Am I Crazy ? (Not really)

Many of the new patients that we see who come to us specifically for "cosmetic dentistry" are told that fixing your teeth is NOT the best way to treat their appearance related dental problems. I actually turn away business because the patients have problems that really should not be corrected by cutting away beautiful,natural tooth structure. I send these patients to one of the local othrodontists who will actually move the teeth into the correct place instead of me cutting healthy tooth structure. I am not crazy for wanting to see what is best for YOU even if it means that I will not earn any income from you.
Do I need the money? Yes!!! But as I have told you before, I would never EVER hurt a patient for my personal benefit. Your best interest is my only conern.
Competence, ethics and caring is what make me,my staff and our office different than other dental practices.

How NOT to select a dentist

I like to read dental 'business magazines' just to stay in touch with the small talk of the profession. In recent courses and in the magazines, it has been stated that the Mother of the family makes the decision on selecting a dentist and one of the biggest factors is how 'technologically' advanced the dental practice appears to be and whether the dentist has the latest bells and whistles. I have to tell you that technology will slightly improve a mediocre golfer, car mechanic or dentist but it is NOT the technology that makes a great dentist. Of course, technology will make a great dentist better but the opposite is not true. Have you ever seen the old tools of a master cabinet maker or a master mason?
If you want to find a great dentist, look for skill, education and passion....One way to determine how good a dentist is to go to their website...The skill, education and passion are clear as day.
Oh yes....I was one of the first 100 dentists in the United States to convert to digital radiography, to have computer imagining and a curing laser...None of these pieces of equipment made me what I am today.

Dental Stories

Whenever I go to a party and folks find out that I am a dentist, they spontaneously tell me about their dental problems or dental horror stories. I come away thinking to myself, "And why do you continue to go to your dentist?" Do root canals fail, crowns fall out and new fillings come out of a tooth??? Not really! Root canals performed by a root canal specialist have a 95% success rate. The first crown that I ever placed in my Cropseyville office in 1979 is still in place and I have NEVER had a filling, mercury or resin, fall out.
If you are having problems with your dentistry on a regular basis...you need to find a better dentist. Dentistry placed in the modern era by a highly trained and ethical dentist is truly fabulous.
Why is it then that so many folks have problems with their dentistry and tell me their tales of woe at parties??? It tells me that there are a fair number of dentists that aren't interested in learning how to do things right or don't care to do things correctly.
The solution is for folks to look around and find a great dentist...We exist!

Value, Cost and Dentistry

In 1978, barely one year out of SUNY/Buffalo School of Dentistry, I placed a porcelain fused to gold crown on my wife's tooth. In 2008,exactly 30 years later, I saw some tooth decay starting at the margin of the crown on my wife's check up x-rays and replaced the crown.
In 1976, as a senior in dental school, I placed a gold crown in my good friend, Walter's mouth and it is still there 33 years later. (Aside: the price of gold was set at $35 by the government)
Why am I telling you this? Two reasons:
1. Pete Dawson, the godfather of dentistry once said, "All dentistry will fail. A good dentist will make dentistry fail at the slowest possible rate."
2. There is nothing that we Americans can buy that gives more value than great dentistry. Do you think my wife or Walter really cares how much their crowns cost after 30 years of use?
Everyone, including me, thinks that dentistry is costly and on the day the dentistry is placed and the check is written, dentistry is expensive. That said, after using the dentistry year after year, we all should agree that great dentistry provides a great service and exceptional value.

"Metal Free" nonsense

Patients call our office or send emails asking whether we do 'metal free' dentistry.
Our answer is that we don't use mercury in fillings and haven't for almost 20 years.
Engineering and design sciences are a major part of dentistry. Would you like your architect to use weak materials or strong materials when designing your new house?
Many dentists are advertising that they do "metal free dentistry" which is another way of telling you that they are going to use weak materials that will fracture and break much sooner than stronger materials used in traditional dentistry.
Don't be fooled by dentists who want to sell you something rather than do the right thing for you and your family.
Metals DO have a place in dentistry and ,in fact, when the beautiful pieces of (weak) porcelain broke on MY upper second molars, I went back to GOLD CROWNS.

I am NOT a cosmetic dentist

I have been a dentist for more than 1/3 of a century (geeeeez) and during that time I have probably treated close to 100,000 patients. 99% of my patients have never had,wanted or requested that I do cosmetic dentistry for them.
Most of what I do is fixing teeth. That said, I try to do it better than others can do it.
The fact of the matter is that I have treated 10 times the number of BACK teeth than Front teeth.
As I have said countless times, DENTISTRY IS A CRAFT and some folks are journeymen while others are master craftsman.
Who would you rather have fix your teeth?

My Dentist

Many of my patients are complaining that they have to drive all the way up to my beautiful new office in Saratoga.
I broke a tooth last December and one of the Capital Districts best oral surgeons, Dr. Robert Carpenter removed the tooth and then placed 2 implants where I was missing teeth.
In August, I will drive 5 hours in each direction to see one of the best restorative dentists in the world (Dr. Fred McIntyre)to have him fabricate 2 implant supported crowns so that I can eat on my right side again. Driving to Saratoga to have your teeth fixed is a piece of cake compared to driving to Buffalo, NY.
Why do I make this trip several times a year? Because I value my teeth so much that I will not let just any dentist fix my teeth. I insist on being treated by the best dentist that I can find and I would encourage you to do the same...If you have to travel to find great people to take care of you...DO IT! At a minimum, you will be very well taken care of. And just think....You won't have to waste any more time complaining to your co workers about how your new crown fell off (again) or that your filling broke for the third time.
Time and again I encourage you to find the best people to take care of you and as you now know...I follow my own recommendations and drive to Buffalo to have my teeth fixed.

Misunderstanding

Today I met one of the other business owners at 18 Division Street in Saratoga and he apologized to me for not knowing that I was a regular dentist who does fillings, cleanings and crowns. He told me that I was so highly regarded as a cosmetic dentist that he did not know that I did real dentistry.
"Cosmetic Dentistry" is the term that dental marketers developed to sell to the public to convince them to restore their front teeth.
In reality 'cosmetic dentistry' is plain old dentistry performed at a very high level. A very good 'cosmetic dentist' is really just a very good dentist. PERIOD.
Many dentists that call themselves 'cosmetic dentists' are neither good at making front teeth look beautiful nor are they very good dentists.
I don't want to seem arrogant but I am very good at fixing teeth...Front teeth and back teeth. I do not consider myself a cosmetic dentist and when people ask me what I do for a living I respond, "I do fine restorative dentistry."
If you are looking for a 'good dentist' please consider calling our office at 518 583-1116 and I will do my very best to make you happy.

Hard to Believe

I went to one of our neighbor's summer cottages this past weekend and one of the men engaged me in my favorite subject: teeth. He told me that his dentist had retired and that he was now going to a young dentist who has been out of school for 2 years. I told him that dentistry was a craft and an art and that a very young dentist would not be ideal for a 70 year old due to his lack of experience. He responded that the young dentist needed to learn on someone to which I responded that he was correct but that he didn't have to learn on you.
I continue to remind you to find good (really great) people to take care of you. It takes at least 10,000 hours to become a master according to the author of the book "Outliers."
Please buy excellence because as L'Oreal says in their ads, "You are Worth It."