The Dentist
Dr. Ray Besharati
DDS, MS · Orofacial Pain & TMJ · Issaquah, WA
Twenty years ago I chose dentistry because I wanted to do work that mattered — work that required skill, judgment, and presence. What I didn't expect was how little of dental education prepared me for the actual practice of dentistry: the ambiguity, the weight of decisions, the gap between competence and confidence.
That gap is what this publication is about.
I specialize in orofacial pain and TMJ — a field that sits at the intersection of dentistry, neurology, and chronic pain medicine. My patients often arrive after years of being misdiagnosed or dismissed. What I've learned from them, and from the research, shapes how I think about all of clinical dentistry.
What I Believe
Clinical skill is necessary.
Clinical wisdom is rarer.
Most CE teaches you what to do. Almost none of it teaches you how to think — how to sit with uncertainty, how to communicate with a patient who is frightened or in chronic pain, how to make good decisions when the evidence is mixed. The Designed Edge exists to close that gap.
I write for dentists who have done the coursework, bought the equipment, and still feel like something essential is missing. I also write for patients who want to understand the thinking — not just the treatment — behind what happens in the chair.
Training & Credentials
- DDS — Dental degree
- MS — Graduate specialty training
- Orofacial Pain & TMJ specialist
- Twenty years in clinical practice
Clinical Focus
- Temporomandibular disorders (TMD)
- Chronic orofacial pain
- Airway & sleep dentistry
- Complex, multi-disciplinary cases
Practice
- Highlands Dentistry
- Issaquah, Washington
- Founder, BrushUp Health
- Workforce education for dental professionals
The goal is not to become a better technician.
It is to become a more complete clinician.
On the practice of dentistry
Read the writing
Essays on clinical philosophy, practice wisdom, and the questions that don't appear on board exams.