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Occlusion is one of the most talked-about—and most misunderstood—topics in restorative dentistry. In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Dr. John Kois challenges many of the static, mechanical definitions of occlusion that most dentists were taught in dental school and offers a fundamentally different way of thinking about how the masticatory system actually works in real patients.

Drawing from decades of clinical practice, specialty training in both periodontics and prosthodontics, and his experience educating restorative dentists around the world, Dr. Kois reframes occlusion as a dynamic, adaptive system rather than a fixed set of contacts to be checked off with articulating paper. He explains why relying solely on traditional concepts like MIP, right and left working movements, and morphological classifications often fails to predict long-term outcomes—and why this gap is at the root of many restorative failures, postoperative sensitivity, mobility, muscle pain, and patient dissatisfaction.

This episode lays the foundation for understanding occlusion through the lens of function, adaptation, and risk, rather than dogma. Dr. Kois introduces key concepts such as pathway wear, jaw position relative to the head, and the body's adaptive responses to occlusal disharmony—highlighting why so many problems are misattributed to bruxism, airway issues, or "parafunction," when the true etiology lies elsewhere.

You'll hear why:

• MIP should be viewed as a terminal position, not the starting point of occlusal analysis

• Static bite relationships often tell us very little about whether an occlusion is actually working

• Pathway wear is one of the most critical—and commonly missed—risk factors in restorative cases

• Many restorative "failures" are actually adaptive responses by the body trying to protect itself

• Dentists often succeed not because occlusion is ideal, but because patients adapt—sometimes at a long-term biological cost

This conversation is especially relevant for dentists who want to move beyond single-tooth dentistry and into more comprehensive care—full-mouth cases, complex restorative planning, implant rehabilitation, and interdisciplinary treatment. If you've ever had a case that looked perfect on the articulator but unraveled clinically, this episode will help you understand why.

Part one sets the conceptual framework. In part two, the discussion continues into how these principles influence diagnosis, restorative decision-making, and long-term predictability.

If occlusion has ever felt confusing, frustrating, or inconsistent in your hands, this episode will help you start seeing the system differently—and more clearly.

In Part 2 of this two-part conversation, we move from theory into the real-world details that quietly put dentists at risk every single day.

My guest, Evan Sampson, is a healthcare attorney who has served as general counsel to one of the largest dental support organizations in the country. He brings a rare and invaluable perspective at the intersection of dentistry, law, payer audits, and regulatory enforcement — and in this episode, we get very specific.

We unpack what actually makes certain procedures, CDT codes, and clinical scenarios high-risk from a fraud, waste, and abuse standpoint, even when there is no malicious intent. Evan explains how dentists inadvertently get flagged as outliers, why payer audits are often data-driven rather than complaint-driven, and how documentation gaps — not clinical skill — are what ultimately create exposure.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Why up-coding, unbundling, and weak surgical extraction documentation are some of the most common (and expensive) pitfalls

• How payer audits are triggered, what auditors look for, and why Medicaid claims carry disproportionate risk

• Why dentists should write progress notes as if a regulator, payer, or board investigator will read them later — because one day, they might

• The legal realities of fee-for-service, out-of-network billing, professional courtesy, discounts, and when "good intentions" can still create compliance problems

We also spend significant time on a topic every dentist encounters but few are trained to manage: difficult and high-risk patients.

Evan shares how to identify red flags that may not be obvious at first, when it is appropriate to terminate the doctor-patient relationship, and how to do so without exposing yourself to allegations of abandonment. We discuss unruly patients, non-payment, mid-treatment dismissals, refunds, releases, and why protecting your license sometimes means making uncomfortable — but strategic — decisions.

This episode is ultimately about risk reduction, professionalism, and self-preservation. Not practicing defensively, but practicing deliberately. Tightening the details. Building a culture of compliance. And understanding that most dentists who get into serious trouble never thought they were doing anything wrong.

If you care about protecting your license, your livelihood, and your future — this is an episode you don't want to skip.

Most dentists think of compliance as a background concern—something administrative, abstract, or handled by "the office."
In reality, it's one of the highest-risk, most overlooked areas of modern dental practice.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Dr. Melissa Seibert sits down with Evan Sampson, a healthcare attorney with over a decade of experience advising dentists and healthcare organizations on fraud, waste, abuse, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.

Evan has served as General Counsel to a major dental support organization and held senior compliance leadership roles within the largest municipal hospital system in the United States. In this episode, he pulls back the curtain on what compliance actually looks like in day-to-day dentistry—and why well-intentioned clinicians often put themselves at risk without realizing it.

This conversation reframes clinical notes as legal evidence, not just charting formalities. Together, Dr. Seibert and Evan explore how common documentation habits—templated notes, vague progress entries, auto-populated language, and inconsistent coding—can quietly become liabilities during audits, payer disputes, or board complaints.

You'll hear a candid breakdown of:

• What fraud, waste, and abuse actually look like in everyday dental practice (and why most of it is inadvertent)

• Why documentation and coding errors are among the most common sources of exposure for dentists

• The legal risks of upcoding, unbundling, and inaccurate procedure representation

• Why surgical vs. simple extraction coding is so frequently audited

• How "write it once and forget it" charting can come back years later—with real consequences

• The mindset shift dentists need: writing notes as if they will be read aloud in a courtroom

• Why the cover-up—or "fixing" notes improperly—is often worse than the original mistake

• How compliance, when done well, can actually reveal missed revenue and operational inefficiencies

This episode isn't about fear-mongering. It's about clarity, ownership, and professional maturity. If you're a dentist who cares deeply about doing the right thing—clinically and ethically—this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about notes, coding, and responsibility.

And this is just the foundation.

Part 2 will go even deeper into consent, adverse events, and proactive strategies to protect yourself, your license, and your future.

If you've ever thought:

• "I didn't know that could be a problem."

• "That's how we've always charted."

• "The front desk handles the coding."

This episode is required listening.