What It All Means

I recently posted a case on the ACE dental forum and received incredibly positive comments about my work. However, the best comment and the one that means the most to me was from my mentor, Dr. McIntyre. When he saw my work, he sent me the following note:

"You have become the best of the best.We need 1000's more like you in the profession."

You may think that I am egotistical or narcissistic by telling you about what other dentists say about me. And that would be completely WRONG.

This is not about me but rather it is about YOU, MY PATIENT, and how you are treated in my office. Other dentists,some of them world class, are telling YOU that you are receiving wonderful care in my office.

I made a promise in 1977 when I graduated dental school that I would take of my patients the best that I could. I did not know that my work would be the envy of other dentists but I did know that MY NEED is to take care of YOU.

I congratulate you for being a wise dental consumer. You haven't listened to your friends or coworkers who think that you should go to the least expensive dentist that you can find. You want a dentist to take care of you because he or she has an ethical, a moral and a professional obligation to do so.

I am honored by my colleagues opinions of my work but I am more honored that you selected ME to be your dentist.

And I thank you for that.

My Patients and Peers

I am truly honored to see so many of my long time patients of 20-30 years travel to Saratoga so that I can continue to care for them. How many dentists could open an office 40 miles away and STILL have so many patients make the great effort to see them?
During the last 5 or so years my peers have expressed support and praise for the work that I do every day for YOU. Both the American Dental Association and the State of New York forbid a general dentist from making claims of superiority or saying that they are the best.
Last night, I posted a tooth that I restored with bonded resin on the ACE dental forum. I beleive that my work was technically and artistically textbook but more improtantly, I restored the tooth without removing a millimeter of healthy tooth structure.

The law does not say that I cannot quote what other dentists say about my work so I will show you the note that a dentist from Philadelphia sent me today:

Gerald, I’ve got to tell you that you may be the best I’ve ever seen with resin. Your direct restorations are phenomenal. Thanks for sharing.

gary

If you are not my patient, do you think that other dentists would make this kind of comment about YOUR DENTIST?

I beleive that both my patients and my peers are telling me that what I do is the right thing to do and that I should continue with what I am doing.

What do you think?

40 Years Ago Tonight

Susan and I were married 40 years ago this evening in Niagara Falls, NY where Susan grew up.
Food shopping for a week cost us $9.00 which included meat for the week since we were not vegetarians as we are today. Today without meat, we spent $100.
A gallon of gas in 1971 was 37.9 CENTS and today we paid $4.11.
A car in 1971 was a little over $3,000 and today it is $25,000.
A house was about $35,000 and today $250,000.
Hospitalization was about $60 per month and now it is $1200 a month
A crown for a tooth was $250 in 1971 and today in my office it is $1250.

40 years is a very long time but as you can see almost everything on this list has increased in cost 8 to 10 times since 1971 EXCEPT DENTISTRY. The cost of a crown is 5times or less what it cost in 1971.

So please think about this when you think that dentistry is expensive. It has gone up about 5 times what it cost in 1971 but everything else has increased almost 10 times what it cost in 1971.

As Casey Stengel the manager of the Yankees used to say, "And you can look it up."

Word Gets Around

My job is to take care of my patients and be the best dentist that I can be. I have never wanted to be a dentist/celebrity like many dentists but I am fairly well known in my profession for the work that I do.

A patient was in our office today for some treatment and she told me the story about her recent trip to Spain. There were sand storms in Europe that grounded flights causing passengers to spend two days at the airport. My patient was in line for several hours and she began a conversation with the relatively young couple behind her in line. They told her that they were both dentists in Houston, Texas and my patient informed them that she went to a dentist in Saratoga Springs, NY. They told her that one of the best dentists was Gerald Benjamin in Saratoga at which point she smiled and let them know that Dr. Benjamin WAS her dentist.

I am honored to be recognized for the work that I do for you. It should make you and I very happy.

It is Why Patients Select Our Office

There are probably 800 dental offices in the Capital District and population of the area is 750,000. The number one reason that patients select a dental office is whether or not the dental office accepts dental insurance. None of these patients will select my office for their dental care because they have 799 other dentists to select.
We received the following note from a grateful parent. I have modified the note to hide the families identity but in no way am I changing the meaning or tone of the note:

Dear Dr. Benjamin,
We want to thank you so much for all you did for us with our daughter's tooth. You went way beyond the call of duty to help us.If it wasn't for special interest and expertise, we would never have gotten the wonderful results. You are truly a most caring dentist and person.

Thanks for everything.

During my 35 year career, I have received many such letters and not one of the writers of these notes cared whether or not I accepted their insurance.

You need to think about whether the person that you have selected to take care of you will 'go above and beyond the call of duty' to help you when you need help.

You KNOW that I will.

Yahoo Story: "Why Dentistry Costs So Much"

For those of you who regularly read my blogs you know that I discussed the subject of what dentistry COSTS THE DENTIST to produce and why fees are what they are as a reflection of those costs. If you would like to verify my blog, you can visit a recent article on Yahoo which discusses that topic.

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/why-your-dentist-costs-so-much-2504460/

I do not mislead my patients.
I do not deceive my patients.
I will never over-treat my patients.
I will never charge more for a procedure that what it is worth.

My job is to take care of you, give you the best dentistry that I am capable of doing at a fair fee.

PERIOD.