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Howard Farran:
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It is just a huge, huge honor for me today to be podcasting the man, the legend himself, Larry Rosenthal, all the way from New York City. This guy is at the top of the cosmetic dentistry game. Dr. Rosenthal believes that improving his patients smiles through conservative cosmetic dental techniques has a positive and powerful impact on their overall appearance and self-confidence. He completed his residency at Montfort Hospital and graduated from the New York University. He is acreddited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
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In the 1980s, Dr. Rosenthal developed a procedure called the smile lift, which patients from around the world visit his dental office to experience. In his new book, Open Wider: A Guide to Smile and Facial Aesthetics to Enhance Your Confidence, Appearance, and Overall Health, Dr. Larry Rosenthal breaks down the myths, deceptions, and misconceptions about dental care and empowers you to take charge of your smile and the lifelong health that you've always wanted and needed.
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He is the director of the Aesthetic Hands-On Continuum at the Rosenthal Institute at New York University, expounding his philosophies, experience, and expertise in aesthetic dentistry. Extensively, Dr. Rosenthal lectures, publishes, and teaches throughout the country, profiled on television, radio, and on many leading publications such as Vogue, Town and Country, W, Elle, Glamour, Forbes, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal. He spreads the word about his excitement for aesthetic dentistry and the powerful impact it can have on his patients lives.
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In honor of Dr. Rosenthal, the Rosenthal Institute for Aesthetic Dentistry at the New York University of College of Dentistry is the nations first comprehensive program to train dentists in the burgeoning field of aesthetic dentistry. This 9,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility house 15 treatment rooms, a 52 seat amphitheater, a conference room with remote broadcast capabilities, and a large laboratory with a demonstration area. A separate entrance on First Avenue between 24th Street and 25th Street opens onto a beautiful lobby, leading to an elegant wood paneled reception area. The Rosenthal Institute provides a core data approach to the study of aesthetic dentistry. Dr. Rosenthal's also recipient of the Dr. Harry Strusser Memorial award for distinguished contribution to public health.
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My God, I remember getting out of school in '87, I saw you lecture clear back in '87. I've been watching you for 30 years. You are absolutely top dog in the entire cosmetic arena. Congratulations, Larry, for all your success.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Where do I get that bio from? Oh my God.
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Howard Farran:
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Oh my God, I could've wrote forty more pages. I mean, really, Larry. And you're in the most competitive market in the world. You're in the largest city of America. To be number one cosmetic dentist in Parsons, Kansas, that's a little different than New York City. And your videos, my gosh, I was watching one today. Here's on the Today Show, the NBC News, you remember this one?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yup. Yup, that was introducing my book.
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Howard Farran:
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And she was talking about your book, how do you have the guests on the today show saying you did Donald Trump's teeth, you did her teeth, she loves you. I mean, you are the epitome of the old saying, "Your net worth is directly proportional to your network." And you are the most network amazing guy, I mean, even when I went to visit your offices, I was surprised that going from the lecture to your office, you were shaking hands. It was almost like you were running for mayor.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Listen, Howard, I've known you a long time. The point of the whole thing is that can you believe how long we've been doing this? How long I've been doing this? How it became a labor of love? How it's not a job, how it's a hobby? How this is the only thing that I wake up in the morning and do? It's unbelievable. If you told me this years ago, being a dentist, going to dentist school, going through all the rigamaroles, trying to build a practice, trying to teach the word aesthetics. They didn't know what, the public, they didn't have any idea what that's about.
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Getting involved in the beginning and building the whole thing, you gotta feel good about it, but the best part of it is embracing the part to give it to others. Not just patients, to dentists. I think that the issue is take on an entire new wave and both of us are lucky enough to be involved from the beginning. It's really amazing, it's the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm very grateful for it.
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Howard Farran:
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Well, you know, it was an interesting revolution because the under putting technology was a revolution in dental material. So you were at the forefront when it was amalgam and gold forever, and then these new technologies come out and that's what Ivoclar was the leader in that. All these new materials came out and you were just, you let that whole charge.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well, it wasn't just me. It was a whole group of dentists that were eager to go ahead and get into revolution. But, you're right, companies like Ivoclar and others like it gave us the opportunity because they gave us [inaudible 00:05:17] to do this. Years ago, the best dentists in the world had no option like this.
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We were there, we seized the opportunity, we didn't even know it would work, but we gave it our best. At the beginning, every dentist put us down. Every dentist that was doing full mouth rehabilitation or cosmetics or changing the color or changing the length of a tooth, or crowning teeth, or going ahead and doing major orthodontics. The perception of this non-invasive philosophy only came because of the materials, because their revolution, because their research and development.
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Howard Farran:
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Yeah, they use to make fun back in the day, in the '80s. They called you bondadontist, who are these bondadontist? Remember that term?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yeah, we were considered low man on the totem. We were considered high priced sales people. We were selling something that most dentists believed would never work, never happen, and fall right off faces, we'd fall right down. However, there are reasons why we did this. We understood the fact that if you could be as little invasive as possible, like medicine, like everything else, then you're doing your patient, they're getting a benefit from the whole thing. And this material and the whole chemistry worked to the point where there were leaders in there from John Candron, Gary Alex, and everybody got involved in the beginning. With the philosophy of how we could ahead [inaudible 00:06:41] and once you can do that, then different materials around, and today we have different materials too that are so unbelievable, thin, basic, that we sit there and a patient looks at themselves, that to me is the greatest things in the world. They go oh my god. They look at themselves.
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And now every dentist around the country, around the world, has the opportunity to enhance the lives and self-esteems of others.
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Howard Farran:
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You know, Larry, I've always said writing a book is like having a baby. By the way, you and I, our first born baby was a male named Eric. How's your Eric doing?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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My Eric's doing great, and the chef, he's doing great, working his guts off and loving it.
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Howard Farran:
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That's awesome, but I think writing a book is like having a baby. I mean, it takes nine months, it's a labor of love. What was going on in your world, your journey, to write the book Open Wider?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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First of all, mine took two years, not nine months. The reason why it took two years is because the philosophy that I wanted to go into this book was how dentistry was fun for the patient, and it's for the public. But the publishing company said no, we need more. We need some more science, we need some more almost encyclopedia type information that patients could go back to and they can understand what the procedure was, what the result was, and how to go ahead and why the dentist became the quarterback of health and beauty of not only the smile but the head and neck.
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And so what happened was all these things came and then pictures came back and I go into something and I didn't want this to be a book about people, about high profile people, about anyone [inaudible 00:08:21] treat. I wanted it to be a book that every single dentist could give to their patient to let them understand that they're offering them an opportunity, not only to look better and feel better, but to gain health, and that's the whole key.
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Howard Farran:
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So that's pretty cool to get an endorsement written on the book by Vera Wang and Kathy Lee Gifford.
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Vera Wang says, "Dr. Rosenthal is not only a superb technician but an incredible artist. His work can affect the entire structure of a woman's face aesthetically."
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And Kathy Lee Gifford writes, "No one knows their way around a mouth like Dr. Larry. He is a genius. If you have teeth, then open wider."
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And when you say open wider, the R is in parenthesis. Why, so it's open wide, parenthesis, R. Why did you do that, what is all that about?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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First of all, there's a [inaudible 00:09:09], we said open your mouth, open wide, open wider, but that's not the point of this book. What I really want to do is open the minds and the vision of people and dentists out there that they don't have to deal with one particular problem. If they can change the way they look, they can improve everything from their bite, from, again, sleep apnea things, and anti-[inaudible 00:09:31] disease, by making the mouth healthier. And that doesn't usually involve one or two teeth. And dentists are skeptical and really afraid to go and introduce the possibilities to patients. I want them to see what can be done in the book, see what can be done to them, and see if they want to go ahead and offer them an opportunity. Not only health, but facial aesthetics.
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Howard Farran:
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And what website should my homies go to? You have your Rosenthal group, you have Aesthetic Advantage, you have openwider.com, you could buy it on Amazon. What's the best place for them to go to learn, for the dentists to go and learn more about this [crosstalk 00:10:08]?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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First of all, the best place to go is probably the Open Wide site. But I want to tell you this. The reason why I really feel good about this book, and at the beginning when I spoke to the first edit, I wasn't that happy because I really believe what we do is explain in dental terms what we're talking about, you could say occlusion, and in parentheses it'll say the bite. In other words, the patient can understand what we're doing professional, but put it in layman's terms.
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I think that this should be on the curriculum of almost every dental school. It talks about the philosophy of everything from the parents responsibility for being proactive for kids teeth early on in early development, understanding where they can go, they can go to hospital programs, they can go to dental school programs. You can do all these things and that's why I wrote the book, and I think the dentists should be able to give this book, not to talk about me and what I did, but what they can do for their patients. And I really hope this becomes a bridge of communication which the dentist says I'm looking at you right now, you don't even know how you can look, how much healthier you can be, and how much you're going to love how much your entire face can possibly change because of this and make you healthy again.
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Howard Farran:
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You know, a lot of these ... Most, about 85% of everyone listening is commuting to work right now, so what I do for my guest so they can find you easily, I retweet your last tweet. So I retweeted a couple of your last tweets, so if they go to @howardfarran, I just retweeted @rosenthalapa and a couple of your tweets so they can find it there.
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So you're proud of your book then?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well, let me tell you what I'm proud of. First of all, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of, and this is not to stroke you, but I'm proud of what you've done for dentistry. You really created not only a market, you created, you taught dentists and you made them feel really bare about themselves. You've given them an opportunity to go ahead and understand the value of who they are, what they are, in a whole different light than you did in dental school. And this should be part, you should be part of every curriculum. You should be speaking at every campus with everyone else. And I really mean that, and you know I've felt that way my whole life.
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But as far as I'm concerned, as far as me personally, if you ask me what I like doing, I wrote the book and I hope it's, I hope it helps. It's not a book to go and be a profit center for me or anyone else. It's something that I had to do, I felt the need, it was part of my career, and it's been around a long time. But I still practice full time in the chair, I still love it, I can't believe how much I still love it. My hands don't shake, I still can see. When that stops, I'm not doing it anymore, but the love that, you told me years ago that I would still be practicing dentistry and enjoying practicing dentistry and making it even easier is unbelievable.
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But perhaps I love teaching more, and we started out with Dickerson and we started out with Harmburg, and we started out with Ross Nash and Bob Nixon, we went around the whole round. And all these guys, the super stars, we had a group at the AC that was unbelievable years ago. They were my heroes, I had so many mentors like Goldstein, Gobber, across the board. But I will tell you this, the most amazing part of this whole thing is we're still doing hands on courses today. And we do it at NYU, we use to travel all around the world but I can't do that anymore, I just don't have the time and energy to travel around the world, so we do it at NYU. And it's almost hard to say this and have you believe it, but it's as a rewarding, maybe moreso today than it's been for 25 years.
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And you were involved in that. And I don't know what it is, I've been fortunate. I'm really lucky. I think that anyone out there, if you want to go ahead and learn how to be a higher level dentist, it is [inaudible 00:14:00], the spirit, all these groups, and they're all phenomenal. You should get involved in them. Not just take a course, but get involved. You also have to understand the mindset of the patient, the business and the practice, because all those things contribute to both your [inaudible 00:14:13] and stress and your joy.
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Howard Farran:
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Well, all those mentors that you mentioned, everyone is still alive and kicking and doing well except for Robert Nixon. He died of a stroke January 27, 2007 at the age of 67 in his home in Los Angeles. Why don't you say an RIP, a few words about Robert Nixon's contribution to dentistry?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Okay, Robert Nixon was a leader, a pioneer, and he was so driven to go ahead and make you better. He was so exact and precise as his methodology, how he practiced, how he talked, and he executed. He was a spectacular dentist, at least thought of as an endodontist and then being involved in cosmetics, which is a real stretch, but he was driven. And he was one of those people who you go up there and you watch him speak and he was pretty serious. He was a little light every once in a while, but one thing he was, he wanted to teach. He really liked teaching you, and he would sit there at the chair and I would watch him, and he'd be relentless. For hours, the clinics closing, and he'd still be there doing his stuff like that.
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And he came up with some unbelievable ideas in terms of techniques, the approximate elbows, and all these [inaudible 00:15:32] he did that today [inaudible 00:15:36]. So God Bless Rob Nixon, he's a good friend, he's a great guy, and we were tennis competitors.
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Howard Farran:
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Oh, is that right?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yeah.
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Howard Farran:
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And here's a piece of trivia that no one would ever know or believe about Robert Nixon, he started out as an endodontist.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yeah, I know.
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Howard Farran:
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And then became a cosmetic dental legend. How do you go from root canals to cosmetics?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I don't know, but I'll tell you this Howard. When a patient says to me why can't you do the root canal, I tell them I can but you'd probably be in pain for like a year and a half, when would you like me to start? I said I don't do that. I do what I do.
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Howard Farran:
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So I know, you know, my job is to try to guess the questions everybody's thinking about as they're driving to work alone on their way to work and I know they're wondering, what materials do you know? We started off talking about that it was the revolution in dental materials that allowed the whole aesthetic dentistry revolution to start. Do you have any favorites or for you is it more the hands on art sculpting or do you have big favors with materials and are they a big part of your success?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I have big favorite materials, and I'm going to bring it up in a second, but I'll tell you this, okay? When I first started out, I had problems prepping a tooth. I just didn't get it, and these were crown preps and gold inlay and onlay preps. And I said if I'm going to get involved in dentistry, I'm going to have to understand how I can sculpt and create and I can make it easy for my laboratory to do so. Then, all of a sudden, we came out with veneers and bonding and some sculpting and carving and bringing new colors and layering them up, but I said it's like a party, it's so much fun to me. And I don't even understand how my ADD personality dealt with that and liked doing this stuff, but I did. And then I started to get with [inaudible 00:17:27] DMG and Luxotech and everything else, and I can carve temporaries. Then I realized if I can shape it, I can translate that seamlessly to my laboratory, make some adjustments over there, and get predictable results. And I've been doing that for years.
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We teach the fact that if you go ahead and can sculpt and create temporaries from wax, from markups, from just putting some composite in there, I really believe that you become a better dentist because you can visualize the process before it starts. So that made it much easier. Now today I'm still using a lot of [inaudible 00:18:00] porcelain, which is [inaudible 00:18:02] porcelain, but one of my favorite materials is E-Max. I love the material E-Max, I've used Empress years ago and I look at some of the restorations they had in 10, 20, even 20 years ago, I saw a patient that had Empress. And it was veneers in the beginning. And I remember when we did that work in the beginning, it was Maverick stain and I'm at Baylor University with Bill Dickerson and I was free contouring teeth, and I'm looking at him and I look like glass. I took [inaudible 00:18:25], I didn't even know what Empress was and I'm using it, within days, unbelievably.
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But the cases we did years ago last 10, 12, 15 years. Perhaps the case we do now lasts longer. I don't think there's anything more valuable than a person can buy than a great smile. I don't think there's anything out there, I mean, some people it's more important, to others some people with more [inaudible 00:18:48], to some it's more dramatic, but I think that's part of your life. And I think part of your life, it's a great investment. And when dentists understood that and they can go ahead and they can really get into the mindset of the patient and understand what we're offering there.
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Dentistry's expensive, it's multiple teeth, there's a lot of things out there, but in the end, no matter where you are, you can go ahead with implants today or veneers today, because stained life and antinion, they don't get older, they don't collapse. They still can masticate to the teeth before, and they can look good. And this is a very, very special thing, and I come together and the people that I've met and the patients that I have met in dentistry, all across the board, from the person that delivers the mail to the person that's on Broadway today, the person that goes ahead and comes and stains my office, and the other one who goes ahead and becomes in the Office of the United States. I don't care who they are or what they are, but it is really, really for everybody.
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Howard Farran:
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Larry, how do you balance the difference in other arts versus dentistry? Like if you were Picasso doing a painting, that's your painting the way you wanted it, you own it. But a lot of times when you're working on a patient, they want you to do things that maybe you don't like. Maybe they want them whiter, maybe they want them longer, but you're sitting there, you're Larry Rosenthal, you're putting your name on this, how do you balance between what you know would look the best versus what this human being actually wants? Is that an issue in your office very often?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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That is an issue for every dentist, that is probably the greatest question you can ask because you know about that. The situation is this: as dentists, we believe we know what is right for our patients. As patients who come in, a lot of them believe they know what's right for them. They're not dentists, who cannot compromise health. So there's some things we gotta do that can go ahead and some bad risk reward, we either can't do it or you gotta compromise some.
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As far as the aesthetic thing, the way I do it is I go ahead and I tell them, give me an idea of the things that you would like to happen with these teeth. Do you want them lighter? Do you want them longer? Do you want them wider? Do you want to build your lips out? Do you want to change your bite? Do you want to replace a tooth? What would you like to do? If you were the dentist [inaudible 00:21:07], now give me some, a list of things or they'll say I leave it up to you.
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But if they ask me certain specific things, I key that in my mind, and what I do is when I make them temporaries or do a mock-up or do a trial set from wax, I will do the right side slightly different from the left side. I may make the teeth longer or one side wider, one side rounder, shorter, and I go ahead and I'll look at their face and I really believe in doing it all along. It's looking at what does that patient look like. If they have a long, long face, widen that smile that'll counter balance that. How do we build that out, how do we lengthen the teeth, how do we do that stuff? And that's all why it's so much fun. It's not Picasso. It's you, it's every dentist out there doing this stuff. It's who's in [inaudible 00:21:52]. You also have to have a great laboratory. And to have a great laboratory, you have to pay some money, and the patient may have to go ahead and understand that it's more expensive to do a high laboratory than one that is just average and ordinary.
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But I go ahead and look at the face, and look at all of the stuff. And to really answer your question, I have, unfortunately like others, failed. I have been stubborn, and I have failed. I have given some patients something that I think is the best that they can get, and I look at it and go I like it a lot, but it's not really what I want. I told you I wanted wider, I told you I wanted longer, I told you I wanted even across. I don't like these little spaces at the edge, which you know I'm crazy about spaces. And then I'm sitting there saying to myself I should've worked on the temporaries, now this changes.
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What do I do? Do I change the case? Do I take it off? Do I redo it? Once you redo something, every dentist out there, you've already lost money, lost patients, stressed out the office, back yourself up. The staff is involved in this. It's negative downhill, so what you have to try and do is present it along the way and say I want your input in this. Some patients, you're never going to please. You can make a set of teeth, I can make a set of teeth. [inaudible 00:23:09] a set of teeth, you go across the board of everyone else, and we all think they're good, and they'll find flaw in it because they're just people that will never be happy.
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And probably the only thing you can learn from all the experience is that I'm not treating those people. Trying to get them before you start. But sometimes I bite the bullet, sometimes I bite the bullet and I say I'll go ahead and do it. I'll do it one more time, this is what you want, you're getting one more time, and that's it. Sign a release, sign a thing, and I'll go over them one more time. Other times I'll say I won't do it, I'm not doing it. Are they getting their money back or this thing back, but I'll say to myself I'm not getting involved because you will never be happy. It's just something like that, you got through the cracks, you won't be happy.
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And other times I sit down and I give them patience. Some of them just need to be stroked, they need a few appointments and a few visits to go back and let them see, and then you go ahead and you hire a guy outside to walk outside and go "Excuse me ma'am, who did your teeth? They're gorgeous." And you pay that guy some money in the street, that's how it works. You get positive reinforcement.
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Howard Farran:
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So, Larry, when I was in your office, you were making most of your veneers in house. Are you still making them in house or are you sending them out to a lab?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'm sending out to a lab because we don't have enough room here, but now we're going to be building a bigger office and bring a laboratory on the premises. But most of the time, labs today and the way they do things today, we can use everything from digital or you can use CAD camera, you can have it all done for free. So we take models of impressions on all temporaries, we take measurements, we take photograph series of before, prep, and temporaries. We go with any additional comments about color, and what we want to do, our color map. It takes a few minutes, but I try and get that product.
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And I think the most important thing, Howard, to really answer your question, if I didn't mention is you gotta take control. You've got to take control of the patient. You are the expert. They don't go ahead and go to you and say well you've got a little blot on your lung, you've got a little decay on your tooth, I'm going to wait until it gets bigger. You go ahead and you say this is a problem now, you're wearing your teeth down, if you wait longer it's going to be more of a problem. The time to act is now, this is what we want to do, let me show you what it is. Or I did the best I can, I'm not touching your teeth, the limit is six months, it's been over a year, I can't go back in now, I've made [inaudible 00:25:21] problems. And let them live with it.
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And most of the time, if you did the kind of job that you think you did, and you were happy with the result, most of the time the patient will go ahead and be okay. But you gotta have a little more patience, you can't get negative about it. You've gotta understand the mindset that these people that want wider, longer teeth, it's strange. It's just a weird phenomenon, people like that. I mean, most of the world doesn't care about that, but there are a lot of people that want that stuff. So you gotta have a little compassion. They spend money, they spend time, you did it. If you didn't do it right and you want to change it, that's your option. You've gotta do that, but if you did it right, you think you're happy and they don't like it, then you gotta go ahead and deal with that.
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Howard Farran:
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So your average anterior veneer, is it Empress or E-Max?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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My anterior veneer is both E-Max and feldspathic porcelain. It's built up, a lot of it's creative porcelain by [inaudible 00:26:10], but it depends upon who's doing it and what I'm doing for the teeth. If I need strength, if I need fit, if I have a short tooth, then I'm going to use more of an E-Max material, but if I have more enamel left than the rest then I'm going to use more feldspathic.
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I still believe that the most aesthetic restoration dentistry and anteriorly is a feldspathic that is baked porcelain, that is baked on. In the book we talk about that, and there are actually pictures of that, to show the patient intricacies of how we go ahead and do that tooth. However, the profession is changing. Now they've cut back E-Max, they use all new materials. You have to understand who your ceramist is, who is your laboratory, what do they most like to use? And you're going to have to work a little bit with a lot of these things and try it out.
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Howard Farran:
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So a lot of people are claiming that they can do chair-side veneers with CAD cam. Do you think that's a viable anterior ... I mean, do you think you could do what you're doing with the chair-side CAD cam milling?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I honestly believe, I haven't really done a lot of that, but I've seen it. We had it years ago, one tooth at a time, but I really believe that everything is getting better. And if you can do something that way and you can reduce the course, cost, and time, for most patients, that might be sufficient. It may not be exactly the Picasso you wanted, or maybe you don't need that. I'm not against any of those things, Howard. I'm for innovation, I'm for going ahead in development, everything gets better. And if it proves to be something that is viable, then fine.
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Right now, I'm happy with what I want to do and I'm not willing to compromise the result. I'm actually more passionate than I was years ago. I'm obsessed with this luck, which is not necessarily greedy, but that's the way I am. And when I'm driven, I'm driven. Most dentists, or some dentists, might be that way, some may not be that way. If they can work it out in their office and give a quality product, fine. Listen, half my work is redoing other dentists work. For whatever reason, not that it was done poorly. Maybe it's not aesthetic, maybe they didn't listen to the patient, maybe they had a problem there.
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Most of the dentistry today is much better, I see, than almost 10, 15, 20 years ago. The dentistry materials, like I said, are better. The concepts are better, the better trained undergraduate in school already. So cosmetic dentistry is not a mystery anymore, it's mainstream, global. So I'm for all that stuff. I remember years ago, we did things, lumaneers and other stuff which I didn't like and it wasn't for me, but then again, my patients are pretty particular. They travel around the world to see me. They don't accept something very easy, they really want a product and you gotta try and deliver it and I want a product the same way. It's my personal driven satisfaction, self-esteem, that what I did for them, if it's not the best I could do then it's close to it.
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Howard Farran:
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So what percent of your cases do you first do ortho involved, maybe you do Invisalign or braces? Or are most of your patients flying in, want it done right now, quick, short, out? What percent of your cases involve ortho?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Okay, let me explain to you that. It doesn't matter where the patient came from. I have to go ahead and I can't go ahead and compromise what I'm doing because they're flying in and flying out. I'd maybe say to them you have to go and have some ortho done or go wherever you came from and have it done and try to find someone there. Or you might need crown lengthening or you might need some endo and you might need a tooth taken out, an implant placed, either immediately or not. Whatever you might need, you might need it, and even if you came to me with this case, I may not be able to do it.
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But, Howard, if I told you honestly how many people come in and I don't even have x-rays or models or molds, and they're leaving in a few days, and I see their teeth and it works, I can't believe it. It's worked for years. We still can [inaudible 00:30:08] and some of these people are not going to go farther. You try and treat them traditionally the way you should treat them, and you say you need a bone graft and you see an implant on the side of slipping and say are you kidding me? They could be around the corner, I'm not doing that. That's why their mouth is that way. I came to you because I heard you could go ahead and satisfy the problem quickly. Can you? Can you? And I don't compromise.
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Most of the time, however, the answer is I can change a bite, I can change lips, I can change the airway in a morning by reshaping teeth and doing it. But I see it, and I'm doing it every day for so many years that when I try to teach it and a dentist looks at me and goes I don't know what you're talking about, I don't get it. So we gotta go back to square one, and we can't go right to the end and then experiences, experience. I just believe that the dentist should do [inaudible 00:31:00] whatever they feel comfortable, within their skillset.
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Howard Farran:
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So you graduated from NYU dental in '72.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Don't say that on the air. I was fives years old when I graduated, I was a genius.
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Howard Farran:
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Well you are a genius, and that is amazing you've been doing this 45 years and have no thought of slowing down.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'm actually, I don't have to work as hard as I want to work, but I do work and I don't get tired and I can't wait to get to the office in the morning. I must be psycho.
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Howard Farran:
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No, you just love what you do. We talked at the very beginning of the show how the technological under putting was revolution in dental materials, which led to the whole cosmetic revolution. Has the changes in the digital technology ... I remember they were making CAD cam in France, that started in France. And when I talked to those scientists, they said the reason CAD cam took so long is because they were waiting for Intel's microprocessor to get bigger and bigger and bigger. They were telling me that in the '90s they had so limited power to work with from the computers, but now that the computers are so big and robust and powerful, has the digital technology changed your cosmetic revolution?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well, I think the digital technology has changed the cosmetic revolution globally, and it's going geometrically because the idea that you can go ahead and tell a patient that we can put this gook in your mouth, we have to go through all this process. We can take pictures in your mouth and give you [inaudible 00:32:48] and they can go ahead and transmit it to a laboratory to fabricate restoration that will look good for you for years. That is one of the great selling points.
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Plus the fact that I believe it's more accurate than what we had before. Materials, [inaudible 00:33:03] are phenomenal, I'm still using them for [inaudible 00:33:06], but the technology is getting better and better and when we first had the office, we were doing one or two and maybe a project at a time. And now, because of the cost coming down and the technology getting better and the laboratory we are able to go ahead and use this technology, which is a big communication gap. And with all the manufactures getting in on it, materials are better, everything's better. I just think that is another revolution that is taking place right now in dentistry. And the consumer needs to know more about that. They don't quite understand that, and this is what should be done on the talk show, to tell them what we can do today as opposed to what their mother or father had to go through to get anything done.
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Howard Farran:
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So are you using a scanner now, and intraoral scanner instead of impressions?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'm not. I'm still using impressions but we use some scans and we do some of the stuff in the school, and I'm gonna go ahead and decide where I want to go with it because I'm in a [inaudible 00:34:03] with all these different companies and I'm not sure which one I'm taking. They're probably all great, let them revolve and stop by. I do believe, as we rebuild my office here, that's going to be part of our whole technology in the laboratory right here. We're building a whole CAD cam system.
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Howard Farran:
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And what impression material are you using?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'm still using, believe it or now, I'm still using Impregum.
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Howard Farran:
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Yeah, same here. I've been using, first it was Espe in Germany, now 3M brought it. I've been using 3M Impregum since 1987.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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It's hydrophilic, it's great. We can take ... I don't remember the last time we missed a margin significantly for full mouth cases every day. It's remarkable that the same material has gotten better and better and better.
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Howard Farran:
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I'll never forget dinner with John Miles. Remember John Miles? The CEO of Denstply for so many years, what a legend. And he said to me dentists are the most brand loyal people in the world because they have so many problems with all these different procedures that if something works, they'll never change it. He said it, and it's like okay, so the Impregum works, so there are no other things to consider than fixing something that's not broke.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yeah, I'm still using the same bonding agent. The point of all these years, you're exactly right, you know. Sometimes that's good and sometimes its good to a fault. Sometimes we [inaudible 00:35:26] because we got something working, we're not willing to give it the shot to try and do some innovative product that might be better, but wait a while to do that. Unless we're doing the courses, we introduce new products, new systems out in the courses, and we try and go ahead and evaluate them. It becomes a giant study in what's going on today.
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Howard Farran:
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So what lab do you use?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I use primarily Jason Kim laboratory. It's in New York City and it goes [inaudible 00:35:56] branch. And they have Jason, who's one of the great ceramists of all time. He's really well trained, he's a master ceramist, he has another side, a second guy named Calvin who's unbelievable too. And he trains all these ceramists, but he too who is vested totally in feldspathic porcelain, has evolved the ploy of being around more pressed ceramics and more materials that can go across the board.
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We use everything now, Howard. We use everything. Sometimes, they'll tell me, Dr. Rosenthal, you asked for this restoration, I believe we should change this. We should change it to whatever material might be out next, [inaudible 00:36:38]. It may change, and I'm open to it. I trust my ceramist so much, we're a team. And I think you have to have a team. Dentists understand that the team exists within the staff and the laboratory and then you specialists and other dentists.
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And I have a whole thing of what I call the dream team in the book, and how we go ahead and seamlessly do things that, injectables are now apart of dentistry, all of this stuff is involved. So we go ahead and send to the best people as if their on the premise in New York and only a few blocks away. And a dentist should understand to integrate referral sources and the patient feels, they should feel they are in the best hands. It's another reason to go to that dentist.
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Howard Farran:
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Now are you doing the Botox and dermal fillers in your office yourself, or do you refer that out?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I refer it out to a couple dermatologists that do a great job. Sometimes, what we're doing in the new office, we're planning to have a room that's going to have one room to do implants in and another room to go ahead and do evaluations in terms of facial aesthetics, whether it be lasers, whether it be Botox, [inaudible 00:37:44], I did not believe in it. I never believed it, Howard, I said if you're going to shoot botulism in me, I'm out of here. That whole profession is going crazy, but now they're better than ever and people like it because it's not permanent, it's temporary, but it really enhances, it's antiaging, it changes the face. It does things. In the right hands, it's really pretty safe today.
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Howard Farran:
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So, Larry, this is June. So 6,000 kids just graduated last week from dental school and a lot of them want to be just like you when they grow up and they want to be a cosmetic dentist. If you were given the commencement class, to all the kids who want to be a cosmetic dentist and they just walked out of dental school, what advice would you give them if they wanted to end up to be a cosmetic dentist?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'd use one word, which I use with my patients when they come to me, and when people do, I'd say why. What ... Do you realize that if you became technically savvy, if you became unbelievable efficient and you could execute to the highest level of dentistry, there's a psychological component that comes in that causes a lot of stress and a lot of problems in your office. It's a whole different way of dealing with the psychological aspect of what patients, not what they need, but what they want. But you to do labor of love, you have to really like the whole idea of creating things and shaping things and doing those things.
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You could be a general dentist/cosmetic dentist and have part of your practice like that, and that's fine. That's what I have, really. But the point is that cosmetics enters into every part of people's lives today, to some extent. And so people don't want it, some people want it, it doesn't matter what part of the body it is. I would go ahead and say your investment in this is going to be heavy. You're going to have to go ahead and be passionate about it. You have to learn about it to get to a higher level. You have to develop a staff that's not just a clinical staff, but a staff that is interested in the patient and can explain to the patient, communicate to them what we can do for them. And really care, they have to really care.
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I think what happens, a lot of people go to work, it's a job and you go I'm out of here, thank God. Other people go ahead, I really want to do a good job, I really want my staff to be ... I tell my staff and people when I tell the dentist, it's more important almost the experience they have in the office than the result. The expect the result, but they come out here thinking they went to a five-star ... They travel from all over the world, Howard, they're coming [inaudible 00:40:19]. That didn't happen years ago, no one wanted to go to the dentist. They were afraid, it was pain, it was all kinds of problems. We take that and turn around all their 25, 35 bad ears of that. It's not easy, but it's so much fun. It's such a turn-on.
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So if they want to get involved with it, they can today. Materials are great, they're going to get better. The technology's going to get better. Everything's going to get better. It'll probably be less expensive, it'll be easier to do. It'll be more comprehensive. So they should get involved in this stuff because I think that's one of the things that, perhaps long term, will not be insurance based. It will be elective payment. It will be a fee for service that I don't see it going away too easily, but I don't think Trump is going to go ahead and have them pay for veneers. I just don't think that's going to happen like that. So what's going to happen is if you want to not be dictated to, or you want to go ahead and control your life, then implants and aesthetics and reconstructive dentistry is the way to go.
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Orthodontist and Invisalign, that's another thing that's changed the way dentistry is today. We have all these things to do it today. And the materials are getting better and manufacturing is better. I tell them to learn, get educated, and take some of the courses, come do our courses, we'll teach you a mindset as well as attitude, and also teach you how to do it and how to give you [inaudible 00:41:34].
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Howard Farran:
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You mentioned Trump. How's it feel to be Trump's dentist? I mean, how does it feel to be the President of the United States of America's dentist?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Howard, who said I am?
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Howard Farran:
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Kathy Lee Gifford on the NBC show.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well, I don't know. I can't say that.
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Howard Farran:
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Well it's on that ... She said it on a national show. I have the video right here.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Okay, let me answer that this way, okay? There are people that are very high profile in terms of visibility to the public, whether it be an actor, whether it be a politician, whether it be a sports figure, whether it be a model, or anything else. What is it like seeing someone out there on TV or on Broadway or wherever it might be to do that thing? And the only reason why I don't say it to you is I think that dentists should never talk about who they treat.
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Howard Farran:
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Right.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I think it's more that you are who you are. If she says something, okay, I can't stop anyone from saying anything. I mean, listen, I'm happy for the praise and the accolades and the dedification to, it doesn't matter who it might be. Then again, I think it's more about who you are and that everybody's treated like a VIP, everybody's five-star. And so that's the philosophy I've always had, and I still stand by it. People have done a lot of things in their life, my patients have really opened doors for me that I really never could have done it if I don't think of anything else. And the communication you have or dentist has with their patient, when they are thankful for what you do.
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No matter where they are, they could be anywhere. They could own a movie theater, they could be involved with a sports team, they could be involved with anything else. So you do it for the right reasons, not to get something back from them. To be paid, but then all of a sudden all these things open. And I'm telling ya, it's right up my alley, it's in New York City, everything's going crazy here all the time, both positive and negative, but I tell dentists and I still do lectures.
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If you think you want to trade places with me, I'll go into your practice and your town, you come into my town. And I'm tell you, you make money, you probably can see more opportunity, more dentistry. In a week you're going to say this is not for me, these people are crazy, it's nuts, it's insane. They should be happy because in their town there are people that own the restaurant or own this and they're high profile in their town. And that's what they can do. If they establish their identity as to who they are and the quality of the service they give, the product they give, they're going to grow. But it doesn't happen overnight. You just don't put sugar out anymore. I already got a ... It takes years, 5, 10, 15, 20 years to build that.
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Howard Farran:
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You know, I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas and I'll never forget. It was August 4, 1990 and I went out there to lecture and it was the first time I had ever been there. I took my best friend from dental school, Craig Stikem, because I was scared. And here I was, growing up in a town where the largest thing was a grain silo, and I'll never forget. I was just kind of looking out the window and I was looking out the window and then all of a sudden I realize that was a city. I mean, it was shocking, it was stunning. Me and Craig had never seen it. We went to the hotel, we dropped our stuff, we went out to the street and started walking around and the next thing I know, I told Stike, I said my feet are getting sore. And he goes, well dude it's three in the morning, we've been walking for seven hours. And it's like oh my God, but I mean that is the most mind boggling place in the world.
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You know how a lot of dentists are accused of diagnosing [inaudible 00:45:11]. They'll say well this lady would shop at Walmart, but when I look at shoppers sometimes the Walmart shopper goes to Nordstrom to get a nice dress. Sometimes you eat at Taco Bell, sometimes you go to a nice sit down restaurant. Do you think dentists misdiagnose that all the people who want to get veneers are young, hot runway models? Is there a very common patient profile that goes to you, or are they young, old, boy, girl? Are they everything or is it like the 80/20? Is 80% of all the women getting veneers young, hot, beautiful ladies that want to be a model in New York? Tell us what the patient profile is that seeks your services.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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You're right on. First of all, early on, we make a mistake. We prejudge the patients, the way they dress, the way they look, the questions they ask, who they're referred from. You cannot do that. I would say that most of my patients are the patients that go out there and I would call mainstream America. It may be a little bit of above average living in New York, but they go ahead and they maybe even understood what they would want to have.
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You gotta [inaudible 00:46:24] the concept. You can't say well I'm not going to tell this patient that he's 8 or 10 years. How are they going to pay for it in 10 years? That means they're going to leave my office. Well they're not going to leave your office and you can believe in what you believe in. And I tell them listen, I can do [inaudible 00:46:38] patient today, or go bother [inaudible 00:46:40] with a French girl. I said [inaudible 00:46:45]. I'm not even going to do it for you. I'm going to show you in your mouth what we can do for you, then we can talk about it, but until you want to do ... If you don't think that you absolutely do not want to do this, then we'll consider it or you should go some place else.
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The dentist cannot prejudge. Everybody is somebody who may need or want your services and don't even know about it because they don't even know what your services are. And the fact of the matter is that you're going to be shocked when great, shocking events involve you. When all of a sudden someone says yeah, I want to have these implants over here and I want my front teeth, they're a little crooked, can you fix that too? I said sure, we don't have to a teeth proxy. Are you serious? Oh no one ever told me that. It's been 30 years and no one ever told me that. And that's what goes on.
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Dentists have to be proactive, not reactive. They have to introduce the problem. You have a problem, you're grinding away, your teeth are getting worse, you have sell it. You have to protect your teeth. We're going to make them healthier and make them better at the same time, look better at the same time. How does that sound to you? How much does it cost? Say it costs a lot of money. It's a worthy investment. We have care credit, other ways to pay it, we can work things out. Maybe we can do it segmentally. Not do the whole thing at one time. A dentist has to do this and he needs strong treatment coordinate. I have Jackie in my office forever, she runs my life. She takes care of me. I could never live without her. I have Barb, my hygienist for 20-something years is doing ... I mean, they believe in it. When people come back, not to see me, to see them. It's unbelievable. And they integrate new people on the staff all the time.
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And you want to know something? I feel great. You know why? Because I wish I could build the New York Knicks like I built my office. It is incredible, that it's all about that. And that's a turn ... These are my family, these are the people I spend more time with every day. Dentists do the same thing. You gotta take people that are on your side, that's important.
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Donald Trump told me one thing a long time ago. He said to me you cannot hire anyone unless they promote the brand. It's not good enough just to do the job. That's fine, they gotta believe in you and promote the brand and it's right. And all we need is people behind him in this world, in congress, to believe that the brand that he wants America will work instead of fighting all the time. But a lot of things he's talking over the years and he's done a really ... Yeah, everybody's got their issues, no question about it. I do too. But I just want to let you know that you have to be people who support you, and that will make or break your practice. Not just how you prep the tools or what material you use, but who is your team? Who's on your side? Who cares as much as you do? And that's hard to find, but you need it.
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Howard Farran:
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You know, the greatest cosmetic lecture I ever attended in my life was I flew to Atlanta and I was connecting to San Paulo, Brazil and I got to sit next to you in first class for nine hours from Atlanta to San Paulo, Brazil. I don't know, that was the most fun, the most interesting, the most informative, and that was also the biggest conference I've ever lectured at in my life. There were 4,000 people. Do you remember that? Aesthetica 2000, San Paulo, Brazil, do you remember that? That was 17 years ago.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'm too old to remember [inaudible 00:50:00], but I'll tell you this Howard. I learned a lot from you too. I learned a lot of things that you connect with a lot of dentists. Your style and who you are and everything else makes you absolutely believable and understandable and your sense of time and humor and your down-home basic being you, Howard Farran, is a great thing for dentistry, and I mean that. It's always been that way. I haven't seen you around, I sort of missed ya. But when I heard, when Jackie told me you were doing this kind of thing, of course I would do it with you.
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We're just two regular guys out there, we're just doing what we can. You could say [inaudible 00:50:33] a great songwriter, great performer, not a great dentist. You could say that the top model in the world, Uma Thurman, their not good dentists. They need us, the same kind of way that we like what they do so the value of what we do today is even greater than before. And I think the way you promote and the way you get people on this podcast and the way you've done things all [inaudible 00:50:57] all these years has been, you found a niche for yourself and a niche that is so needed for dentists out there. And to get them motivated.
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Millennials have problems today. I got a millennial. He's [inaudible 00:51:12], but the fact of the matter is if they don't find something in their life to be passionate about, then they're going to miss out on their lives. No matter what it is, I don't care what it is, but they gotta find something to be passionate about. Maybe I'm passionate to a fault and being insane about that stuff, but if you really like what you do, then you're going to have ... Part of your life will be very fulfilled. Life is tough enough anyway, relationships and everything else. They're difficult. Patients are difficult, staff is difficult, the overhead is difficult, making a living is difficult, everything out there is a stressor. But you can turn around and make it a joy, I know you do it as a joy. I know you are, I know how you are, you just exude that kind of thing. And I try to do it too, and when you do it other people want to gravitate toward you.
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So dentists can't be negative. They gotta start thinking about the positive sides that they're lucky to be a dentist, lucky to be in this profession. When we first started out, no one wanted to be a dentist, no one wanted to go to the dentist. Now it's changing, dental schools are totally full. There's been waiting lists that are unbelievably long because they find out the profession is a craft. It's an artistry. It is a gift in terms of making someone younger and healthier, not just cosmetics, but the whole profession in general.
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And how long ... We're already melding professionals and doctors and everything else to [inaudible 00:52:27] and dermatologists and everything from sleep apnea to TMJ problems and periodontal problems, it's all about us. It's a whole, it's not going to dry up. People are going to need their teeth fixed, and depending upon the niche the dentist wants to be, they want to do root canal and do it well, I think they should just do root canals. That's fine. Whatever the status prior, they should not stop. They should be driven by people like you to go ahead and be the best they can be, they will be satisfied, they'll make a good living, and they have the opportunity for a greater life.
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Howard Farran:
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So what if my homies want to go to your course? How do they see Larry lecture? Do you do any over the shoulders? What are you providing for dental [crosstalk 00:53:09]
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Let me tell you what we do. And, by the way, we're sort of a dinosaur. Years ago we had [inaudible 00:53:14], we had LVI, we have, and they're still doing some of that stuff. I just saw Bill the other day and I saw Hornberg the other day and it was great seeing them, a reunion at legends at AECD well election day, it was fabulous.
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But what we do is this. We have a level one, two, and three. It's a two week in-course, a month apart, and they provide a patient. We usually tell them to bring a patient, whether it be a staff member or a patient that goes in. And they do level one basic, 10 veneers on site. What it might be, not a very difficult case. And we go ahead and we review the cases for them.
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Then there's level two. The first weekend is lecture. All Friday, I lecture for a couple hours, then I have other doctors [inaudible 00:53:51], Dr. Appelbaum, he's a great dentist, he's one of the superstars out there today, no doubt. And all the others teach, and we teach a philosophy on how to do things that let them understand why and what we're doing. Then we get into our own practice, managers get involved in the whole philosophy of what we believe in. Saturday you come in and they do the cases. They get to see the cases in three sessions, back and forth, and they actually do the work. If they can't do it, there are one-on-one teachers from dentists that have been involved, accredited members of ACP for years, and they get a chance to go ahead and we let them do the work. We help them, we guide them along the way.
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Then they go ahead and we have a little cocktail party, they come back a month later. We have more lectures on Friday, there's lectures for level two and three, and then we put the cases [inaudible 00:54:35] cry, they call cry. We just did 40-something arches a few weeks ago. It was 25, 26 cases and 4 upper lower arches and it's unbelievable in the morning. So what we do is the skills have to be learned, and the laboratory is right there. Jason Kim laboratory is right there, the ceramist walking around while we're doing this. It is an unbelievable experience, it's even more uplifting and more excited than even what they learn. [inaudible 00:55:02] mindset, they're traveling around the world.
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And that's what we do. And I still do it, and we love it. You can call Jackie, in New York. 212-794-3552, and Jackie runs the show. She runs my life, she runs [inaudible 00:55:17]
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Howard Farran:
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And she is, who just talked to you? Jackie? Tell her to come around and wave hi.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Jack, will you come say hi? She's a little camera shy, but come on Jackie.
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Jackie:
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I'm very camera shy.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Camera shy? Just say hello to Howie, you remember Howie? Here we go.
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Jackie:
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I remember Howie.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Here we go, here's Jackie. Gotta sit right here.
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Jackie:
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Hi.
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Howard Farran:
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Hello, darling, how are you doing?
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Jackie:
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I'm doing well, thank you. How are you?
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Howard Farran:
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You haven't changed since the last time I've seen you.
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Jackie:
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Neither have you.
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Howard Farran:
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So, now, is all this information, the website is aestheticadvantage.com.
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Jackie:
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That is correct, yes.
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Howard Farran:
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So a-e-s-t-h-e-t-i-c- Aesthetic Advantage. And you said the phone number was 212-794-3552.
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Jackie:
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That is correct.
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Howard Farran:
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Okay, well Jackie you need to tell Larry that on that Aesthetic Advantage, it needs a Twitter. Come on, Trump's his patient. Trump won the election on Twitter. You need ... Because I could've retweeted that on Twitter, and when they got to work, they'd see your link.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Do you know how much trouble I could have if I Twitter?
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Jackie:
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[crosstalk 00:56:23]
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I'd probably be in the same kind of shape he is.
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Howard Farran:
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You'd be tweeting at three o'clock in the morning?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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I don't know, that's what I did after my first refreshment.
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Jackie:
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I think he would be tweeting without even knowing he was tweeting.
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Howard Farran:
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Well, Larry, if I got on my hands and knees and begged, I think the best marketing ... I mean, you don't need marketing, I mean obviously, you don't need it. But a lot of people-
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Everyone needs marketing.
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Howard Farran:
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A lot of people have a two day or three day hands on course, they'll go on Dental Town, we got a quarter million dentists, and we put up 411 courses and they're coming up on a million views. If you put a hour course, kind of a greatest hits album of what level one, two, and three would be, or you could even do a one hour on one and what you learn. Because I think it's a big jump for a lot of millennials to see a flier, get on an airplane, go to big New York City, but I think if they saw an hour of you explaining what they're going to come and learn, they'd fall in love with you. It would deconstruct the cells process. Instead of just flier to New York City, put a hour in the middle.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well okay, what I'll do, Howard, is not only that, I'll do a live demo. I'll go ahead over the shoulder and have them see me and we'll edit it to go ahead how to do the temporaries, how to preparation, how we talk to the patient, how we go ahead cementation, and give them a little overview of what we're going to be talking about and they're going to be doing, and how we do it every day.
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Howard, I do this every day. I can't believe I do this every day, Howard. I mean-
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Howard Farran:
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We've had so many requests since we started the online scene in 2004. We've had a request for you to put up a course there probably every three weeks since 2004. It would just be so amazing to get the man.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Because I love you and you're very handsome, I'll do whatever you want.
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Howard Farran:
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All right, it was my good looks that got ya?
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Well, it's your good looks and your swagger. I love your swagger.
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Howard Farran:
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Well, you know what you and me both have in common besides we're both dentists, we both name our first son Eric, is that I still think that one thing that drives both of us is we have an incredible work ethic. I mean, gosh darn it, you and I both hustle, and I think a lot of kids sit on the couch and they think success to be handed to you. But, man, I've followed you around. I mean, I have followed you around in New York and in your black Porsche. You would stop at restaurants just to press the flash, you would stop here just to say hi to that guy. You were lecturing, had to run back to the office, see a patient. I mean, you were just the consummate marketer, I swear to God, I told everybody I didn't know if he was a dentist or if he was running for mayor. I mean, you're a hustler, wouldn't you say that? That you're ... You have that work ethic, both of us.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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[crosstalk 00:59:19] and I learned it from my father, but more than that I'd say that I like people. You like people too. And the fact of the matter is, my son says to me today, Dad you're best friends with the guys that park your car and that of the ushers and security at Madison Garden when we go to basketball games. I talk to people. They have lives that are not necessarily that exciting. You can make it a little better for them. It just makes you feel good. We're lucky to be where we are. We have a few checks in our pocket and we can go and have a lifestyle. If we want to do something, not everything, but we can do things, and I think most people, dentists, today is the same way.
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So the fact of the matter is that instead of looking at things like ah this a bad thing and I've got friends of mine and everything they look at, yes but. Unfortunately, horrible. The idea is this, you do it with a smile. We got the same problems that everybody else has out there, but we go ahead and look at ourselves and whatever it is, I don't know if it's God or this, we're blessed. We're [inaudible 01:00:15] blessed.
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I almost died in a car accident 10, 11 years ago. I lost my ear, I had all kinds of problems. People said what happened to me and you know something? It didn't happen because of that, I was lucky and I feel fortunate that I'm around. And I always feel fortunate that I did this. And I feel fortunate that I met people like you and other people out there. Dentists should not be competitive in terms of the fact of putting down other dentists. They should say, listen, this dentist can do a good job, they did a great job here. I can do this differently, perhaps you would like it a little better, maybe it makes you feel a little better, we'll see. And the more they don't put down others, the more their patients will come to them and flock to them and respect them. People want to be around people that have a positive attitude. People that are fun. You don't want to have people that are downers, and that's part of the whole thing is, it's just had to teach that. It's hard to change that. But it's true.
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Howard Farran:
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Well, I just want to tell you that you're the busiest man in Manhattan and I just think it was just a complete honor that you gave an hour of your life today to come on my show and talk to my homies. I know they loved it.
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Go to aestheticadvantage.com. You gotta see the man. Larry, seriously, thank you so much for all that you've done for dentistry. Like the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. Your Open Wider book, every time you're on TV, every time everybody's talking about it, you're growing dentistry from Kansas to Kathmandu. So thank you so much for all you've done for dentistry.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Howard, I want to tell you something. We're still alive, we're still viable, we're still taking ... I mean, we need people to go ahead and be proteges and follow us and keep the ball rolling. And make sure this thing doesn't stop because it's going to explode. The revolution is just starting all over again, it's going to explode. The world is crazy, there are problems around us. In our little niche and our little world and our little family, why can't we enjoy ourselves? Why can't we give others the benefit of our skills and talent and what we do?
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And that's what I implore dentists to do, they can take courses, not just my course, anything else out there. They can read other books out there, the book I have I think has some value. I hope they enjoy it and maybe they go ahead and give it to their patients and help them promote their practice, but more important than that, they have to have people like you out there to help them feel good about themselves. I am always available, I'd be glad to do this with you again. I would get involved [inaudible 01:02:42]. I love you, I think you're great, I think you're insane, I think we're both insane, and that's why we're still smiling.
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Howard Farran:
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Hey, will you do me one favor? Can you get me Jason J. Kim to come on the show? Because you mentioned his lab, which is jjkda.com, jjkda.com, that stands for Jason J. Kim Dental Aesthetics and if he's the lab man to Larry Rosenthal, I want to talk to that guy on the show.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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Yeah, and their called Oral Designers Lab in New York. I think Jason would be great. I think Jason could show a lot of the dentists a lot of the stuff that's at a very, very high level. And he can tell them what he expects from the dentist and how the dentist can go ahead and communicate that to their patient. He can make them better dentist and make them more patients say yes. So I will definitely get him to come on.
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Howard Farran:
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Aw, thanks buddy.
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Larry Rosenthal:
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And whoever else you need. If you need some promotional or some other people to be involved that I may know or anything else, I recommend you totally. So you got my blessing, anything I can do for you guys, I will do for you. I love you.
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Speaker 4:
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From NBC News, this is Today.
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