
Episode #183
What 35 years in dentistry taught Abdi Sameni about getting better
Thirty-five years into dentistry, Dr. Abdi Sameni isn’t thinking much about slowing down. He’s still asking what he can learn next. Sameni joins Drs. Pam Maragliano and Brian Nový for a wide-ranging conversation about what happens when dentists remain students of their profession. They explore why some of the most interesting dental education is happening outside the usual circles, how communities such as bioemulation connect clinicians around the world, and why mentorship can change the trajectory of a career. But the conversation also gets clinical: Is biomimetic dentistry always the right answer? Are dentists intervening too late—or sometimes doing too much? Sameni makes the case for respecting the tooth at every stage of life, detecting disease before conventional treatment becomes necessary, and choosing treatment for the patient in front of you rather than following a clinical ideology. Plus: why a Class II composite can still be worth traveling to learn, the surprisingly important problem of orthodontic retention, and what keeps dentistry interesting after decades in practice.

