Office Information
This website, established in August, 1996, has been a labor of love for me. I have likened it to a garden which someone might tend...experimenting, trimming, adding and giving it the best care he knows how. Our office, computerized in 1981, has always been on the cutting edge, and this website allows us to show the world why we consider ourselves a leader in the dental profession. In 2001, and again in 2003, our Web site was chosen by Dental Economics Magazine as one of the 30 best dental websites in the nation. Since Dr. Steve Markus has done all the work on ours, we are especially proud of our dynamic site.
"It is my responsibility, as your dentist, to do my utmost to enable you to keep your teeth throughout your life. With my highly-skilled staff in support, we seek to make your visits with us comfortable and easy. " - Stephen J. Markus, D.M.D.
Dr. Stephen Jay Markus - - - - U. of Pa. 1975
Dr. John Lu - - - - - - - - U. of Pa. 1993
Dr. Dawn M. Phillips- - - - SUNY Buffalo 1996
Dr. Mark Scott - - - - - Georgetown 1984
Mission Statement
Our team at the Center for Dentistry is dedicated to providing the highest quality dentistry and to encourage our patients to maintain a lifetime of superior oral and physical health. We pursue educational opportunities that refine and update our knowledge, skills, and expertise, which allows us to provide ultimate care for our patients. Our practice was founded in 1975 on high moral and ethical principles and continues to grow and prosper from the trust and support of our patients. We go the extra mile to make our patients smile.
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Ideal Dentistry
 The construction of this web site has indeed been thought provoking. We have been talking to our patients for over 25 years about "Ideal Dentistry", but now is the time to define it. Ideal Dentistry means that the treatment performed will meet extremely stringent criteria. It is a combination of Art and Science. Our objective is to perform treatment once, and not have to repair it, or relieve pain created by what we have done. Ideal Dentistry means that it is our challenge to help you keep your teeth, your smile, your comfort, for your lifetime. To do so, we must observe certain cardinal rules:
Foundation is of the essence:
No matter how badly broken down a tooth is, it can be rebuilt - provided the bony support for that tooth is sufficient. The whole thrust of dental education since the late 60's shifted to a prevention-oriented model.
Think about the Crest Toothpaste ads on TV. In the black & white age, the "Look Ma, No Cavities" campaign was as far as technology could go. Today, all you hear about is Tartar Control and Plaque Fighting. At the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, the education stresses the management of gums and bone - periodontics (perio in Latin means "around" - thus perio dontics = around the tooth).
Since 1983 we have had a periodontist on our staff so that we can maintain your gums, bone and teeth without the need for outside referral.
For further information, the American Dental Association's Web site has information for consumers on periodontal disease.
Form must follow function
After foundation, the most important factor to consider is how much stress is the tooth absorbing? The teeth are arranged in an arch, a very strong architectural form.
When that arch is broken (by the extraction of a tooth) the teeth begin to tip into the space created. Teeth are now receiving the (very strong) bite forces off their vertical axis (imagine the tooth as a nail, and the opposing tooth as a hammer - - if the hammer keeps hitting the nail straight-on, everything is fine. . . .however, if you start hitting the nail with glancing blows -- that nail will loosen).
In designing smiles, or planning the replacement of missing teeth, the location of the adjacent and opposing teeth will determine the size and shape of the tooth you can create.
We take the time to analyze models of your jaws. We take photographs which we can cosmetically enhance on computer, to provide ourselves with all the information necessary to provide you with optimal results.
Ideal dentistry takes time. 
There was a poster we hung in our waiting room in the late 70's, which stated:
"Never shop for bargains in parachutes, brain surgery, and dental care!"
This is still true in the new millennium. In fact, dentistry is at a crossroads today. Managed care threatens to send the level of dentistry in this country back fifty years in time.
With so many things to be concerned about:
Proper bite force distribution. Smooth transition between tooth and filling or crown. Adequate anesthesia so that the patient feels nothing during the procedure. Attention to esthetic detail, so that the restoration is "invisible"
Assurance that every instrument used in your mouth is either disposable, or has been properly sterilized prior to its use.
Whoever once said: "It's like pulling teeth." had it all wrong. When he wanted to describe something extremely difficult and time consuming, he should have said: "It's like saving teeth."
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Sterilization of Instruments
Our office follows all American Dental Association and Centers For Disease Control protocols for the sterilization of every instrument which goes in you mouth. Anything that can be disposable is thrown out after one use. We began wearing gloves 10 years before it was mandated. When the CDC suggested that all dentists use dental drills which are capable of withstanding the heat and pressure of an autoclave, we already had been doing so for eight years, and obviously, continue a very strict regimen, to insure that we would feel secure if any of these instruments were to be used in our own mouths. We will be happy to give anyone who requests it, a tour of the sterilization area. You should also be advised that many offices would like you to believe they are complying with this regulation. Our assistants, who sometimes do temporary work in other offices advise us that we are somewhat unique. That, to us, is very scary.
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