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.