Putting Your Best Patient's Care First

This is the chart of a patient that has been under my care for FORTY YEARS. In all of that time, I repaired 6 teeth and not one of them is a crown despite the fact that in most dental offices , four of the teeth would have been suggested for crowns and yet my patient has none.
You might be thinking that  this long term patient is a one of a kind patient with fabulous teeth...And you would not be wrong. But I can show you many treatment charts where I have fixed 20 teeth for a patient and the patients have ALL OF THE TEETH that they started with me with only 1 or 2 crowns in 30 years.

How is this possible? Because I don't place many crowns on live teeth (no root canals) for patients who are 20,30 or 40 years old. Crowns must be delayed for as long as possible if a patient wants to keep all of their teeth for a lifetime. Sometime less is more.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you have a wonderful day with your friends and family.

I hope that you notice that after every appointment I thank you for trusting our office to take care of you....and I sincerely mean it.

Not Accepting the Concept of Excellence

I consulted with a patient who had Invisilign Orthodontic Movement on her lower teeth but her orthodontist recommended that her upper teeth be treated restoratively with porcelain veneers. The orthodontist told her, "Go talk with Dr. Benjamin." The patient told her long time dentist that she was planning to see me and his response was, "Why do you need veneers and if you do want them,  I will do them for you. There is no special training for Cosmetic Dentistry so that I can do the work."

Some history:

 1.The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry was founded in 1984 and was started to establish rules of  Cosmetic Dentistry. The AACD offers Accreditation in Cosmetic Dentistry.

2.The State University of New York and the University of Minnesota Dental Schools both offered a Certificate of Proficiency in Esthetic Dentistry since 1998.

3.  95% of all Americans feel that you be a happier person and will do better in advancing your career if you have a beautiful smile.

I have been doing Cosmetic Dentistry for almost 30 years and, in fact, Won the AACD Smile Contest twenty years ago.

Only a mediocre clinician would say that you don't need any special training to do Cosmetic dentistry.

What do you think?

Richard Nixon ....NOT POLITICAL

I was alive and an adult during the Watergate Hearings. I have a BA in History and I knew the significance of the Hearings.

Today, some people like to talk about fake or biased news on CNN or FOX. Last night HBO had a special presentation (shown on CNN) , "Nixon on Nixon" in which ALL the audio that was heard was the voice of Richard Nixon and  his staff member...There was NO analysis or commentary...ZERO.. There was no fake news or bias... Just the words of  President Nixon.

And what did we hear about  and learn about Richard Nixon?

1. He hated Jews...He called them "kikes" and devious.
2. He hated Black people.
3. He did not believe that women should hold important positions in our government.

To hear the most powerful person in the world say hateful things was disheartening and sad.

You need to see this for yourself on CNN, HBO or perhaps YouTube.

Capital District Top Dentists....Again

As you might have seen in the October issue of Capital Living Magazine, I and all the members of my team have been selected “by our colleagues “ to be among the top dentists in the Capital District of NY. There are two significant problems with the selection. Obviously, I would rather be included on the list than not but the selection process is flawed/corrupt.
1. In past years I actually voted for dentists to be included BUT THIS YEAR I WAS NOT SENT A BALLOT.
2. There are many general dentists on the list that, I believe, are not deserving to be on anyone’s “Best Dentists List.” How and why do I say this?
         A . None of the dentists have thousands of hours of high quality CE.
         B.  None of the dentists have any special Certificates or Accreditation by a major dental
               organizations like the AACD or a University Program.
         C.  None of the dentists have posted their cases for their peer review or the public viewing.
         D.  None of the dentists present lectures to local , State, National or International meetings.
Why is this important?

Because the Public must TRUST lists that claim they have indeed selected THE BEST.

Capital Living Magazine must do better.
Look

I’m Back

Google has changed my Blogger.Com account and I have been unable to log in to create new posts. I have that cleared up and I will be blogging again.

A Short Facebook Chat with an Unexpected Outcome

As you know, I have been participating with Dental Forums for more than 20 years. It provides me with the opportunity to discuss dentistry in all of its forms with a variety of dentists....Some of the discussions valuable but most not. It also gives me a chance to show a significant number of dentists many of the cases that I have done and my work has generally be viewed very favorably.

One of BEST dental sites is DentalXP which is dedicated to a significantly higher level of clinical dentistry and much less social bantering.

I dentist from Queens, NY also posted his work on DentalXP and I have always been impressed by the quality of his work. We recently became friends on Facebook and I messaged him this morning:

Hi I never realized that you are in NYS. You do nice work

Thank you Gerald!

You are my Inspiration!

I was truly honored to receive his compliment.

Conservative based dentistry

Newton Fahl and I have many things in common. One of them is that neither of us cuts down teeth for crowns UNLESS there is no other option especially for our younger patients.  Newton and I have both mastered resin based dentistry which allows us to save as much natural tooth structure as possible and permits teeth to be kept for a lifetime.

I have told you that the vast majority of people who have been my patient for 25,30, 35 and even 40 years have virtually all the teeth that they started with me years ago. And that is because I don't destroy your teeth for my economic benefit.

I place HUNDREDS of implant support crowns a year but on my LONG-TERM patients only one or two...

WHY?

Because my patients have very few crowns.

The more crowns that you have, the more likely that you will ultimately lose teeth and have some implants.

The most common reasons that people lose teeth;

1. Having large silver/mercury fillings (Amalgams) that split teeth
2. Poorly done root canals (Which is why you should  go to Root Canal Experts)
3. Having many crowns that ultimately fail and many times cause the tooth to be lost as well.

So while I am not as good as Newton Fahl, we are both committed to saving your teeth with strong, correctly bonded, resin posterior fillings.

Dentistry for a lifetime.

Another Class with Newton Fahl in Chicago

Newton Fahl is the greatest resin based dentist in the world and has been for almost 30 YEARS.  No one will ever surpass Newton in talent and the ability to exactly reproduce a tooth in resin that matches God's natural tooth....No one.

I have probably taken more courses with Newton than any other dentist in the country during the last 20+ years.  Newton and the Cosmedent's Center for Esthetic Excellence are very kind and deferential to me because they know the quality of my work and because I have studied in Chicago longer than anyone else.

I was the oldest dentist by far and probably the most accomplished. But to my classmates I was just an old guy who doesn't walk well and should probably hang it up.

When I began UB Dental School there was an old professor, Dr. Brown, who was the Chairman of the Restorative Department. He was old all right but he was still at the top of his game clinically and everyone revered him. A few years ago when my East Coast mentor, Dr. McIntyre retired,  he told me, "You know, you are going to be the Dr. Brown of dentistry soon."

99% of young dentists have no clue who the best clinicians are and nor do they care. It is not like sports or rockstars  where fans knew everything about their 'heroes.'

 Doesn't matter because my patients still know that they are receiving fine clinical dentistry.

You Need to Read This (This is NOT political..unless you want it to be.)

Empathy and sympathy and what is referred to as 'humanity' are strictly human qualities. When someone tells you that their child is very sick or that they have been diagnosed with cancer, most of us will offer our concern for that person. It is what we do.

In today's New York Times, Roger Cohen writes about a young woman that was repeatedly raped when Isis soldiers took over their Yazidi town in Iraq.  After freeing herself from sexual slavery she started a campaign out to end mass rape in war. In addition to the rapes, her mother and 6 brothers were killed by Isis soldiers.

For her efforts she was awarded a Noble Peace Prize.

When the President met the young woman in the Oval Office, he asked her,"  “They gave it to you for what reason?”

I don't care if you like the President or not  but when you cannot show your compassion, empathy, and sympathy for being raped repeated (as were thousands of Yazidi women), I have to question your humanity and ask why you are the most powerful man in the world?


If you want to read the article for yourself:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/opinion/trump-nadia-murad-meeting.html