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.

When the Godfather of Cosmetic Dentistry Speaks

I posted this case on DentalXP a high level internet dental site and one of the all time great cosmetically oriented dentists (Team Atlanta) commented on my case.

Orthodontics by Brendan Cooney of Malta NY

Post ortho but prior to restoration close up

                                                      Restored smile minimizing negatives










Reply                                        

 Ronald Goldstein says on 02.24.2014 07:14 PM

Gerald, I am looking at the levels of the gingival papilla of the adjacent teeth and it appears to me you have lined up the veneers very well to support the tissue. Very nice result!

Reply

 Gerald Benjamin says on 02.25.2014 06:56 AM

Dr. Goldstein;
You have been one of my mentors for much of my almost 40 year career and perpetual students of our craft live for favorable comments by those we respect. I am truly honored.

Don't Believe Doctor's Internet Rating Systems

I received this email from health grades:

As of 21 February 2014, you have 7 reviews. This is only based on 5 out of 75 websites that we are monitoring for you. Do your online reviews truly reflect your quality of care and the practice that you have developed? Call us today at (888) 424-8479 or reply to this email to connect with your dedicated Review Concierge team and create the online reputation that you deserve.

DR. GERALD CHARLES BENJAMIN 4164 Ny2 Troy, NY 12180 (518) 279-1116

based on 7 reviews

A Current Grade

I have been in Saratoga Springs for the last 5 YEARS and this website still has me listed in Troy, NY.

If these websites can't get the address right what makes you think that they will get their rating systems right?

What I Have Told My Patients for Years

In the 1950s and 60s President Eisenhower warned Americans about the Military/Industrial Complex and how they would spend the country into oblivion.

If President Eisenhower were alive today, he would warn us about the Medical/Pharmaceutical Complex.

I have not trusted the Health industry in quite some time and I believe for good reason. Last year I blogged about the most renown sports medicine doctor in the country, Dr. James Andrews who was interviewed by the New York Times in a front page story in which he said that MOST MRIs for sports injuries were unnecessary. He said that an MRI gave us little additional information than when a physician examined a patient, talked to a patient  or watched him perform a task. When Dr. Andrews was asked why there were so many MRIs taken he responded: "MONEY."

Last week a Canadian Medical team reported that mammograms performed yearly  in women over 50 did not save additional women from dying of breast cancer.

In yesterday's New York Times the lead story was about over the counter and generic drugs made in India and sold in America.  The report said that a significant number of generic drugs made in India were fakes or did not contain the active ingredients  in cancer drugs or antibiotics. In fact, one of the leading drug regulators in India said the following:

“If I have to follow U.S. standards in inspecting facilities supplying to the Indian market,” G. N. Singh, India’s top drug regulator, said in a recentinterview with an Indian newspaper, “we will have to shut almost all of those."

Do you see why I don't know who to trust when it comes to our health?

In Appreciation: Without comment

Message:

Dear Dr. Benjamin,

A heartfelt thanks for the beautiful gift basket that touched our hearts today.  Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated during this difficult time.  You are not only the best dentist in the world but a truly kind person as well.

With gratitude and love,

April



"Dr. Benjamin Is Too Expensive"

Patients sometimes tell my staff that they think that I am too expensive. My staff and I would respectfully disagree with these comments. The patient in these photos works in the dental industry and his previous dentist told him that the broken tooth in the photo  (middle tooth) would require a crown because the mercury filling was very large and the tooth is weak. The cost would have been somewhere in the range of $1100-$1300.

As you can see from the photos, I replaced both mercury fillings with direct resin bonded fillings using rubber dam. The cost to repair BOTH teeth was a little over $600.

Now where I come from $600 to repair TWO teeth is a heck of lot less than $1300 to repair ONE tooth.

More importantly, the broken tooth had NO healthy tooth structure removed during the repair process. A crown would have required ALL of the remaining healthy  enamel to be removed and when the crown eventually failed as all dentistry will, there is a good possibility that the tooth would also be lost and an implant required (~$5,000)

When we compare apples to apples, not am I NOT more expensive I am actually a VALUE  bargain because  my patient usually pays less (in dollars) AND they get to keep all of their healthy, irreplaceable, beautiful, strong tooth structure.

I don't think that I have to discuss this subject again. NEXT.



Why I refer to Root Canal Experts

My first patient on Monday morning was scheduled to have a crown on a tooth that recently had a root canal. After greeting my patient of 30 years, I reviewed that we would be preparing her for a crown. She immediately asked me if it was 'ok' to ask a question. She placed her finger between her tongue and tooth near the floor of her mouth and told me that we she pushed there, her tooth hurt and she asked, "Is this normal?" I told her that I wanted to take an x-ray of her tooth just to make sure that I should be placing a crown on this tooth. The above x-ray shows a RED arrow indicating where the endodontist finished treatment of the tooth. The green arrow shows the actual end of the root which means that the endodontist that my patient decided to have treat her tooth did not get to and clean to the end of the tooth.

My patient's tooth was still infected with bacteria and I did not believe that it would be right or ethical to place an expensive crown on this tooth. I informed her that she needed to call the endodontist and have him complete the root canal successfully.

I have worked with Francisco Banchs and Allyson Byrne for almost 7 years and they ALWAYS get to the end of the tooth.

I would strongly suggest that if and when you need a root canal that you take my advice and see the best of the best. Some dentists will charge less than others but they know what their dentistry is worth. It is less costly to see the best in terms of time, discomfort and even money because paying to have something redone IS really expensive.

Remember that I truly CARE about my patients and I would like you to be treated by the specialists that I recommend.

( I thought that you would like to see the x-ray of the completed root canal by Root Canal Experts so I have added it to this post. Now you can see why many believe that Dr. Banchs is one of the best endodontists in the world.)