You Can't Be THAT Gullible

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So if you become a member of Angie's list you may get up to 70% off member services..

OH REALLY?????

I have discussed this here before. The facts are:

1. Overhead in an average dental practice is 70%. That means some practices have a 73% overhead and some have a 67% overhead.

But in any case, the dentist gets 30% minus taxes of 50% (Federal, State, Local, Social Security and Medicare taxes)

If I charge you $100 for treatment, I get $15 to take home and spend. That means that the overhead is $70 and that $70 does not change no matter what I charge you.

If I give you a 30% discount, I earn nothing, the Government gets no taxes but the staff, lights and rent gets paid.

Does this make sense? Is it sustainable? 

When you ask a dentist for a discount, you are knowingly or unknowingly asking the dentist  to spend less time, use cheaper materials or hire a lower quality worker. And this counts for insurance as well.

Do you really want lower quality dentistry? That means more root canals, more crowns and more implants.

Think about this.

Online Ratings of Physicians and Dentists

 I found this ad on Facebook. I could be listed as one of the best dentists and now at no cost or obligation.... But why would I want to be listed?

Why would anyone trust an online survey of physicians and dentists? Most are fraudulent or lacking understanding of what it takes to be a top clinician. Many patients feel that a dentist is '
good' if they accept their dental insurance.

THAT IS NOT A CLINICAL STANDARD!

I  can pretty much say that the BEST dentists in the country do not participate with insurance.

So beware when you see: " Dr Smith, one of the best dentists in the world."

Has anyone tried to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge lately?

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Thoughts and Opinions of Others

I would  hope that most people have a good sense of ego and self worth that when asked about themselves, that the opinions would be most favorable. This is an assumed given in my brain.
However, it is the opinions and evaluations of others that balance our own opinions with the real world.

I posted a case of a large direct bonded resin filling on the forum, DentalXP, one of the premier dental  sites for learning and this is  what a dentist from Texas (someone that I do not know) said:

 R. Terry Councill says on 01.14.2015 10:35 PM

Gerald, thank you for your contribution to this website. It's a blessing. I am personally and continually improved by your posts. 

I am not well received when I talk about the overuse of crowns on dental websites. Some dentists are starting to see the value of my opinions and techniques that will truly help you save your teeth for your entire life. This is the case that I posted:

If my history is any guide to the future, this direct bonded filling will last 20 years and will have cost $17.50 a year . This will enable this patient to make it into his 60s before he needs a crown that  will last the rest of his life.

Others might have placed a crown at a cost of $1450.00 but as I have always told you: I will always place your best interest above my financial interest.

And other dentists are finally beginning to listen....and they are not afraid to publicly say so.

Yea!!!

According to US News and World Report, the number one job in the United States is DENTIST!

I have been telling my young patients for the last (almost) 4 decades that they should become a dentist and not one has followed my advice.

I am thrilled to know that a career in dentistry is a worthwhile choice for a career. I have to tell you that I do not regret becoming a dentist for even a second. I made the best possible choice for me...and I hope that YOU are happy that I did.

Even My Wife Thinks I am a Nutcase

Susan often thinks that my feeling about the health professions and medical care are off the wall.
For instance, I told her that osteopenia  (early bone loss in older women) is a not a diagnosis and that unless a bone density test was performed when a woman is 20, there is no basis for a diagnosis of osteopenia....And even if there was, there is no evidence that taking drugs for osteoporosis prevents fractures.

Or when I told Susan that most of the time taking a flu shot is not very helpful since the 3 viruses in the vaccine are usually not the virus causing this years flu.

Or the fact that 99,999 people have to take a statin for one...ONE...persons life to be saved.

In Friday's edition of the New York Times, an oncologist and a vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania wrote an op-ed piece in which he said:

"Skip your annual physical...They cost the country billions , but they don't save lives."

Can you believe that? Finally truth be told.

Much of what we were taught growing up gets repeated from generation to generation without much scientific evidence to back it up....

Just as I have been telling MY patients for the last 20 years:  Most teeth in 20, 30 or 40 year olds do NOT need a crown for protection.(Except back teeth that have had root canals.) The overwhelming majority of the direct bonded resins placed with a rubber dam are still functioning very well and very few have gone on to needing a crown during the last 20 years...

Just keep that in mind.

Praise for YOUR Dentist

It is always a great  honor to receive compliments from the best restorative dentists in the world. When I posted a direct resin mockup on Dental XP website,  an international website for dentists, I was amazed when Dr. Ronald Goldstein, the Godfather of cosmetic dentistry said the following about my work:

 Ronald Goldstein says on 01.07.2015 08:33 PM

Great job, Gerald...but I have to say no way the average dentist will take the time it would take for him or her to do it as well as you did. Certainly it is less expensive both for the dentist and the patient if the dentist has the artistic experience and talent. Although I did direct bonding trial smiles for most all my career I now do it indirect or at the chair using the siltek method after the waxup.

I am incredibly honored to receive positive comment by one of the best in the world.