Heard of the Bonner Method? Understanding Your U.S. Microscope Training Options
If you found the Bonner Method while searching for phase contrast microscope training, chances are you are looking for more than instructions on how to focus a slide.
You want to understand the living biofilm beneath the gumline, show patients what you are seeing, and use that information to deliver better periodontal care.
The Bonner Method has helped bring important attention to microscope-guided periodontal care. I support the work Dr. Bonner is doing, and I am grateful that dental teams now have excellent training options in different parts of the world. The TOSH Method offers another option for teams looking for virtual training that combines microscope-guided hygiene with complete practice implementation.
Microscopy Has a Rich History
Dr. Paul H. Keyes was an important American pioneer in microbiologically monitored periodontal therapy.
Dr. Keyes conducted research at the National Institute of Dental Research from 1955 to 1981. His periodontal research dates to at least 1964, and in 1975 he reported that periodontal disease could be approached as a bacterial infection and monitored with phase contrast microscopy. By the late 1970s, the microscope-guided approach known as the Keyes Technique was being widely discussed in American dentistry.
Dr. Keyes’ work helped establish ideas that still matter today: look at the infection, educate the patient, monitor microbial changes, and adjust therapy based on what you find. Dr. Bonner has continued advancing microscope-guided periodontal care through his own structured method in Canada and Europe.
Together, these contributions have helped more dental professionals see and address periodontal infection differently. My own clinical philosophy follows much of Dr. Keyes’ work while expanding those foundational ideas for the realities of today’s dental practice.
What Is the Bonner Method?
The Bonner Method is a specific trademarked protocol developed by Canadian dentist Dr. Mark Bonner. It uses phase contrast microscopy throughout a structured periodontal treatment process, with particular attention to motile bacteria, inflammatory cells, and oral protozoa such as amoebae and trichomonads.
The International Institute of Periodontology offers Bonner Method training for participating dentists and their team members. Its published seminar curriculum includes phase contrast microscopy, treatment protocols, patient communication, recordkeeping, and implementation.
If you specifically want Bonner Method certification and permission to use that name, you need to train through the Institute or an authorized provider. The TOSH Method is not Bonner Method certification and does not claim to teach its proprietary protocol.
For teams looking for a live virtual format with customized implementation, the TOSH Method offers another path.
The TOSH Method: Microscope-Guided Hygiene and So Much More
I’m Tosha Kozloski, RDH, creator of the TOSH Method, a microscope-guided hygiene system rooted in Teaching Oral-Systemic Health. I began using salivary diagnostics in 2008 and phase contrast microscopy in 2010. Since then, I have helped dental teams across the United States and abroad turn those tools into everyday systems that improve patient understanding, clinical consistency, and case acceptance.
Phase contrast microscopy is a major part of the TOSH Method, but it is only one piece of the complete program. I teach your team how to use the microscope confidently, then help connect what you see to the periodontal protocols, communication, diagnostics, coding, and workflows that make it useful every day.
The TOSH Method includes:
• Phase contrast microscope training
• Salivary diagnostic collection and interpretation
• Science-backed gingivitis, periodontal therapy, and maintenance protocols
• Team calibration so the doctor, hygienist, assistant, and administrative team communicate consistently
• Patient-friendly verbal skills and case-closing strategies that never feel salesy
• Dental coding, billing, documentation, and narratives
• Scheduling and workflow systems that fit into a real clinical day
• Live troubleshooting and continued coaching until the process is working
The TOSH Method weaves microscope-guided hygiene into a customized system that includes salivary diagnostics, periodontal protocols, U.S. dental coding and billing, case closing, and ongoing practice coaching. I help your team build that system around your patients, philosophy, schedule, technology, and state requirements so microscope-guided care becomes part of daily practice.
Live Virtual Training, Wherever Your Practice Is Located
Your entire team can train with me without flights, hotels, or closing the practice for several days.
Each month, we meet for two live virtual trainings customized to your practice. Your team also receives short on-demand lessons, clinical demonstrations, scripts, workbooks, patient materials, templates, and protocols. Because we continue working together over time, we can solve the questions that only appear once you begin using the system with real patients.
That virtual format allows me to train practices throughout the United States as well as teams abroad. I also offer a hybrid model where I come to your practice for hands-on, in-person training.
Why Microscopy and Salivary Diagnostics Belong Together
Phase contrast microscopy lets you see living biofilm in real time. You can evaluate microbial activity, shapes, movement, inflammatory cells, yeast, and parasites. What microscopy cannot do is identify the exact bacterial species present.
That is where salivary diagnostics become essential.
Microscopy helps you see what the biofilm is doing today. Laboratory testing helps identify which specific pathogens are present. That distinction matters because certain periodontal pathogens can enter the bloodstream, contribute to systemic inflammation, and help drive disease processes beyond the mouth. Together, microscopy and laboratory testing give the team and patient a more complete picture than either tool can provide alone.
What Dental Teams Say About the TOSH Method
Dr. Jess Smith described the program this way:
“This program was so much more than I expected. From verbal scripts and coding to workflow training, Tosha’s methods made implementation smoother than I expected. The microscope brought the infection to life for patients, and Tosha’s help brought our hygiene department to the next level.”
Dr. Jim Brown called the training “hands-on, practical, and easy to implement,” while Dr. Jill Lee said it “transformed our practice.”
That is the goal. Not simply knowing how to use a microscope, but knowing how to turn what you see into better conversations, better systems, and better care.
It Is Good to Have Options
Dental teams should be able to choose the training that best matches their goals, location, and preferred way of learning.
Official Bonner Method training is available for clinicians who want to learn and become certified in that specific trademarked protocol. I support that work and the attention it continues bringing to microscopic periodontal evaluation.
The TOSH Method offers another option for teams that want a flexible, virtual program bringing together:
• Phase contrast microscopy
• Salivary diagnostics
• Complete periodontal protocols
• Case closing and patient communication
• U.S. coding and billing guidance
• Whole-team implementation
• Ongoing live coaching
• AGD PACE continuing education
The fact that these options exist is a win for dentistry. More dental professionals are learning to look beyond pocket depths, show patients the living infection, and make microscopy part of better periodontal care.
If the TOSH Method sounds like the right fit for your team, you will receive the tools, customized systems, and continued support needed to make the change stick.
Ready to see what this could look like in your practice? Explore the TOSH Method for microscope-guided hygiene: https://www.tosh.care/microscope-training or book a complimentary call with me.
