Raising Dentistry - Amsterdam Dental Group

profile
Raising Dentistry
Art Form
to an
THROUGH A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH,
AMSTERDAM
DENTAL GROUP
DELIVERS
EXCEPTIONAL
SERVICE IN A
PATIENT-CENTRIC
ENVIRONMENT
by
X
LIZ HUNTER
Suburban Life
JUNE 2013
Of all the things people can get confused, a
dentist’s office and the Ritz-Carlton would not presumably be one of them. While one equates itself with elegance and high-end service, the other typically feels
sterile and impersonal.
One step into the Center City office of Amsterdam
Dental Group, however, and everything someone has
ever known about dental offices goes out the window,
which just so happens to boast an incredible view of
Philadelphia. Upon entering, patients are greeted by
neutral colors, modern furniture that could easily be in
a chic lounge, and decorative accents befitting any
high-end hotel lobby. If this first impression is any indication, the dental treatment patients receive is guaranteed to be just as rare.
Started 70 years ago by dentistry pioneer Morton
Amsterdam, D.D.S., Amsterdam Dental Group is now
led by three highly respected, highly decorated dentists—Harold Baumgarten, D.M.D., Howard P.
Fraiman, D.M.D., and Jeffrey S. Ingber, D.M.D.—who
offer the full spectrum of dental care, including dental
implants, veneers, bridges, crowns, teeth whitening
and Invisalign orthodontic treatment. Each of the dentists brings to the practice a multidisciplinary
approach; in fact, it is the only practice in Philadelphia
featuring three specialists with a dual specialty in periodontics and prosthodontics.
Due to their expertise, all three dentists are clinical
professors at the University of Pennsylvania School of
Dental Medicine, where they are helping to shape the
talents of the next generation of dental professionals.
“Our patients are people who want cream-of-thecrop care,” says Dr. Fraiman, who earned his degree
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania; he was
chosen for an advanced six-year program—Penn
chooses only two students for this program each
year—instead of the traditional eight years.
He says patients can feel comfortable knowing that
each of the dentists shares the same goals for superior
patient satisfaction. “The ability we all have to collaborate on certain cases is invaluable,” he adds. “Patients
should feel confident that their goals are our goals, and
we’re committed to providing individual customized
care in a setting that’s unlike any they’ve experienced.”
Blending Art and Science
Dr. Amsterdam’s groundbreaking research left an
indelible mark on the field of dentistry. In 1974, he
published a landmark paper on the art and science of
pThe Center City office is blessed with stunning décor and
treatment rooms that boast tremendous views of the entire
city. “The feeling you get when you walk into a beautiful hotel,
that’s how you feel when you step into our office,” says
Dr. Ingber. “Imagine the Ritz-Carlton; we’ve tried to create the
same feeling in our office.”
fAt Amsterdam Dental Group, Drs. Baumgarten, Fraiman and
Ingber offer the full spectrum of dental care. Each of the
dentists brings to the practice a multidisciplinary approach to
dentistry; it is the only practice in Philadelphia featuring three specialists with a dual specialty in periodontics and prosthodontics.
periodontal prosthesis, a field of advanced restorative dentistry.
This paper fundamentally changed the course of modern dentistry, and went on to directly impact and influence thousands of
students from around the world.
It is with these principles as a foundation that the dentists of Amsterdam Dental Group continue to embrace new methods and technology
to ensure the best possible patient results. “We’ve been on the forefront of
technology,” Dr. Fraiman says. “We work with a lot of dental manufacturers in terms of testing technologies, and we adopt the technologies we
see that can have the greatest benefit to patients.”
Dentistry right now is going through a digital revolution. Computers
are assisting dentists to provide better care with many aspects of dentistry,
including implant placement, impression taking, crown fabrication and
laboratory procedures. One of the most significant advances has been the
ability to make a digital impression, eliminating the need for tray-and-putty
impressions. Amsterdam Dental Group’s patients have enthusiastically
embraced the digital impression technique. One patient stated, “Finally, no
more bad-tasting goop in my mouth for five minutes.”
Digital technology is also adding great benefits to planning and placing
dental implants. Dr. Baumgarten says, “Digital planning is state of the art.”
Even with all the technology available, there is no substitute for a specialtytraining background and expertise that allows dentists to envision and
achieve optimal results. Dr. Fraiman says the fact that all three doctors have
dual expertise in periodontics and prosthodontics has set Amsterdam
Dental Group apart from the crowd, especially in terms of dental implants.
A dental implant is an artificial substitute for natural tooth roots that is placed
in the jawbone. After surgery, according to Dr. Fraiman, the implant fuses
with the bone to form a strong foundation that supports replacement teeth.
“Typically, patients who need dental implants would go to a surgeon
for the implant and another dentist to fabricate the artificial tooth,” he says.
“The surgeon’s expertise is in placing the implant while the restorative dentist’s knowledge lies in fabricating the tooth or teeth. At Amsterdam Dental
Group, we have the knowledge and ability to treat all the patient’s needs in
our office with exceptional results.”
“A patient will never leave our office toothless,” adds Dr. Baumgarten.
“It’s all about aesthetics and function, and our results are far superior. Very
often, we can do these procedures minimally invasively, with no stitches
and no swelling. … We endeavor to this minimally invasive approach in
every case, whenever possible. For patients who are deathly afraid or
phobic of losing teeth, this approach allows us to provide fixed teeth so
they are never without the smile they want.”
After seven decades of handling advanced restorative cases, this implant
method has become the standard of care for all patients of Amsterdam Dental
Group. “For a long time we’ve been providing hope for the hopeless—people
with a terminal dentition—by saving teeth no one else could save, and we’ve
had those people leave our office happy and smiling,” says Dr. Baumgarten.
In addition to the dentists’ specialized training, the practice’s sterling
reputation stems from a state-of-the-art dental laboratory in the Center City
office, which gives the doctors the ability to customize restorations for each
individual patient. This means dental work is kept entirely within the office,
with all crowns and restorations being custom fabricated on site—and the
“finished product” is always perfect, from fit to shading. Advanced digital
imaging and the technicians’ own artistic expertise combine to ensure that
a crown’s color is indistinguishable from the rest of the teeth in the
patient’s mouth, according to Dr. Ingber. The average shade guide has only
16 shades, which matches only a small percentage of people’s teeth. Amsterdam Dental Group, on the other hand, uses shade modifiers as part of a
custom shade guide to match the coloring of a restoration precisely.
The in-house dental lab, which is staffed by eight technicians, also
enables the doctors to accomplish a great deal with each patient visit.
While patients wait, they are “attended to” by the expert staff, which is
empowered to order lunch for a patient, serve them coffee or tea and perform other tasks to make them as comfortable as possible. Dr. Ingber
describes the practice as “beyond boutique,” with stunning décor and
treatment rooms that boast tremendous views of the entire city. The Paoli
office, which the doctors lovingly refer to as “our beach office,” is an extension of the Center City campus.
“We treat all our patients as people first,” says Dr. Ingber, a graduate of
Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry who received his dualspecialty training from the University of Pennsylvania. “The feeling you get
when you walk into a beautiful hotel, that’s how you feel when you step
into our office. Imagine the Ritz-Carlton; we’ve tried to create the same
feeling in our office. Here, we’ve created something totally different—
something very special that’s difficult to put into words.” n
AMSTERDAM DENTAL GROUP
www.amsterdamdentalgroup.com
100 S. Broad Street, Suite 2000 | Philadelphia, PA 19110
PHONE: 215-568-8130
i Digital technology is adding tremendous benefits to planning and placing
dental implants, among other procedures, at Amsterdam Dental Group.
1800 E. Lancaster Pike | Paoli, PA 19301
PHONE: 610-651-5611
JUNE 2013
Suburban Life
XX