Winter
1998 E-Newsletter
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This issue features articles on:
- Our new associate Dawn Phillips
- Win $100 in CD giveaway
- Patients and Staff in the News
- Prize winners
- We are concerned about your: HEALTH
- We are concerned about your:COMFORT
- We are concerned about your:FINANCES
- We are concerned about THE ENVIRONMENT
- HMO Spoof
- What your doctors can't tell you about HMO's
- New office technology: EYEPHONES that
let you watch videos while in the chair
- Important information for patients who have taken FenPhen
or Redux or any of the ingredients therein
- New: Music information from Dr. Markus
Dawn of a New Era
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Dawn Phillips has joined the
staff of the Centre. Dr. Phillips began working in mid-July, and
has had
the opportunity to meet and treat many of our patients since then.
She has had nothing but the best comments from those of you who
have seen her, as one would expect of the candidate for the position
who
had the strongest credentials of the many dentists who interviewed
for the position. Dr. Tina Mann has cut her schedule back to one
day
each week, and is still seeing many of her patients, and Dr. Phillips
has assumed the remainder of Dr. Mann's patient load. Dr. Phillips
is a graduate of Syracuse University, the Dental School of the
State
University of New York at Buffalo, and has completed the general
practice residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital. Formerly from
Bucks County,
Dr. Phillips and her husband are looking for their first home in
the Haddon Heights - Haddonfield area. Her hobbies include rollerblading,
skiing, painting and hiking.
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Win $100 in CD's
Anyone who has spent any time in our office knows that Dr. Markus
loves music. Everyday, we put a mix of CD's in the player, press
the
"shuffle" switch, and listen to a variety of CD's from our extensive
selection. Patients can listen to the mix on wireles headphones,
that block out all outside sounds. We've decided to
make a contest out of it and it's called The Desert Island
CD Contest.
Here's how it works: Write down the names
of the 5 CD's you would take with you if you knew you were going
to be stranded on a deserted island. These would represent the
only music you'd be able to listen. Please include the name of
the artist (if you know it). At the end of March 1998, we will
select one winner, at random, from all entries received,
to go on a $100 shopping spree at CD Warehouse in Gloucester Twp. You can also enter from the contest page
on our website.
Patients and Staff in the
News:
Centre Teachers Go For The Hattrick!
For the second
year in a row, a patient of the Centre for Dentistry has been
named Camden County Teacher of the Year.
Kathy
Hunter,
a long-time patient here, and a teacher at Haddon Heights
High School received this honor. Last year, Rebecca Aupperle was
the honoree. We have so many teachers who are our patients,
we
hope
this will inspire at least one of you to get your entry in.
You obviously have a winning smile if you're one of our patients.
Congratulations:
Danielle Mc Keever, a patient here at the Centre
since she was age 5 was married on 9/13/97 to Andrew Tinall; they
honeymooned
in California. Now that she is married, Sherry Isenwasser
is now
Sherry Frank.
Gloria McCormick, a dental assistant here
at the Centre had a baby girl, Lindsay. Mother and daughter are doing
fine,
and Gloria
returned to work in January.
Congratulations to: Betsy
O'Brien, who was honored as our
employee of the year for the second time. Betsy has now
been with Dr.
Markus
for 20 years!
Get well wishes to Jackie Livingston and Russ Kolins. Our
condolences to Dave Kobert on the loss of his mother,
The Bill Mc Michael
family on the loss of Bill's father, and to Jim Bunting,
on the loss of his wife.
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Every month our practice randomly
rewards referrers
with prizes like concert tickets, manicures, and meals
just for thinking kindly of us. Carl Klese was awarded dinner
at A Little
Café and
movie passes.
Linda Beal, Colleen Lore, and Dr. Meltzer's
office staff, won passes to the new Ritz 12 Theater
Complex in Voorhees, and coffee
and dessert afterwards at A Little Café in Voorhees.
Linda Rao, Nancy Murtha, Bev Chabolowski, Kahi
Schrier, Carolyn Palavage, Marilyn Maneely, Elizabeth
O'Brien
and Ann Koopman won manicures compliments of Sojourn
for Nails
in Haddon Heights.
Sharon Tyszka, Kathy Schiavo,
Bob Rosemiller, Kathy Colonna, Miriam Rodriguez
and Carol Williamson
each won gift certificates
for
CD Warehouse in Gloucester Township.
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In Memory of Josie
It is with deep sorrow that we report the passing
of Joann Sosslau, age 44. Joann has been a receptionist here
at The Centre For
Dentistry over the past 9 years, and
has battled breast cancer for 15 years. Her bright smile, positive outlook
on life, conviviality,
sense of humor, made her someone we all
loved
to be with. She will be sorely missed, and certainly not forgotten.
In her memory,
and in her honor, we have instituted "The Josie Award",
to be given every Christmas to the employee
who best exemplifies Joann's
spirit. We know that Joann would want
the prize to be jewelry, 24 karat gold,
just
like she was. The first recipient is
Barbara Rizzo. A donation to the American
Cancer
Society has been made
in her name.
We are concerned.
About your health.
Dr. Markus has been a crusader against
managed care in dentistry as well
as in medicine. He 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. It is also available
on-line.
If you have ever taken FenPhen, Redux, or
any of the weight loss drugs:
It is important that you contact our
office immediately. There
is, as you are aware, a connection between Fenphen, (and
Redux) and heart valve
problems. What has not been publicized
is the connection with
the need to take antibiotics prior to dental treatment.
It is also important for anyone who has taken
these medications alone,
or in combination, to maintain an extremely healthy mouth
(gums as well as teeth)
to prevent subacute bacterial endocarditis from attacking heart
valves.
Recent medical
literature has indicated there is
a direct link
between periodontal disease
and heart disease. It
seems that people with
gum problems
have
a much higher incidence
of heart disease. Helpful
Hint:
For those of you who
can't
seem to find time to
floss daily,
put a floss dispenser
in the shower. Most
people find this a much
easier way to work flossing
into
their routine. Remember:
You only have
to floss the teeth you
are planning to keep
About your comfort...
In May, the FDA gave approval
for two new devices which effect
patient comfort in the dental chair, transdermal Novacaine patches,
and the Premiere
Dental Laser. We immediately purchased the
patches, which, when
left in place for about ten minutes, makes the mandibular block injection
much more tolerable.
These patches
cost us $2 each,
and take considerably longer to use than topical anesthetic, yet we are
so committed to your
comfort, that we
will not pass this
additional cost on to you.
The laser, on the
other hand, costs
over $40,000,
and is
still considered
experimental by the
ADA. It is not
considered safe for
the removal of old
silver
fillings, and,
we do not feel that
our
patients will be
willing to pay an
estimated $60 per
filling to have their
cavities lased instead
of drilled.
Please feel free
to discuss
your
feelings with us
by mail, e-mail,
or in person
the next time you're
in the office so
that we can more
accurately
judge
patient
sentiment.
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.
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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."
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H.M.O. -- F.A.Q. 's
(found on
the internet)
Q. What does HMO stand for? A. This is actually a variation
of the phrase, "Hey, Moe!" Its roots go back to a concept
pioneered by Doctor Moe Howard, who discovered that a patient
could be
made to forget about the pain in his foot if he was poked hard
enough in the eyes. Modern practice replaces the physical
finger
poke with hi-tech equivalents such as voice mail and referral
slips, but the result remains the same.
Q. Do all diagnostic
procedures require pre-certification? A. No. Only those
you need.
Q. I just joined a new HMO. How difficult will it be to
choose the doctor I want? A. Just slightly more difficult
than choosing
your parents. Your insurer will provide you with a book
listing all the doctors who were participating in the plan at the
time
the information was gathered. These doctors basically fall
into two categories -- those who are no longer accepting
new patients,
and those who will see you but are no longer part of the
plan. But don't worry -- the remaining doctor who is
still in the plan and accepting new patients has an office just
a half day's
drive away!
Q. What are pre-existing conditions? A. This is a phrase
used by the grammatically challenged when they want to
talk about
existing conditions. Unfortunately, we appear to be pre-stuck
with it.
Q. Well, can I get coverage for my pre-existing
conditions? A. Certainly, as long as they don't require any treatment.
Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms of medicine? A. You'll
need to find alternative forms of payment.
Q. My pharmacy plan only
covers generic drugs, but I need the name brand. I tried the generic
medication,
but it
gave me a
stomach ache. What should I do? A. Poke yourself
in the eye.
Q. What should I do if I get sick while traveling?
A. Try sitting in a different part of the bus.
Q. No,
I mean what if I'm away from home and I get sick? A. You really shouldn't
do that. You'll have
a hard time
seeing your primary care physician. It's best to
wait until you return,
and then get sick.
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Excerpt from "What Your Doctor Can't Tell
you About HMO's"
In the future, leadership in outcomes research and the
development of treatment guidelines will need to come from outside
the HMO
industry. Health plans themselves can assist in studies,
chiefly by providing raw data on the patients' histories. But, for-profit
HMO's are not likely to be the best stewards of honest medical
inquiry. If HMO's are left in charge, some potentially costly
diseases will not be studied.
Definitions of successful treatment
may be manipulated in favor of what is cheap as opposed to what is effective.
A hint of that danger appeared in the book in the breast
cancer controversy, as HMO's "went shopping" for an academic
study that would support their business interests in denying
bone
marrow transplants.
If capitations' penalties for all-out care are too steep,
or the rewards from undercare are too great, doctors can
no longer
act as patients' advocates. An extreme version of such
a problem surfaced in Tennessee, where some pediatricians
stopped immunizing
poor children in Medicaid HMO's because bare-bones capitation
rates turned even basic care into a money-losing proposition."
Please call, write, or visit our website if you desire
more information, or the complete
text of this important essay. The information provided
was culled from the book, Health Against Wealth, written
by
G. Anders,
senior editor from the Wall Street Journal.
If your employer
is thinking about downgrading your insurance the complete
essay is a must-read.
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New Technology
 We
are proud to introduce our Virtual Vision "Eyephones."As
our long time patients are aware, Dr. Markus and
his associates have always
offered wireless headphones, with your choice of
music, to block out the noise of the dental drill,
and to
help distract our
patients from the procedure.
Dr. Markus attended
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas several
years ago, when these goggles were introduced.
He suggested
that the manufacturer develop a dental version).
The goggles, are attached to a VCR and the
image is projected on the inside of the black
lens in front of your eyes.
The image appears
to be as large as a giant screen TV. We have an extensive library of
video tapes, including live rock
concerts, Disney feature length cartoons,
many popular movies, and all three Academy Award winning Wallace and
Grommit
animated
short subjects. They will help make even
the lengthiest appointments fly by.
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Dr. Markus' Desert Island Discs:
1. Pulse - Pink Floyd
2. Hotel California - Eagles
3. Kamakiriad - Donald Fagan
4. Bat Out of Hell (1) - Meatloaf
5. Leap of Faith - Kenny Loggins
These are 5 Albums I don't think I could ever get tired of listening
to. Let us know about yours. Enter our Desert Island Disc contest. See details .
DR MARKUS' CD REVIEW - 1997
1997 saw the release of
many new albums. I have always been grounded in classic rock, and
much of
my collection is the CD's
of groups like the Stones, the Eagles,
CCR, CSN, Van Morrison etc. Having two teenage sons at home, whose musical
interests
run a wider gamut, I have expanded my
horizons a lot this past year. While 1997 saw the releases of new (and
solid) performances
by such icons as Boz Skaggs, the Bee
Gees, John Fogerty, Hall and Oates, the Stones (Bridges' and an un-plugged "Stripped")
it also introduced me to several new
groups whose works are
worth a long listen.
Most everyone has
heard "One Headlight" from the Wallflowers,
featuring Bob Dylan's son Jacob. Two
other albums of similar genre, and excellent
all the way through are "Somewhere More
Familiar" from Sister Hazel, and Matchbox
20's first album. We'll
be happy to put it on the wireless headphone
system for you to enjoy.
If you like the blues, there's a new BB King disc out which
features duets with the likes of Van Morrison, Clapton, Bonnie
Raitt to name a few. The roots of rock, R & B, and even rap,
are traced back to the blues. The new Boz Skaggs album is very
bluesy. Check out Johnnie Lang - the 16 year old blues performer's
first album, and both Keb' Mo' discs
are fantastic!
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