867: From Artist to Technician: Unlocking the Power of Whole-Brain Dentistry – Dr. Charlie Ward & Joshua Polansky

Are you a dentist who is an artist, scientist, or maybe even a therapist? In this episode of Clinical Edge Fridays, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Charlie Ward, visiting faculty member from The Pankey Institute, and Joshua Polansky, owner of Niche Dental Studio, to share how success in dentistry requires both hemispheres of your brain. Dentistry isn't just fixing teeth! To learn why both sides matter and how to develop the different skill sets you need, listen to Episode 867 of The Best Practices Show!Learn More About Dr. Ward & Joshua:Send Dr. Ward an email: [email protected] Follow Dr. Ward on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drcwardddsLearn more about Dr. Ward’s practice: https://www.baltimoredentalarts.comWatch Dr. Ward’s webinars: https://restorativenation.comFollow Joshua on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nichedentalstudioLearn more about Joshua’s dental lab: https://nichedentalstudio.comRegister for Dr. Mazzola & Dr. Ward’s Mastering Treatment Planning course (October 2-4, 2025): https://pankey.org/registration/?courseId=17004&tuition=0&lodging=trueRegister for Dr. Ward’s Mastering Aesthetic Restorative Dentistry course (June 17-20, 2026): https://pankey.org/course-category/mardRegister for Dr. Mazzola & Dr. Ward’s Mastering Dental Photography course (July 30, 2026 to August 1, 2026): https://pankey.org/registration/?courseId=17781&tuition=0&lodging=trueLearn More About ACT Dental:ACT’s webinars: https://www.actdental.com/135ACT’s website: https://www.actdental.comACT’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actdentalACT’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/actdentalACT’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actdentalACT’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3137520/admin/feed/posts/ACT’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/actdentalMore Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listenJoin The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaDownload ACT’s BPA app on the Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/best-practices-association/id6738960360Download ACT’s BPA app on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actdental.join&hl=en_USJoin ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/tttSee the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/eventGet The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazinePlease leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218Main Takeaways:Don't just tap into the analytical and technical side of your brain.Dentistry also requires a high level of artistry and creativity.Develop the emotional maturity to not strive for perfection.In working with patients, you need emotional intelligence.Look within to identify your strengths and weaknesses.Quotes:“My buddy Mike, years ago, told me — let's call it a midlife crisis that I was having at 39, or whatever it was. I was telling him, ‘I really want to do more aesthetic dentistry. This is where I enjoy my work the most.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense. You're an artist and a teacher.’ I was like, ‘That doesn't sound like me. What?’ Then, I thought about it. I was like, ‘I do the aesthetic things so that I can photograph them so I can show other people how to do it. It's exactly what I am.’ I didn't realize that until then. So, am I more of one than the other? I think I was artistic before I was systematic.” (6:18—7:02) -Dr. Ward“I also used to strive for perfection. The only thing that it did for me was lead me to burnout, smoking, and drinking. Perfection is deadly. I would actually say striving for perfection is dangerous.” (13:11—13:31) -Joshua“I'm a very open-minded person. When I see good work, I don't shit on it. I say, ‘Oh my God, that's amazing.’ So, I keep taking in what I think is perfect, and then I keep trying to make subtle changes to try to make it better. But I'm not striving for what I used to deem as perfection because, in all honesty — this isn't like a cliché thing — it does not exist. It does not exist. It just doesn't exist, and you have to be mature enough to understand that it doesn't exist.” (13:50—14:23) -Joshua“I don't want to say this, but for a doctor, I think striving for perfection is a little easier because their prep gets covered by [the dental tech’s] work. Our work is out there for the world. Like, when we look at our work, it's hard. You're naked to the world. If you see something is off, it's off. That's why I see what Charlie sees in this case. I do. But I think it looks good. I just think it looks good. And I think once you start sacrificing “excellent” for “perfection”, that's when you make mistakes. He'll go to [“fix”] it. He'll make it worse. The patient will say, ‘Oh, I used to like how it was.’ Now, you go down a rabbit hole of you have to remake them. Now, I get angry. So, it gets crazy. I think we have to be mature and know where to draw the line. The problem, I think, for young dentists is they haven't understood where that line is yet. That's where that chaos evolves. So, when I say that perfection is dangerous, I would follow that by saying you should probably go through a period of — not torture, but you should feel pain until you understand where your bar is. You should set a bar for yourself.” (14:25—15:41) -Joshua“I always saw Josh as an artist that became a technician through, I'll say necessity, exactly as he described it. I like the way he put it. Like, we see things a certain way. We see things through a certain lens or a certain perspective. So, when I'm taking a photo of something, I think Josh sees things similar to the way I see them. I think just as I became more technical to make my systems better, he had to become more technical to deal with the type of cases that he was doing. It wasn't all single centrals anymore, that he was hand-layering 15 single centrals to get the right one. He was trying to figure out how to deal with a hybrid that was fracturing. We need to know technical information about thicknesses of materials and torques and screw sizes. Like, all of these things are not artistic anymore.” (15:55—16:51) -Dr. Ward“I think that we both have to be technical because we both own businesses. I think that running a business from a creative side only could become very detrimental because our artistics have a lot of feelings. We always feel a certain way. In running a company, I think that that would be a problem. I know a lot of technicians who run their businesses off their feelings. Unfortunately, they don't really work out. So, at some point, the analytical side has to kick over and take over. Charlie and I, as we worked together over the last however many years, we both went into business also at the same time together. Charlie has grown into a bigger practice with more associates. I've grown into a bigger lab with more employees. So, I think that that's another reason our left side...