When the Godfather of Cosmetic Dentistry Speaks

I posted this case on DentalXP a high level internet dental site and one of the all time great cosmetically oriented dentists (Team Atlanta) commented on my case.

Orthodontics by Brendan Cooney of Malta NY

Post ortho but prior to restoration close up

                                                      Restored smile minimizing negatives










Reply                                        

 Ronald Goldstein says on 02.24.2014 07:14 PM

Gerald, I am looking at the levels of the gingival papilla of the adjacent teeth and it appears to me you have lined up the veneers very well to support the tissue. Very nice result!

Reply

 Gerald Benjamin says on 02.25.2014 06:56 AM

Dr. Goldstein;
You have been one of my mentors for much of my almost 40 year career and perpetual students of our craft live for favorable comments by those we respect. I am truly honored.

Don't Believe Doctor's Internet Rating Systems

I received this email from health grades:

As of 21 February 2014, you have 7 reviews. This is only based on 5 out of 75 websites that we are monitoring for you. Do your online reviews truly reflect your quality of care and the practice that you have developed? Call us today at (888) 424-8479 or reply to this email to connect with your dedicated Review Concierge team and create the online reputation that you deserve.

DR. GERALD CHARLES BENJAMIN 4164 Ny2 Troy, NY 12180 (518) 279-1116

based on 7 reviews

A Current Grade

I have been in Saratoga Springs for the last 5 YEARS and this website still has me listed in Troy, NY.

If these websites can't get the address right what makes you think that they will get their rating systems right?

What I Have Told My Patients for Years

In the 1950s and 60s President Eisenhower warned Americans about the Military/Industrial Complex and how they would spend the country into oblivion.

If President Eisenhower were alive today, he would warn us about the Medical/Pharmaceutical Complex.

I have not trusted the Health industry in quite some time and I believe for good reason. Last year I blogged about the most renown sports medicine doctor in the country, Dr. James Andrews who was interviewed by the New York Times in a front page story in which he said that MOST MRIs for sports injuries were unnecessary. He said that an MRI gave us little additional information than when a physician examined a patient, talked to a patient  or watched him perform a task. When Dr. Andrews was asked why there were so many MRIs taken he responded: "MONEY."

Last week a Canadian Medical team reported that mammograms performed yearly  in women over 50 did not save additional women from dying of breast cancer.

In yesterday's New York Times the lead story was about over the counter and generic drugs made in India and sold in America.  The report said that a significant number of generic drugs made in India were fakes or did not contain the active ingredients  in cancer drugs or antibiotics. In fact, one of the leading drug regulators in India said the following:

“If I have to follow U.S. standards in inspecting facilities supplying to the Indian market,” G. N. Singh, India’s top drug regulator, said in a recentinterview with an Indian newspaper, “we will have to shut almost all of those."

Do you see why I don't know who to trust when it comes to our health?

In Appreciation: Without comment

Message:

Dear Dr. Benjamin,

A heartfelt thanks for the beautiful gift basket that touched our hearts today.  Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated during this difficult time.  You are not only the best dentist in the world but a truly kind person as well.

With gratitude and love,

April



"Dr. Benjamin Is Too Expensive"

Patients sometimes tell my staff that they think that I am too expensive. My staff and I would respectfully disagree with these comments. The patient in these photos works in the dental industry and his previous dentist told him that the broken tooth in the photo  (middle tooth) would require a crown because the mercury filling was very large and the tooth is weak. The cost would have been somewhere in the range of $1100-$1300.

As you can see from the photos, I replaced both mercury fillings with direct resin bonded fillings using rubber dam. The cost to repair BOTH teeth was a little over $600.

Now where I come from $600 to repair TWO teeth is a heck of lot less than $1300 to repair ONE tooth.

More importantly, the broken tooth had NO healthy tooth structure removed during the repair process. A crown would have required ALL of the remaining healthy  enamel to be removed and when the crown eventually failed as all dentistry will, there is a good possibility that the tooth would also be lost and an implant required (~$5,000)

When we compare apples to apples, not am I NOT more expensive I am actually a VALUE  bargain because  my patient usually pays less (in dollars) AND they get to keep all of their healthy, irreplaceable, beautiful, strong tooth structure.

I don't think that I have to discuss this subject again. NEXT.