All Dentists Are the Same

Statistically, the average bonded white resin filling lasts 7 years...That means that some only last one or two years. My bonded resin fillings have lasted 22 years and counting....Why?

Average dentist's protocol for placing a resin filling: Steps

1.Administers Novocaine
2.Removes old failing filling or tooth decay
3.Starts bonding protocol
4.Places resin into tooth and shapes
5.Cures resin using one light from the bite surface only

My protocol for placing a resin filling: Steps

1. Administer Novocaine
2. Apply a rubber dam for complete isolation and visualization
3. Remove old failing filling or tooth decay
4. Use a tooth decay stain to guarantee that all tooth decay is removed
5. Place a bevel around all margins of the natural tooth to insure that filling does not permit saliva to get under new resin filling
6. Use a miniature sand plaster to completely clean the tooth for a perfect bonding surface
7. Start bonding protocol
8. Place resin into tooth and shape; Using a sable brush the resin in brushed over the beveled margin for complete sealing of tooth by the resin to insure a long lasting filling.
9. Using 2 powerful lights, the resin is cured (set) from both sides of the tooth (cheek and tongue) simultaneously  and finally from the bite surface. This improves the quality of the cured resin for long life.

The attention to detail is what enables my direct posterior resins last almost a quarter of a century or as long as a well placed mercury filling with much less chance of leakage. Why don't 95% of American dentists not place a rubber dam???

LAZINESS AND LACK OF CARING

All dentists are NOT the same any more than all baseball players, teachers, lawyers or car mechanics are the same.

Why do many Americans think or believe that all dentists are the same??? So that they can go to the cheapest dentist and not feel guilty.

This Is Why America Used to Work Better

Time is Running Out

Every four or five years, I write a blog about excellence. And in each blog I say, "If the American people do not buy excellence it will cease to exist."

Excellence in health care and dentistry ,in particular, is rapidly disappearing. Why? Who would like to spend 5,000, 6,000 or like myself 7,000 hours of high level, costly education if no one is willing to buy the exceptional care that a highly trained dentist is capable of delivering?

2018 was a relatively slow year for us and our first 'down' year since we moved to Saratoga. This does not bode well for those who want quality dentistry.

Just today a long time patient of 35 years called to tell me that he had a horrific toothache and the only thing that stopped the pain was placing an ice cube directly on his tooth. When the nerve of a tooth dies, gases are produced and because the body is 98.6 degrees, the gases expand and produce significant pain. The ice causes the gases to contract and stops the terrible pain.

This is a  patient who will not make it through the weekend because of the intense pain. I told him that I would call him right back. I called Root Canal Expert and asked for a favor for my patient.

Mission accomplished!!! I told my patient that he would get a call from Dr. Banch's office to provide the time. I also texted my patient:

Where else would you be able to get an appointment with one of the BEST doctors in the world with a few minutes notice?

His return text:

NO WHERE! Please.....never retire.

If you are considering treatment please have it done now or in the near future...Excellence will not be around forever and....

YOU are used to really good dental care....

A Good Guy With a Gun

We often hear that what we need are more good guys with a gun so that when a bad guy with a gun starts shooting, the good guy will stop him.

So how has this been working out?

For the forth time in a month, a good guy with a gun killed another good guy with a gun.

Helus, a 29-year law enforcement veteran, was set to retire from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office next year. He was among the first officers through the door at the Borderline when the shooting began November 8 and was shot as he tried to stop the gunman, who killed 11 others in the attack. 

From CNN today:

Helus later died at a hospital. 

Ayub said the accident was, in his view, "unavoidable." 

"They were ambushed almost immediately after entering," Ayub said. "They retreated and tried to stop the suspect with their own gunfire. And unfortunately, it was dynamic, there was a lot of movement, there was smoke, it was dark." 

Helus and the CHP officer entered the bar at the same time, he said, but at some point, Helus ended up between the officer and the gunman.

Three good 4 good people died because when the police arrive on the scene, they are unable to quickly discern who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

So? What's the answer? I don't know but like other problems, the most apparent and easiest solution usually is not the right one.

The Constitution (Not Political)

The Constitution cannot be changed by a Presidential Executive Order. The President cannot change the 14th Amendment to the Constitution; or the 2nd Amendment if you prefer...CANNOT!

The President and his advisors KNOW WITH 100% CERTAINTY that he cannot change the Constitution with an Executive Order.

When people KNOW the truth but ignore the truth, they are lying.

Draw your own conclusions.

Vote

A Lack of Moral Leadership (Not political)

11 people are murdered. I don't care who they are or what their religion is.

I do care that there is a lack of outrage.

There is sadness.

But no outrage.

Where is our humanity?

What has happened to us as Americans?

We need to find out.

Personally, I AM outraged.

Knowingly Telling a LIE

FACEBOOK posts are often one sided supporting either Democratic or Republican ideas...I get that. This is who we have become as a country.

But frequently and often as a result of what people see on FOX News, people post absolute lies that they could have verified with a few key strokes.

A few days ago someone posted the following:

ALL CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST 2.8% COST OF LIVING INCREASE.

Now THINK about this! What is the likelihood of ALL DEMOCRATS voting against Social Security????? If I was a betting man, I would tell you ZERO and I would be correct.

Do I get angry? Do I get upset? No, I go to SNOPES.com where I learn that this was a total LIE. The reality is that THE CONGRESS does NOT VOTE for cost of living increases. They are set by another branch of government.


Was it a Lie?
Should the person have verified the information?

YES AND YES...

Do not believe the majority of what you see on the internet.

A "Comfort" Number

There have been many times in my life that I wanted to buy something but had no  clue what was a good or fair price for that item. Today, because of the internet, it is certainly easier to find out a significant amount about an item or a service before a purchase is made. What I never did, however, was to pick a 'comfort number' of what an item SHOULD cost.. a "comfort number" (my phrase) is the number that I am comfortable in paying for an item REGARDLESS of what the item actually costs. It is the NUMBER that we WANT to pay even though we have no idea of what  the item actually sells for.

Where is this going....

I often have people present for a consultation for cosmetic dentistry that come in and say, "Oh I thought that it would cost....." If you are going for a consult, why select a comfort number when in short order you will find out the ACTUAL cost of the treatment that you are looking for. "Well I thought that it should only cost $1,000 a tooth and I saw it on the internet."

What people need to know is what is the RANGE of the cost of treatment? Just so that you know, I sent my wife to THE BEST and THE MOST EXPENSIVE restorative dentist in the country 15-20 years ago...How expensive? FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS A TOOTH.

I was Censored on Facebook

Many years ago, Newt Gingrich, the House Speaker informed his wife that he was filing for divorce while she was in the hospital battling cancer....

No matter which political party you supported, the American people did not respond favorably to the news of what Speaker Gingrich had done...And many referred to him by calling him the slimy layer that forms on a lake....

Facebook said that I violated Community Standards and I responded with an appeal stating that when we censor our history, we are becoming George Owell's 1984 novel in which all memories of the past are destroyed in the 'memory hole.'

I reposted  my original statement with Facebook's official complaint of my on my Homepage....and Facebook relented.....

As long as we do not commit slander or liable, we still have First Amendment protections...

Oh and did I remind you that ole Newt was fined $300,000 for an ethics violation... A true American.