Dr. Ashok's Visit

Almost four years ago, I received an email from a young dentist in Bangalore, India asking me explain a post that I made on a dental forum. I answered his question and assumed that I would never hear from the young man again. I was soooo wrong. Week after week, Dr. Ashok asked question after question about different aspects of the restorative treatment that I provide for my patients and then one day, he announced that he wanted to visit my office if that was not too much of an imposition. He stayed in our home and visited our office as well as that of Drs. Banchs and Byrne for a week in February, 2009. It was a very frustrating time for the young dentist because he complained that we made very challenging work look so easy but that is not surprising because my colleagues give my work high praise and Dr. Banchs is recognized as one of the best in the world in endodontics.

I have been in weekly contact with Dr. Ashok and last month he announced that he was returning to Saratoga Springs to continue his education...And learn he did. He continues to be amazed at the attention to detail in the work he sees. Dr. Banchs paraphrased a well known quote when he told Dr. Ashok that we do not do exceptional work but we do simple things exceptionally. I guess that is another was of saying, "Master the basics." All dentists want to do the exotic forms of treatment without ever mastering the simple aspects of treatment.

After a week, Dr. Ashok returned home knowing that he must continue to strive for excellence even though the demand for excellent dentistry is very small.

Professionals Being Professional

Have you been to restaurants that primarily hire young college students as their waiters and waitresses and then go to a really nice eating establishment where you will be served by people that serve you for living? You really cannot compare the professional food server with the young person that needs a summer job. The professional fills your glass of water without being asked, picks up your napkin that fell off your lap and replaces it with a clean one and tells you which foods will delight you and which won't.

My staff IS a professional dental staff. Each has been at their job for more than 15 years and everyone is knowledgeable in the job that they have. Trisha and Jeanine are extraordinary in their knowledge of the treatment that we provide to our patients. Donna is friendly, courteous and helpful to everyone that calls and I know this because you, my patients tell me that. Trish, our 'new' staff member has been commended by our patients for her thoroughness in doing her job.

We are professional in what we do so that we can take care of you in the best possible way and we hope that it shows.

An Article about our Office in HERLIFE Magazine

HERLIFE Magazine was kind enough to publish a short article about me and my office in the April issue of the Magazine. This is a great local magazine mainly for women but I read it every month. I am also one of the monthly full page advertisers and for the last 3 or 4 months, my office actually created the ad. I thank Michele and Amanda for permitting me to show you the fabulous smiles that we created for them.

HERLIFE is a local business that NEEDS to succeed and I encourage everyone to pick up a free copy at many local businesses including Price Chopper.

This is the link to HERLIFE. (It will take a minute to load)

http://www.herlifemagazine.com/albany/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/NY-April.pdf

Remembering an Old Friend and Colleague

Ed Rogozinski was my dental laboratory technician and friend for almost 20 years. As you know, I have been a dentist for more than 30 years and I have the good fortune of having many patients for my entire career in the Capital District. Last week I saw a few crowns that Mr. Rogo (as I called him although everyone else called him Rogy)fabricated for one of my patients and it brought back many good memories of a good friend and dental collaborator. He was one of the best 'gold men' as technicians used to be called and during one stretch we cemented in 250 crowns in a row without a remake which is probably a record if records were kept.

I miss Mr. Rogo but delight in the fact that after 30 years, I still take care of his son, Richard. We were one hell of a good team.

The Return of a Young Colleague

About three years ago I received a series of questions by a Bangalore dentist via email asking about polishing composite resins, the material to fix front teeth so that they restore the teeth as if they had never been touched by a dentist. The dentist told me that he was from Bangalore, India and that he had many questions for me because he had been to my website many times and was impressed by my work. His questions were endless and sometimes we communicated by email 7 days a week. After about 6 months, Dr. Ashok informed me that he wanted to visit my office and study with me. We invited Dr. Ashok to stay in our house for a week and come to the office with me.

Dr. Ashok is what every young dentist should be like: smart, caring, passionate and wanting to pursue excellence.

For the last two plus years, I have emailed Dr. Ashok about his work and my work and I knew that someday he would again travel around the world to return to study. Tomorrow evening Dr. Ashok will return to the Capital District for another round of learning. And I am honored to help him become a world class clinician.

Dr. Ashok also has the privilege of studying with Dr. Francisco Banchs, one of the the world's best root canal specialists who is also located at 18 Division Street in Saratoga Springs.

Is is worth traveling more than half way around the world to study with two dentists at the peak of their careers...I will let you know in a week.

Inspiring Others

I grew up in a home with a sufficent amount of income to cover our basics but not a penny more for 'extras.' That gave me an understanding of what the role of money should be in my life...We could be happy without a lot of money. To this day, I would never perform treatment which was not needed, requested or excessive just to increase my income. As a professional, that would be unethical.

So what motivates me? My goal as a dentist is to do THE BEST POSSIBLE dentistry for my patients so that they can maintain a healthy mouth and a beautiful smile. Another thing that that has become increasingly important to me is the challange to inspire other DENTISTS to move in the direction of excellence. This is why I post my work on dental internet forums so that other dentists can see what is possible when education, materials and passion are combined to produce excellence.

I posted some of my posterior direct resins on the IDF a few days ago and today I rececived the following email from a dentist:

"I have to say I really admire your work and this is a challenge to me right now that has really fueled my passion for dentistry even more."

Inspiring other dentists to move to their next level of dental excellence has become a major focal point in my career.

Now we have to challenge our patients to want and appreciate excellence.

I Said "NO!"

I try to have very high standards in our office which is another way of saying, "I always try to Do The Right Thing."

A 20 year old fellow came to my office asking me to do veneers for him to improve his smile. A clinical exam revealed that the only treatment for his misplaced teeth was orthdontic treatment (aka: braces). I most definitely could do veneers for this young man and give him the spectacular smile that he so desperately wants. And I most certainly would earn a good fee for creating his fabulous smile.

But I said, "NO!"

I will not hurt a patient or destroy his teeth so that I can earn income. This young man needs an orthodontist and he does not need me to cut down his teeth to little pegs.

Esthetic Dentistry IS IMPORTANT and it can change people's lives. But then again, so is my integrity.

I give you my word that I will treat you like you were my family.

(The young man calls my office everyday trying to convince us to treat him.)

Investment Companies

I invested a relatively small amount of money with Putnam Investments in Boston, MA many years ago and like many investors,I am a buy and hold kind of person. Last week, I actually read the summary of the annual report sent to stockholds and discovered that my fund earned a pitance of .55% or half of one percent for the entire previous decade. However, Putnam charged me 1.1% to manage the money in my fund as a management fee. So let me understand this...Putnam gets paid to (mis)manage my investments and I get NOTHING? How can this be?

My stated goal and promise is to try to produce excellence in restorative dentistry and that is what you pay me for. If I fail at something that I should have succeeded at, then I do not expect that you wil pay me for that service. Understanding that I am NOT PERFECT and not everything that I, any dentist or any human being for that matter does can be perfect all the time. I will always do everything that I can to make you happy and create dentistry that I can be proud of.

What I will not do is take your money and give you nothing in return. That is unethical and illegal. We call it stealing.

I have asked Putnam to return half of the management fees that they charged me over the last 10 years. I think that it is only fair.

How do you feel about this?

How We are Perceived by Others

I really enjoy one of the newest magazines to arrive in the Capital District, HERLIFE. The publisher and editor of the magazine is Angela Beddoe and we see each other around Saratoga quite often. Angie has told me that the magazine would be doing a feature story about me and my office and she was going to have a writer contact me for a phone interview. Ann Butenas contacted me as I was waiting for a flight to go to Chicago for a meeting and we spoke for about an hour as she questioned me to learn as much about me as possible. I previewed article this past weekend and I thought that it was well written and extremely accurate in describing me. The most important thing that I want people to know is that the pursuit of excellence is what drives me and what makes me who I am.
This evening Ann sent me an email and said, "Dr. Benjamin--I saw this quote today and thought of you:

Excellence is...caring more than others think is wise;
Risking more than others think is safe;
Dreaming more than others think is practical.
Expecting more than others think is possible.
-- Winston Churchill

I am thrilled that Ann was able to learn how important EXCELLENCE is to me...And she learned it in less than one hour.

There Is No Hope

Most people that know me know that I have tried to bring my alma mata,UB Dental School into the 21st century for the last 17 years. I had made arrangements to drive to Buffalo Thursday evening and meet the new interim Chairwoman, Dr. Brewer on Friday morning to discuss what I feel the school must teach in order to be capable of taking care of patients and earn a living.

As I was taking my shower, I realized that I would expend a great deal of energy in driving 700 miles,lose a days income and spend just under a thousand dollars and the Dental School would still remain in the 1980s. It just may be time to give up that fight because in the end, I will still be one of UBs most renown clincial dentists and the University will remain as it has been. There are better places to expend my energies that will have a greater likelihood of success.

University faculty, in my opinion, are like politicians...they want things to remain as they are regardless whether they are doing a good job or not.

I cannot continue to fight a fight that I have no hope of winning. This must have been the proverbial "ah ha moment" in which things look surprisingly clear with great understanding.

The University 'wins' but in doing so, their students will lose.