the teeth, and then have the patient actually evaluate that design on a big screen. Yeah, so they can kind of see what they're you know what the proposal looks like, right
Kosta Yepifantsev:and approve or deny? Because like the worst thing I don't know if you guys have ever seen Something About Mary when he gets veneers? Yeah, that was good part. Right? That was a good well, like, what do you think about veneers? Like, is that something that you that you champion? Are you a proponent of people getting veneers? Or do you think that it's better to get the brace If your teeth are healthy to just get braces? And it just takes so long? To get your teeth straight with braces? Yeah, especially adult braces?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah, well, I would say like every patients specific circumstance may be a little different. But I think all of those treatment modalities are going to the same direction in here's the the essence of it is confidence, right? And so patients feel confident when they have a beautiful smile. And you know, one of the first things that you notice with patient or with with anyone is their smile. So regardless of whether we get the teeth in right orientation with braces ahead of time, or maybe the circumstance benefits the patient more with more of a minimal prep veneer type scenario, the goal or the outcome, is that when the patient looks at themselves in the mirror, man, they they feel Yeah, often and they feel like they're stepping towards the best version of themselves. Absolutely.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I did have a run there for a little while where I was strongly considering either getting veneers or getting braces, because I never had braces as a kid. And I always sucked my thumb. So and now it's hereditary, and all my kids do it. So shout out to all those children. So long story short, what happened is I have crooked front teeth. They're not terrible, but they're somewhat crooked. And I was watching this show called flipping out with what's his name? Jeff. Jeff Lewis, okay. And he was he was married to this guy named Gage. And Cage had just like perfect straight white teeth. And I told the dentist that I go to I was like, I want to look like gauge. Like we like that people thing I'm like, so we're going to dentist's office, and you asked them to look like a celebrity. But they took me seriously and they put a plan together. And honestly, it was just the time of having to wear braces to get your teeth enough room. But then I had a friend who went to Mexico and got their teeth done. So I have two questions. Number one is, do you think that if you really, really want a beautiful smile, don't get the braces go straight for the veneers? And number two, what do you think about international cosmetic surgery? Well,
Dr. Johnny Shanks:I'll talk on the first point. So the first point is, you know, it's really based upon your individual risk. So kind of as we were talking about earlier, is we're very much an outcome based practice. We're going to evaluate the risk factors for each individual patient. And an interesting thing about orthodontics and I know it takes a little bit of time, but you know, one of the things that we evaluated is what we call your your bite risk and how much where you've had in some of the metrics that we know just from the clinical data is that a millimeter of tooth wear is pretty consistent over 100 years. Okay, so whenever we have a little bit greater by risk, it may be prudent to get the teeth in the right direction actually lower that risk, before we go to a cosmetic veneer type modality. And because, you know, really, truly our goal across the board, whether it's cavity risk, a periodontal risk, or by risk, and our smell risk is really to lower those risks for the patient throughout the treatment. So based on those risk factors, is how we make recommendations to essentially that you know, because patient wants outcome chair one an outcome that successful not only from a cosmetic standpoint, but from a functional standpoint,
Kosta Yepifantsev:but is it always better to have your teeth as opposed to fake teeth? Absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. So that's, that's another major question. As you know, there's
Dr. Johnny Shanks:nothing there's nothing better than the real thing, right. Yeah. Now, are there risk involved for for every person, you know? Surely, yeah. But those can be evaluated. And, and, you know, if you've got great healthy, perfect teeth, there's a lot of treatment options available that are, you know, less invasive, ya know, traditional whitening, for instance, you know, there's a lot of take home options. And, you know, but if you still drink the coffee, right, if you still drink locally,
Kosta Yepifantsev:and like if you have sensitive teeth to, then you know, those strips hurt. That's right. I mean, believe me, when it comes to dental health, I've actually attempted pretty much everything that there is, and I just don't want to grind my teeth into nubs. And put beautiful white, perfect, straight. Gage, ask looking at, you know, unfortunately.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah, I'll talk to your point. You mentioned I had a buddy that went international. Yeah, Dental. And so you know, I've never had any patients that have went overseas for dental. But, you know, don't don't tourism is a thing, right? And so my recommendation is, regardless of what you do, whether you come to the States or territory, if you go internationally, is just do your homework, right? Yeah. And so anytime you go out of the states, there's no longer some of these agencies that are really protecting you from a product standpoint,
Kosta Yepifantsev:I wish we had time to tell you the story of my friend who went to Tijuana to get stem cells and the the doctor's office that he had, he got sedated he got put to sleep in this place that was under construction. Interesting. I mean, the some of the pictures, maybe we'll, we'll touch on it at the end of the episode, if we have time, but it was you want to talk about it was no pun intended a trip? You've been very proactive in your professional development, graduating from the kois center for dental excellence and becoming a member of countless professional organizations. How does this ongoing education impact your practice and patient care?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:First of all, lifelong learner is a central core value of our entire organization. And that starts with me, the biggest thing that I think learning does is it keeps you sharp and keeps you on the cutting edge or I agree. And with dentistry, you know, one of the things that has been eye opening for me is the clinical evidence that relates to the actual treatment we recommend. So look at the kois center, you know, we're very much interested in what the literature says, specific to the type of care that we're delivering to our patients. So what does that mean? That means, you know, we're looking at specific bonding agent protocols, some specific techniques on registering the bite. So all of these workflows, and these, you know, checklists are a big part of the care that we deliver to patients, you know, and it's in, it's also important to be a leader in the community. Whenever you think, you know, it all is typically the time when you win when you get hit pretty hard. And so, you know, willingly give graciously receive, keep learning, keep investing, because the new digital workflows are just so interesting to develop. And, yeah, it's super fun as well.
Kosta Yepifantsev:When I was reading your bio, one of the things that stuck out was you know, that all the education that you've completed to become proficient and not just proficient but to excel in your field. And I'm just curious, the kois center is are there any other dentists in this area that have graduated from there?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yes. So I've got metta met a few guys that are actually going through the curriculum, which is fantastic because it builds community, you will find that the course center, dentists from Japan, Dennis from Ukraine, nice Australia, several buddies from Australia, got a guy in Scotland, that's a good buddy of mine. And so it's very much an inner international distance. Mission for learning advanced techniques, specifically to, you know, the literature that points to those outcomes. Yeah. So super cool play? And is
Kosta Yepifantsev:it specifically designed to incorporate a technological approach to how you operate your practice? Or is it more about making you excel and the ability to have the implant aspect of your practice? So
Dr. Johnny Shanks:it's a combination of both. Okay, so at the center, we learn. You know, there's a lot of courses where you can learn your business acumen, you can learn the aspects of running the business, this is more of a clinical outcome based approach. You know, John kois, is a world renowned dentist and educator probably, in my opinion, the best educator out there, the clinical workflows that you learn through that process. And it's a pretty long curriculum. But what you learned through that process is exactly what I mentioned to you. It's to evaluate patients based on a risk analysis, yeah, to create clinical protocols that not only help the patients lower the risk, but that create outcomes for the patient that are successful in a 21st century environment. That's right. And so it's been done analog for a long time. Yeah. And so now with the digital technology, now, we're transforming what used to be done analog wise to the digital environment. So no more no more the goopy impressions, right.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I know. I love it brings back memories. Speaking of dental education, I want to congratulate you on facilitating the first dental residency program in Cookeville. This is a huge step for the health and well being of this community. Will you tell us more about what this will entail and what it means for all of us?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah, absolutely. So this is in partnership with Jackson mu University, the American Academy of implant dentistry in the in the maybe Ohio, which is American Board of Oral Implantology. It's a residency program, a three year program that develops a recent Dental School graduate and essentially develops that school graduate to master's level degree in Oral Implantology. And so, as we know, tooth loss is a big thing for just the whole country. And teaching that at that level, to be proficient, and, you know, to be a proficient doctor, and also to be clinical excellence, right? Is is a big deal. So being able to bring that to the community, I think will help just be a boon for the community, it'll attract talent to the upper criminal, you know, our goal is to train these doctors and in our environment for over a three year period. But, you know, hopefully, with the relationships and the people that they meet, hopefully, we'll be able to hold some of those professionals in this community. And so I think attracting high level talent to the upper Cumberland is something that not only will, you know, help the community but you know, it bolsters the upper Cumberland and creates opportunity for others.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I agree. And honestly, like, Cookeville always astounds me because, you know, it's like a fraction of the size of big cities, and it has all these amazing amenities like PBS station, you know, residency programs, dentists, you know, and I think what people need to realize is, as dentists come to this community, and they complete this residency program, and they decide to stay that it because there are so many more dentists, it could technically drive down the cost of dental care, so it's not, or it may not exacerbate it to a degree because of scarcity. Sure. I think it's very important. When you when somebody completes this residency program, are they at that point proficient to do implant dentistry and sedation, dentistry and all that stuff? Absolutely.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Okay. Absolutely. So So there'll be as a brother, were out there says certified and bonafide right. And so, but yeah, they will be and it's, it's a wonderful opportunity. And, you know, teaching for me is has been a passion. And we're, we're excited about those opportunities. Well,
Kosta Yepifantsev:you come from a family of teacher Yeah,
Dr. Johnny Shanks:it's funny story is, you know, both my sisters and my mother have been teachers, and I think my mother taught school for maybe 40 years. So I was kind of the black sheep, right. I was like, going to dental school mom. So finally I told her about the residency program. And she said, Johnny, I knew you know, you'd come back. I love
Kosta Yepifantsev:it. It's hard to believe that it's been over three years since the pandemic began, and according to multiple medical journals, over 55% of Americans are still delaying and suffering the consequences of poor dental health during 2020. What dangers do we face when we ignore dental health?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:One of the interesting things is routine dental visits and timely cleanings and timely recare visits are some of the most inexpensive components of our oral health regimen. But like you said in that study, you know, 55% of Americans are still delaying or suffering from some of these issues. So the big thing that I would recommend is see your dentist, right? create those opportunities to talk with your professional to get your overall oral health evaluated, you know, because what we know now is that the oral health is it's really connected with our systemic health. And so regardless of whether it's periodontal disease in connection with heart disease, Periodontal disease in connection with diabetes, Periodontal Disease connected with inflammatory factors that increase our risk for cardiovascular issues, inflammation in the body is just not a good thing agreed. And what we're finding now is that there's a whole lot of connections that we didn't know about in the past. And so routine dental visits, making sure that you have the adequate adequate cleaning regimens, and just getting an overall evaluation, man, that's a huge thing. You know, our ability to chew our ability to really break down that nutritional value for us, right is a big component. And we know as we age, it gets a little difficult, right? And so, as our population is getting older and older, just want to highlight the prevention component, you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? You know, routine visits, and really making sure that you keep the mouth good and clean, free of infection free of inflammation is a huge component to your overall health.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Are people taking their dental health more seriously, since you've been a dentist?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah, I think so. Okay. Okay. So and I think as some of these newer studies, continue to roll out, there'll be a more of a highlight for for patients that are seeking that type of care.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Does it ever astound you? And I ask this because I'm always astounded. Does it ever astound you, like how many people have poor dental health or maybe like, lose their teeth by the time they get to their to retirement age?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:Yeah. So multiple factors there. And what I tell patients is, you know, it's a combination of, you know, environment, and specifically what, what mom and dad High Five do with Ryan? Yeah. And so we can't we can't run from genetics, right. And so, are some patients predisposed? Absolutely, yeah, are there some things that that we can do to help patients, and that's really what patients want, they want to be able to maintain and maintain their teeth and enjoy chewing their steak right? For the rest of their lives, right. So although some patients have challenges, focusing on more of a risk based assessment plan really helps patients engage in a way that creates success. For instance, I had a patient with pretty high cavity risk in the story that she kept telling was, you know, Doctor shanks and flossing three times a day and brushing three times a day, come in here, and I'm getting all my routine care complete, and I'm still not able to reduce the amount of cavity that I'm getting. I gave her a book called Huami. It's a it's a book from Kim cooch, who's the founder of carry free, it's a some products for for patients that actually help lower the risk. So what I mentioned to her is, you know, the pH of the mouth really dictates our ability to get a cavity. Yeah, when the pH is really low or more acidic, the bacteria that calls Cabri flourish in that environment. If we can modify the pH, get it more neutral to basic, and there's a whole different type of bacteria that come in that aren't as effective at creating decay. And so that kind of the the light bulb came in, in acid. So environmentally, maybe some of the components that you're eating or drinking could increase that risk. She said, Well, you know, I've got the route 44 Dr. Pepper that Pay man, it's just my thing. The big
Kosta Yepifantsev:one, the big one big oil with free refills. Yeah.
Dr. Johnny Shanks:And so I said, you know, we may want to consider that. Yeah, acid reflux, you know, stomach acid coming back into the mouth, obviously, that's going to make that environment more acidic. So creating treatment modalities help lower the risk for the patient. That's really because when you think about it, dentistry sometimes can be thought of as a solution to a symptom. And modifying the risk factor can be a cure for the cause.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah. And I mean, nothing hurts more than a bad tooth. Yeah, Nothing ruins your day, your week or your month than your tooth hurting. Absolutely. To wrap up two quick questions. How often should the average person see the dentist and what should we do in between visits to ensure the longevity of our teeth and health overall?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:So we recommend six month cleaning and you know, coming in to get an evaluation with your local dentist, and I'll tell you the tying that back to the longevity of our just overall health, I think timely dental visits, routine dental visits, getting those cleanings, making sure there's no inflammation in the mouth, that's going to be the huge component of your overall systemic health. What we know now is there's a lot of connection is between a healthy mouth and a healthy body. And so, typically six months is a good routine. Some patients need a little bit more than that. Some patients can be a little farther, consult your your local provider and come up with a game plan on how how you can get everything really good and clean and good and healthy.
Kosta Yepifantsev:So we always like to end the show on a high note, who is someone that makes you better when you're together?
Dr. Johnny Shanks:You know, as an entrepreneur in the dental space, I would I've got to say my team, you know, our team is just so incredibly awesome, you know, from helping us, you know, hire in folks for our new business to creating a warm, welcoming environment to our patients. I'm a huge believer in teams and you know, the one little line that I'll say is that none of us are smarter than all of us. And so, you know, teamwork makes the dream work.
Morgan Franklin:Thank you for joining us on this episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev. If you've enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.Leave us a review or better yet,share this episode with a friend. Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a Kosta Yepifantsev Production.Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin post production mixing and editing by Mike Franklin. Want to know more about Kosta visit us at kostayepifantsev.com We're better together. We'd like to remind our listeners that the views and opinions expressed during this episode are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy or position of this show its producers or any related entities or advertisers. While our discussions may touch on various topics of interest,please note that the content is intended to inspire thought provoking dialogue and should not be used for a substitute for professional advice.Specifically, nothing heard on this podcast should be construed as financial, legal,medical or any other kind of professional advice. We encourage our listeners to consult with a professional in these areas for guidance tailored to their specific circumstances.