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Letters To The Publisher

Invest In Staff
While I enjoy reading your publication each month, I have to differ with the point of your column ("Howard Speaks," March 2002) regarding investing in equipment and marketing. I do think it is important to keep up to date with the latest technology and techniques and to present a modern dental office to patients.

I feel, however, that each individual dentist must decide how much to invest based on the style of his or her practice, and not just to keep pace with the doctor down the street. I have found on numerous occasions that patients will leave a "high tech" office with all the bells and whistles for a more "down to earth" office where the staff, and most importantly, the dentist spends time getting to know the patient.

Dentists should first invest in their staff, hire the best people, and examine their own chairside manner long before they decide to invest in high-tech equipment and expensive marketing schemes.
–Ted P. Forman, DDS   

Greetings Ted,
I couldn't agree more! Dentists are in the people business! Your people skills are the single most important element to a successful dental practice. Thanks for the feedback!
–Howard   

Vibrating Composites
 I just read with great interest your comments in the recent February issue of DentalTown concerning placing composites with vibration. You are right! I have been using this technique for several years with an instrument that I developed and patented. The resulting composites are virtually void free, smooth and completely adapted at the proximal box. Use of the instrument turns a regular composite (such as Prisma TPH, Herculite and Tetric Ceram by Vivadent) into a flowable product. I plan to begin marketing the instrument in the near future. I look forward each month to your magazine!
–Robert I. Comeaux, Jr.   

Survivor of Dentistry
 Humor: The quality that makes something seem funny, amusing or ludicrous.

Pornography: Origin Greek. Writing about prostitutes Most all professionals take themselves much too seriously. After surviving the practice of dentistry since 1948, I consider myself a survivor (Emory Univ.).

I hate politically correct also. To say all religious people are intolerant would seem to say you may be intolerant.

Great humorists: Red Skelton, Bob Hope, Will Rogers, Mark Twain, Jerry Clower, Bill Cosby and others. None of these use bedroom humor. Dentistry is stressful because everyone expects perfect results each time! I served in all the district offices and as a delegate to the state of Florida.

The March "Dentally Incorrect" is humorous.
–Robert E. King, DDS   

Patient Education Dilemma
 I've listened to and watched your 30-Day MBA. I want to know if you have an opinion on which is better Caesy or Gordon's patient education DVD as far as increased case acceptance and informed consent. There is a considerable difference in cost. I'd pay the higher cost for Caesy if it were that much better than Gordon's DVD. What do you think?
–John   

Greetings John,
I use both. If the patient is in the treatment room and needs to be explained multiple options and everyone is busy, we plug Gordon in the VCR machine and leave. Gordon's patient education videos are 7 to 10 minutes long per procedure. Gordon's tapes are the ultimate expanded function for explaining dentistry.

But if the dental assistant, and/or the dentist has time, then I prefer to use Caesy. With Caesy you can go over the treatment demonstrations with the patient at your own speed.

They both work great in the waiting room. As your patients are sitting in the waiting room what better time spent than teaching them about all the modern day treatments in optimum oral health!

I would get both.
–Howard   

Unused Equipment
 I am a rep for ADT and other companies in NC. I have been at your lectures many times when I can get away from the booth and am an active "Townie." I am writing on behalf of a dentist here in Raleigh. She has had a Cerec 2 for almost three years, paid $75,000 for it and because of a low payment schedule, she now owes $95,000! The sad thing is she doesn't use it, doesn't like it, and can't get Patterson to do any thing about it. Her payments are now $1,700 for the next five years. Of course, she should have read the contract more carefully, but you know how it is. Any suggestions?
–Deeb Demetry   

Greetings Deeb,
When I lecture every weekend dentists tell me that their Cerec 3 purchase is either the best decision they ever made, or the worst. I link it to buying a $90K Steinway piano. You either love it, practice it everyday, and become a concert pianist, or you lose interest in it, and it ends up sitting in the closet. We have all made these decisions before in our dental careers and in our personal lives.

At this point though, the money that you have paid, and still owe in the lease for your Cerec 3 purchase, is called "Sunken Cost." If you are not using your Cerec 3 at all, any money that you get is better than nothing. I would liquidate it. I would suggest that you place an ad for selling it. I see Cerec 3's routinely being sold used for $55K to $65K. I would place an ad in your local North Carolina Dental Society’s journal. You might want to place an ad in JADA. I suggest you place an ad for FREE online in "The Classifieds" at www.DentalTown.com. The website has more than 7,500 registered dentists. Over 3,000 log on everyday and over 5,000 log on at least once per week. I hope this helps!

Have a great day!
–Howard   

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Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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