The Doctor Goals
Most of us have heard the tale of George Washington's wood and ivory, spring loaded denture teeth. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could talk or chew with that contraption.
Luckily rubber, then plastic came along replacing the wooden plates, preventing those nasty slivers in the tongue!
Except for those advances, denture technology has really not improved much in the last 200 years.
It did not take long in my career, for me to realize how much, overall, folks were very displeased with their dentures. "My lower denture is always moving, hurting and popping out." and "It's like talking with a mouthful of marbles!" These are the type of complaints I would hear over and over again! That was in the early 1980's and little did I know there were people working hard on that very problem.
Dental implants were born in the dental research labs of the 1960's and 1970's. The next two decades brought dental implantology to the masses and professional lecture halls. Now, our patients share my excitement, because today, dental implants are as common as fillings, root canals or crowns. This is understandable because, in many ways, implants are better than natural teeth.
Exciting as this was, I started going to every implant lecture I could. Today, the major focus of my general dental practice is introducing the benefits of implant dentistry to all my patients.
What does all this have to do with goals? It is the name of this section after all.... Many of us have heard of someone who has had dental implants performed and how it cost them thousands and thousands of dollars just for one tooth. In fact, over the last 25 years, most people have been paying $3000 to $5000 per tooth.
It has always been my goal to bring the cost down, so that the average wage earner could also enjoy the benefits of implant dentistry.
My focus on this goal will continue, by maintaining reasonable implant fees and adopting new and efficient ways to "streamline" the process and reduce "chair-time" for patients.
As with all my general dentistry, I will perform procedures as pain free as possible.
