Dr. Benjamin Charges Too Much for his Fillings

NO I DON'T!
Dentists repair teeth when:
1. There is tooth decay in a tooth dissolving the inside layer of a tooth
2. An existing filling which has lasted many years has finally fatigued and no long seals the inside of the tooth from saliva and bacteria.
3. A piece of natural tooth or existing filling has fractured
4. The previous dentist recently placed a new filling but it is not up to minimally acceptable standards.
5. A back tooth has had a root canal.(*Which ALWAYS means that a crown is needed)
My goal is to repair your tooth in such a way that I remove LITTLE or NO natural tooth structure. My job is to keep you from needing an expensive and tooth destroying crown for as long as possible.
Sadly to say, many professionals want to do as many crowns as they possibly can because placing crowns is where the REAL money is to be made. Well done fillings are hard to do and don't reward the dentist financially.
So let's all understand something: It is my job to preserve your beautiful, natural tooth structure for as long as I can for a fair fee. There is no dental material that is as strong as the tooth that God gave you and it is my job to help you keep that natural tooth.
The routine destruction of natural tooth structure is like cutting your finger off when you get a splinter. Don't you want to keep your finger?
So when you hear others say that I charge too much for fillings remember that I am working very hard to let you keep your own tooth for a fair fee. Few other dentists can make that statement.
My job is to take care of YOU and I will never abuse you or your teeth to increase my income.

Proficient

Many years ago when I would go to SUNY/Buffalo, I would work with Senior dental students as well as graduate dental students. I was asked to rate students at the end of the semester on the basis of whether they were competent or proficient. Competent meant that a student could perform a certain treatment at a minimally acceptable standard. Proficient meant that they could perform treatment at a high level (but obviously not the master level.)
When a dentist goes on to study an area of dentistry and attains specialty status, both the University and the New York State Board of Regents grants that dentist a Certificate of Proficiency in that area of treatment. There are nine areas of specialty dentistry recognized by the American Dental Association and there are two other areas that are University recognized which are implants and esthetic dentistry.
I am one of fewer than 40 Dentists in the United States that has attained a Certificate of Proficiency in Eshetic Dentistry. This permits me to say to my patients that I am a general dentist with a specialty in esthetic dentistry. Since there is no American Board of Esthetic Dentistry, I hold the highest degree level attainable by someone who has studied esthetic dentistry.
No other dentist within a 100 miles of the Capital District has attained Proficiency in the area of esthetic or cosmetic dentistry.NO ONE. Since esthetic dentistry is really just restorative dentistry done correctly, a highly proficient esthetic dentist is really just a fine regular dentist doing general dentistry
Proficiency + Passion= Excellence

Respect from Young Dentists

I have learned many things in my 30+ year career in dentistry and one of them is that many older dentists have stopped learning and work to maintain a standard of living. Young dentists, on the other hand, want to learn and do excellent dentistry. I went to a seminar last night with 40 other dentists and I probably got to speak with every young dentist at the course; many I met for the first time. Without fail, my young colleagues told me that they had heard of me and the superb dentistry that I do.
One young dentist,who is on the path towards excellence, followed me to my office to discuss some cases and before we parted he told me that I am the only dentist the he could discuss real dentistry with and his final words were, "You are the only dentist that I know around here who walks the walk. You do it right."
I am honored to have the respect of many of my young colleagues. Unfortunately, it also means that I have become the one of the old guys in my profession... God gave young folks strength and beauty and the old guys wisdom. Apparently, you can't have both at the same time. lol
In the olden days, excellence and respect went hand in hand. My young colleagues may not know how to do excellent dentistry but they know it when they see it. It is very gratifying to have their respect.

THE Education Place

My friends Allyson Byrne and Francisco Banchs who are root canal experts have quickly established their education center as THE PLACE to be educated in the Capital District. Last night was the third session of a series of exceptional dental learning. I gave the second lecture of the series with a lecture on how to diagnose and treatment plan so that we can obtain superb esthetic results in restoring teeth. Last night Drs. Condry and Kelling presented a live surgical case to demonstrate a successful sinus lift with implant placement.
Why is this important to our patients? I have asked you to seek out the best educated and best trained dentists to treat you. When physicians and dentists become highly educated we all win...the doctors, the professions and most of all you, our patients.
Thank you Allyson and Francisco for making all of our lives better.

It Is Not Right

Our practice in Saratoga is just starting to pick up (Thank God) and our new patients have a few common similarities. The first is that these patients are all seeking quality dentistry rather than an insurance based dentist. Another, more troublesome similarity is that the vast majority of new patients have had root canals done in the recent past and they all are failing...What is up with this?????
Root canals used to be highly successful but a few years ago, the standard of care changed from making sure that the inside of the tooth was clean to: can we treat the tooth in one hour or less so that the dentist can make the most amount of money.
I am tired of seeing patients who paid their hard earned money to a dentist and having to tell them that they need to be referred to a root canal expert so that the inside of their tooth can finally be clean and the infection resolved. WE CANNOT HAVE INFECTIONS IN OUR BODIES.
Some patients are angry with me for finding their infected tooth while others are extremely grateful for finally explaining why their tooth still hurts.
Buy excellence and you probably only have to pay once. Buy mediocrity and it may cost you more than money.

A Call from a Colleague

I received an email and a call today from a colleague (who is also my friend) who was upset about the possibility that silver mercury would no longer be taught in dental schools and therefore not used as a filling material. He felt that most of the direct posterior composites were so poorly placed by general dentists that more harm than good was being done for our patients.
I have not placed silver mercury fillings in almost 20 years and my colleagues both near and far consider me an expert in the placement of beautiful, bonded white resin fillings. I strongly believe that there is no better restoration...for the strength of the restored tooth and the conservative nature of the technique. (This means that little or no tooth structure is removed in order to fix the tooth.)
So why is my good friend and colleague so upset that mercury is being phased out???
A large percentage of dentists refuse to learn how to master the art of placing this beautiful, strong bonded white restoration and consequently the restorations fail. It is NOT the resins fault that many dentists refuse to use the material correctly. Many dentists are just too lazy to learn how to use the material correctly...and if they did, our profession and our patients would be better off.
The attached photo clearly shows 4 well done direct posterior resins that I placed for a patient. If your white fillings don't look like the photo perhaps it is time to find a new dentist

A new patient from Michigan

A new patient was in my Saratoga office today who lives in Michigan...Yes Michigan.
My patient told me that she used to live in Saratoga and that she knew one of my patients and just loved her smile. What she did not know was that I had given this person (also a Saratoga resident) a smile make over nearly 11 years ago. More importantly, my new patient was completely unaware that her friend had anything but natural teeth. What a compliment for my work!
As with many of the folks that schedule a 'cosmetic consultation,' they really need regular dentistry that is done correctly rather than just elective dentistry (or cosmetic dentistry.)
I am honored when patients make a tremendous effort to have treatment in my office.
We have treated patients from: California; Spokane, WA; Raleigh, NC; Boston, Massachusetts; Vermont, Pennsylvania, Florida and Connecticut. Our New York patients have come from: Long Island, Manhattan, Westchester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Oneonta, Binghamton and Lake Placid.
Why would anyone make the effort to be treated in our office???
BECAUSE WE ARE WORTH IT! Our patients have made a special effort to find a dentist with credentials, experience, professional accomplishments and a proven ability to provide excellent dentistry.
Why don't YOU call our office to schedule an appointment to have your dental treatment in our office...YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!

The Yankees ARE Worth It

I am NOT really a sports fan but I know that I need to remain involved so that if a patient asks me what I think about last nights World Series game, I don't give the impression that I come from another planet.
I was looking at CNN.com after the Yankees won the World Series for the 27th time (See I do pay attention) and there was a business story about the Yankees. Despite the fact that they had the highest payroll in all of baseball, that from a business standpoint, the owners of the Yankees had gotten their monies worth with the current team. The article went on to say that the owners paid the players more than 200 million dollars, but the current team was worth it and that the team actually made a big profit.
The message was that even though the Yankee players cost more, they also provided a greater value to the fans, the owners and baseball.
Once again, things that have a greater value cost more...(This can't be a new thought lol)
My patients may pay more than they might in another dental office but I promise you that I will give you and your family value for your money.

I Don't Get It

Susan and I went to the public golf course in Saratoga today and one of the men who was pared with us asked if we were local to Saratoga. I explained that I had recently opened a new dental practice in Saratoga and that we were considering moving there as well. The starter was over hearing our conversation and told me that he had a crown fall out recently and he had to go back three times to the dentist to have it recemented and did I accept GHI insurance. Oh and by the way, he was retired and needed to watch his money.
What I don't understand is the wide spread assumption that ALL dentists are the same and that the ONLY thing that separates one dentist from the other is cost. This gentleman had lived more than 6 decades and he had not learned some of the fundamentals of American society which are:
1. You get what you pay for
2. Professionals that take care of us differ vastly in their level of knowledge, skill, talent and their concern for their patients, clients or customers. Some professionals are fabulous while many are not.
3. Your body, your teeth, your car or your house do not know that you are retired and that retirement means that you need to get the BEST VALUE for the dollars that you spend.
I just don't get it...or maybe I just don't understand.