Mini Implants

 Everyday patients ask me, "Do mini implants 'work?'

And everyday, I respond, "Depends."

If you are 40 years old, the chance of a mini implant lasting the patient's entire life is ZERO.

If you are 83 years old, frail, and have an ill fitting lower denture, mini implants might be a good thing.

Are mini implants the BEST dental implants? NO!!!! It is almost impossible to make the gum tissue around a mini implant look like a natural tooth and trust me...The gum tissue shape and contour is critical to make implants look like natural teeth.

But I see advertisements on TV for MINI IMPLANTS.

Doesn't make them the best option.

So Well Cared For In This Office

 Twice this past week patients said to me, "I feel so well cared for in this office."

When a physician, surgeon or dentist says that they will take care of YOU, the Patient should FEEL taken care of. 

What  has gone wrong?

Back in the day, the  old guys repeatedly told me, "You ALWAYS put your patient's best  interest above  your own." ie Don't let making money take precedence over taking care of your patient.

Being an honest, ethical and religious person (in the BEST sense of the word), I took those words to heart and have NEVER put making money for myself over providing the best care for YOU.

So what has changed?

Two things: 

1.Insurance companies and government programs (MEDICARE) do not allow physicians or dentists to earn a living honestly.

2. The cost of attaining a dental school education is too high (NYU Dental School charges #125,000 a year for dental school.

Insurance companies reimburse dentist 37% of the usual dentist's fee to place a filling when overhead is 70% and MEDICARE pays 10% of a physican's/surgeon's fee.

Would YOU work for 37% of  your daily paycheck at work?

And THAT is why I won't participate with insurance companies. Insurance companies don't care about YOU and I do.

Welcome

 As Trish exists our office, we take great pleasure in announcing her replacement, Amy.

Amy has been a hygienist for 21 years and was personally selected by Trish as her replacement. 

When we met Amy she told us that she loved being a hygienist which is exactly what an employer wants to hear.

We are very excited to have  Amy join our team. It is my job to make this the best job that Amy has ever had.

With Sincere Appreciation

 Many know when it is time to end our Professional Careers and our hygienist of 12 years, Trish has decided that it is time to take life easy. Trish has been an excellent  fit for our  practice which is dedicated to excellence and she will be missed.

I was hoping that we would all retire together as an office but that will not be the case.

We wish Trish great enjoyment in her retirement. 

Recognized Again

 About 25 years ago, one of my patients had misshapen and discolored teeth. The teenager was very embarrassed about her smile and her parents asked me to bond her teeth which I was happy to do. When my patient became a Senior at Brunswick High School she was nominated for having the BEST SMILE by a graduating senior. She and I were both thrilled by her being voted as having the best smile.

Well today, another young patient was in for a cleaning and told me that she was voted as having the best smile for a graduating Senior. I placed veneers for this  young lady when she was about 16 years old and her smile is SPECTACULAR.

I am so happy that my young beautiful patient is thrill  to have a Benjamin Smile.

Times Union "Best Dentist"

 As you may remember, I have never been a fan of Social Media 'Reviews' because I feel that they are not valid. Some dentists that I don't respect have some of the best reviews because some dentists put pressure on their patients to write reviews before they leave the office. 

I do not engage in pressuring patients for reviews.

Every year the Times Union does a 'contest' to determine "The Best Of" in the Capital District and again, I don't pay any attention to that Contest.

In our office we all know the quality of dentistry offered so it is not necessary to win a popularity contest.

21 YEARS ago, I won the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Smile Contest which was the most prestigious clinical contest in the world...

So I am competitive  and I do love to win......Just not in meaningless contests.

Taking Care of My Patients

 The Pandemic and politics have made our lives miserable and are the reasons that I don't blog much.

I told you that I used to post my work on several dental forums over the years and had a reputation as a significant clinician. I rarely post my work any more because very few dentists on these forums are interested in pursuing excellence.

An older dentist posted the following recently:

Very impressive, Gerald. Thank you for the brilliant skill you employ while caring fir your patients. Thanks for inspiring us to think differently about what we do. 

The post concerned the influence of dental insurance on the quality of care and the ability to deliver excellence to your patient IF the dentist participates with insurance.

The discussion yielded the following:

Participation with insurance does not permit the patient to have access to the BEST POSSIBLE DENTAL CARE.

Insurance limits the materials the a dentist can use.

Insurance precludes dentists from hiring and paying for the BEST staff members.

Insurance prevents a dentist from using the BEST dental laboratories.

I will not have the stockholders of the insurance companies preventing me from deliver excellence in clinical dentistry  because they want to make more money.

YOU are MY PATIENT and no one will dictate the quality (or lack of)  of your  treatment.

No Rumors!!!

 Rumors are impossible to deny once they create a life of their own.

THREE WEEKS AGO, the wife of one of my patients developed symptoms of  Covid and tested positive. My patient called me a week ago to report the results of the test and I immediately called my physician to ask for a prescription for a Covid test. My test and Jeanine's test both came back NEGATIVE. The last time we saw our patient was 20 or so days ago.

Before I received my test, I CLOSED our office for Monday and Tuesday out of an abundance of caution so that everyone associated with our practice would be safe. I would never put my staff or my patients at risk so we did the right thing by closing.

We have no illness in our office or our families.

Rest assured that we will always do the right thing to keep you healthy and safe including the installation of FOUR UV AIR FILTERS and an even greater attention to our sterilization of our rooms between patients.

What do we know?

MASKS PREVENT DISEASES LIKE COVID.

WEAR YOUR MASKS.

No Way to Select a Physician or a Dentist

It is quite common to select a physician or dentist by checking reviews.

In MY OPINION that is an unwise way to select people to take care of you.

Why??????

Many Doctors and Dentists hire a service to write good reviews for them. Or many put their patients on the spot and request  positive review prior to leaving the office.

More commonly, a 'good dentist' is a dentist that accepts your insurance and doesn't hurt giving Novocain.

The BEST WAY to select a dentist is to use OBJECT MEANS to your evaluation such as the following:

1. The BEST clinical dentists are those that use a rubber dam when they place a bonded posterior resin. Unfortunately only 5% of dentists use a dam ....the BEST 5 %.

2. The best clinical dentists have thousands and thousands of world class continuing education

3. The Best dentists will have many examples of their work to show other patients.

4. Better dentists post cases on dental forums for constructive criticism.

5. Better dentists TEACH at a dental school or to local dentists.

It is a good idea to use Yelp or Google to find a great restaurant. It doesn't work so well to find great people to take care of you.

Do No Harm

The most traumatic treatment that can be performed on a live tooth is the preparation of the tooth for a crown;  Preparing a tooth for a crown in a young patient 20-40 is the most detrimental. I have not placed a crown on a live tooth for a 20,20 or 40 year old in almost 25 YEARS.

If a crown is placed on a vital tooth in a young patient, the chance that the tooth lasts an entire life is very low while the probability of an implant is high. In my practice, the placement of a crown is the dental treatment of last resort, regardless of the age of the patient.

Notice what happened to the tooth when the mercury amalgam was removed. The entire cusp fell off because of expansion and contraction of the metal.

No healthy  tooth structure was removed to restore either tooth. One or both of these teeth would have been crowns or onlays in other dental practices.

Do no harm.