What it is All About

"I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart."

Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh was referring to his work...his art.

This is exactly how I feel about MY work...MY art.

Do you see that there is NO mention of money. When one's work is about striving for excellence  and passion there is no thought about money when we are working at our craft.

I understand that for many people their work is their job and a means to feed their family and pay the bills. It must be impossible for these folks to understand that one's work is his or her calling  and something that someone wants to do irrespective of the money. For me, this means that I am ALWAYS trying to do my best whether I am placing a $300 direct posterior resin or preparing a tooth for a crown for $1350...It is never about the money!

I know that for many people, Sunday evening brings a feeling of dread because work is hours away.

Can you image how wonderful it is on  Sunday evening to think.."Wow, in a few hours, I will be back at work with my art."

Think about it...............

See For Yourself

When the nerve of a tooth becomes infected because of:

1. Long standing untreated tooth decay
2. Removing tooth decay in the same tooth many times
3. Removing tooth decay several times and placing a crown
4. Trauma to the tooth such as a car accident, falling off of a bike or being hit in the mouth by a ball

We know that the nerve of a tooth has or is dying when:
1. A patient has a toothache
2. A patient is swollen
3. An x-ray shows a dark circle around the roots.

The treatment is to COMPLETELY remove the nerve (dead or alive) from the nerve space, clean the canal and place a dense, inert material down all the roots. The KEY to this treatment is for the dentist to completely clean to the exact end of the root of the tooth.

Please look at the top x-ray and you can clearly see that the tooth has been cleaned and sealed down the entire root.
The bottom x-ray indicates that the dentist failed to clean the last 3 millimeters down the root where all the bacteria live.

Root Canal Experts performed the top root canal while another root canal dentist attempted a root canal in the bottom x-ray.

Can YOU see the difference?

Root Canal Experts is MY CHOICE when YOU need a root canal.

What I Tell My Patients All the Time

"This surprising new study by the Mayo Clinic found that between 40% and 78% of tests, treatments, and procedures are of no value, and may already have been deemed harmful by clinical studies. New proof why it's so important to do your own due diligence..."
from Dr. Mercola.com

I take photographs of almost every tooth that I fix for two very good reasons:

1. Medical documentation so that if someone ever said that I never fixed a tooth, I have a photo to prove that I did.
2. Trust but verify! I want my patients to trust my recommendations and so that they will be able to see the problem hiding inside their tooth.

I have believed for a very long time that what appears to be 'scientific evidence' is just corrupt information.

In dentistry, we have two very good means to KNOW what is going on: Photography and 3-D Scans like Drs. Banchs and Byrne have for root canals and both of my oral surgeons have for implant placement.

X-Rays are NOT definitive and neither are many of the medical tests that our physicians order for us. Remember my post a year ago where the best sports medicine surgeon in the country, Dr. James Andrews (Birmingham, AL) was quoted in The New York Times front page story in which he said," There is nothing in an MRI that I can't learn from talking to the patient, touching the patient or watching them move." (Paraphrased). When asked WHY surgeons order MRIs prior to surgeries he responded, "The money."

The best way to insure that you are getting great care is to establish a long term relationship with those that take care of you and even then, trust but verify. Another way is to actually pay for your dental treatment so that you and only you decide what is best for you rather than an insurance clerk telling you what is covered.

Education

I am firm in my conviction that education secures success.

Dr. Bulford, one of my oral surgeons and the director of implant program at Ellis Hospital informed me last year that the then current group of dental residents were lacking in their ability to diagnosis and treatment plan especially in the areas of cosmetics and implant restoration. I volunteered to present lectures to lasts year's residents but we never got around to putting our thoughts into action.

This year, however, Dr. Bulford and I agreed that our new residents, lacking the same dental skills as the previous group, would have the opportunity to learn more. I agreed to present 3 three hour lectures to his residents in an after hour dinner program.

The residents have had their fundamental beliefs shaken to the core when I presented the concept of using direct resins (placed under a rubber dam) to preserve beautiful natural tooth structure. Dental School taught them all of the information that I was taught 40 years ago when the information was valid.

"This can't be correct!" was the response to my first lecture because we were taught that it won't work.

After placing direct posterior resins for almost a quarter of a century, I think that I would know what works and doesn't work.

Before my second lecture, several residents told me that they had rethought the information in my lecture  and were thinking that the maximum preservation of natural tooth structure was a worthy goal.

I have one last lecture to present next week and I think that I will have had a profound impact on my young colleagues. One resident said, " We weren't taught any of this information at SUNY/Buffalo Dental School."

Do you see why I want to fire half of the faculty and double their pay? We cannot have the same old, same old and survive in the new world.