 At
the Dawn of 2000
To Our Favorite Patients, Friends, and Neighbors:
I was thinking the other day. . .
- A dental appointment where you feel no pain.
- A dental appointment where you have no concerns about sterilization of
instruments.
- A smile of perfectly straight, and beautifully white teeth. A world
in which dental decay no longer caused teeth to be lost, or the fillings
placed therein were not unsightly, black, and toxic.
- A dentist whose concern is for your comfort, and whose philosophy is that
his responsibility is to prevent you from losing any teeth.
Imagine, if you would, the show $20,000 Pyramid, in the year 1900, or even
1950. The contestant's answer, no doubt, would have been "Things that
will never happen in a dental office." And that would have been the right
answer! It's a whole new dental world now, which is not only kinder and
gentler, but has a lot more to offer you than plugging holes in your teeth
with ugly toxic mercury-silver mix until such time as you need dentures. No
more spit bowls, horrible smells, sounds or excruciating pain. Instead,
your teeth can look like they've never been touched by decay, aging, or ever
repaired by a dentist.
It has been an amazing century! Presently, we will be at the dawn not
only of a new century, but the beginning of a new millennium. It is our
pleasure to send you this note of thanks. My practice has only spanned
a quarter of a century, but the evolution has been incredible. Our
office was one of the first to computerize (1981). We changed over from
wet-fingers to gloves (1984) well before the Center for Disease Control
spoke to the profession about the need to rethink our protocols. When
the American Dental Association told dentists that they needed to switch to
sterilizable dental drills (at considerable cost) we had already owned a drawer-full
of them for years. I stopped placing silver fillings in the early '90's. Everyone
except the American Dental Association agrees that the mercury in these fillings
is potentially toxic to the (nervous, immune, reproductive) systems of the
body. The next dental headline you are going to be reading about is dental
chair water-line contamination. No worries mate! Our chairs
run on a reservoir of distilled water and we follow all protocols for water-line
decontamination.
As we sit upon the dawn of the third millennium, there are even more exciting
advances on the horizon. Dental lasers are showing promise as a device
to eliminate the drill. The brush biopsy technique will quickly, non-surgically
and painlessly enable us to evaluate potentially cancerous lesions in the mouth.
Digital x-rays have begun to replace conventional ones, and enhance our ability
to diagnose, and minimize patient exposure to radiation. The most important
finding will make major news in the months to come. The National Institute
of Health will be revealing that there is a link between the presence of periodontal
(gum) disease and a much higher incidence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Those
of you who read our newsletter are well aware of these facts. Those who
aren't, please call the office for a copy of "Floss or Die." We anticipate
a significant increase in demand for dental cleanings in the coming years. Use
the coupon below for yourself, or make as many copies as you would like,
and share them with your friends.
If you have never been to our office, or you have not had a check-up with
us in over three years, I extend this offer to you. Simply call the office,
and we will send you a re-introductory offer enabling you and a friend to have
Two dental check-ups for the price of one!
(Coupon expires March 31, 2000. )
The process of bonding has totally altered my enjoyment of the practice, and
the art of dentistry. Of course, it doesn't hurt that our practice has been
at the forefront of insuring patient comfort during procedures. You have
been treated, as never before, by our exceptional caring staff with laughing
gas, stereo headphones, TV's, and virtual vision goggles. Additionally, we
have recently installed back massage cushions on many of our chairs.
We have worked assiduously the past 25 years to educate our patients about
oral health. A recent addition to the office is the Casey system, which
uses a DVD (digital videodisc) player to explain and illustrate answers to
questions you might have about treatment. Our website also offers an
extensive array of topics and links to resources for answers to your dental
and medical questions (it also has the unabridged version of this letter). We
are extremely proud of what we have achieved in the last quarter century of
the past millennium. What an amazing era to have had the privilege of
having lived in! How thrilling it has been for us to witness the changes
in technology, and what those changes have meant to our patients' well being.
In 1999, we became aware of the Smiles For Life campaign, through which, dentists
across the nation raise money for the St. Jude Hospital Children's Cancer Research
Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Danny Thomas' dream has become a worldwide
leader in the development of protocols for the treatment of many devastating
diseases. From March through May of 1999, our office raised close to
$30,000 by bleaching teeth in exchange for a donation to St. Jude. Our
practice was #6 in the nation in funds raised. We were thrilled to have
been invited to meet Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue, and to personally hand
them a check for Two Million Dollars on behalf of all the dentists in the United
States who participated!
This year's Smiles for Life campaign will begin in February. Call the
office now for further information. We are looking to our patients for
help and support through the volunteering of time and the referral of friends
and family for this extremely worthwhile cause. Posters are available
for your workplace.
On behalf of my staff, I want to thank each and every one of you for your
support, and wish you and your children and family and friends not only the
happiest and healthiest New Year, but our best wishes for your continued health
and prosperity in this, the most exciting time to be alive, and well, and smiling
broadly on our beautiful planet.
Sincerely,
Steve Markus, DMD
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