June 1997 E-Newsletter

The New Centre for Dentistry moves to new building and turns 21!

It was an unusually warm weekend in February, 1976, when Dr. Markus hung out his first shingle, and opened the door to his 300 square foot dental office, in a building he shared with Dr. Marchesani, the pediatrician in Audubon. His first patient was his father-in-law, Harry Brooks.

It was so warm on Saturday, February 22, 1997, that patients wore shorts to the office. His first patient once again, was Harry Brooks. Over the past 21 years there have been a significant number of changes in the practice of dentistry. Dr. Markus and his staff have kept abreast of the changes, and are proud to place themselves at the cutting edge of technology.

There are some things that will never change. Drs. Markus and Mann understand what it is like to be a patient in the dental chair. Their dedication to quality, and quest to provide comfortable, stress-free dental treatment have never wavered. The new building (picture on the bottom of P2) has enabled them to provide many different and new enhancements to ease patient anxiety in the dental office.

In addition to having nitrous oxide (laughing gas) available at all nine dental chairs, there is also an office-wide wireless headphone system, which blocks-out the sound of the dental drill. Four dental chairs are equipped with televisions wired both to cable TV as well as to a VCR.

There is an extensive library of CD's and video tapes of movies, cartoons, concerts, as well as educational videos for the patient to choose from. The office is also being equipped with a system by which a patient in any part of the office can view a video tape on Virtual Reality goggles. This way, any dental chair can become a private viewing room! Everyone who has tried them has been amazed!

An advanced air filtration system has been installed which traps impurities and water vapor from the compressed air which drives the dental drills and air syringes. While this may seem an insignificant addition, research has shown that cleaned and dried compressed air made substantial differences in the strength of bonded fillings, veneers, and crowns.

Parents can leave their children playing on our Sega Genesis system in the patient lounge. Patients waiting there will not be disturbed by the noise, since the speaker in the TV has been removed, and children listen to the game on private headphones.

We cordially invite you to drop in anytime and tour our new office.

Gallop Poll Rates Dentists In Top Three

Dentists now rank among the country's top three most trusted professions according to a Gallop Organization survey. Druggists rated first, followed by the clergy. We hope to be able to sustain this confidence by providing the highest quality service and maintaining high standards.

Patients Need to Remind Physicians about Handwashing

According to a recent study in Lancet, healthcare workers often fail to wash their hands before and between all patient contacts. According to this report, patients should protect themselves by asking doctors and nurses to wash their hands, if this hasn't been done in their presence. In our practice, we have been wearing gloves for so many years (16), that it feels unnatural not to.

About your health...

Dr. Markus has been a crusader against managed care causing the problems for patients' teeth that they have in medicine. Dr. Markus has created a newsletter "What Your Doctor Can't Tell You About HMO's", to educate patients about the pitfalls of managed care in medicine and what you can about it. Call our office to request your copy.

Dr Markus has recently published an article in a medical journal called Patient Care which outlines significant dental problems which can be caused by nutritional supplements like Ensure. If someone you know is taking a nutritional supplement, they should read this article to prevent irreparable harm to their teeth.

About your comfort...

We realize that there are many individuals who postpone dental treatment because of anxiety, and that no matter how many distractions we provide, they would still rather be asleep during the procedure. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that we have added Adam Sackstein, M.D. to our practice. Dr. Sackstein is an anesthesiologist associated with Princeton University Hospital, and will be providing IV sedation and general anesthesia to our patients and their friends. Call our office to schedule a consultation.

About your finances...

Therefore we offer several different payment options, and financing through Healthcare Creditline. We are also enclosing a brochure about Tel3Net, a long distance service that can easily provide you with a new source of income. If you are interested in learning more, call the office and we will be happy to provide you with a $10 phone card - absolutely FREE!

About the environment...

We are proud to announce that our new office is now equipped with special filters that remove mercury waste from our drain lines, before it can get into the sewer system (and the environment). We are one of only two offices in NJ that are taking this extra step to protect the environment, and to put our money where our mouth is. It costs us substantially extra each month to do this, and therefore other practices will be slow to jump on this bandwagon, and, surprisingly, there are no regulations requiring dentists in the US to trap mercury from waste water. There are, however, over 50,000 installations in Europe.

"We are supposed to be stewards of our planet. My conscience would not let me refuse this opportunity to protect it for future generations, and hope that other dentists will see this not as an expense, but an opportunity to do something positive."

Prize Winners for April for Referring Patients to our Office:

Every month our practice randomly rewards referrers with prizes like concert tickets, manicures, and meals just for thinking kindly of us. Rudy Meyers and Jim Ruggiero won passes to the new Ritz 12 Theater Complex in Voorhees, and coffee and dessert afterwards at A Little Café. Linda Denne and Edith Brimm won manicures compliments of Sojourn for Nails in Haddon Heights.

Moms Transmit Tooth Decay:

A mother's affection can be the kiss of death for cavity-free teeth, according to researchers at the University of Alabama. Kisses from mom are the main way cavity-causing bacteria are transmitted to children according to an Associated Press report. Only the mother is able to transmit the strain of bacteria that causes decay. Researchers believe that the transmission occurs during a specific time frame, around the age of 2, although cavities don't generally show up until the child is slightly older.

Case of the month:

As a new feature of our monthly newsletter, we will be showing-off some of the miraculous smile make-overs we've done here at the Centre.

Instant Orthodontics:

Did you ever wonder how a perfect smile would change your appearance? We can show you instantly. A FREE preview of the "new you" will help you decide whether cosmetic dentistry is for you. Through the magic of computer imagery, our digital camera and Image FX computer software you can picture how you will look with a picture-perfect smile.