Dear Dr. Ben
When something good happens, we often say it’s because of being in the right place at the right time. That’s what happened to me this year.
I smile just thinking about it.
Name the type of doctor most feared by both children and adults. Did Dentist come to mind? Just thinking about going to the dentist can make many a grown person cringe, imagining much more pain and stress than is reasonably necessary--just from “thinking” about going to the dentist.
I wouldn’t have imagined having a smile on my face, recounting how I met a dentist, one who wanted me to make an appointment for dental chair consult. But, I did meet a dentist and I am smiling about it. When I was in grade school, my dentist pulled some molars from my lower jaw. I’ve had empty spaces since—and that was decades ago.
My Mom, being a senior by measure of age, looks forward to attending a senior expo held annually at a local dining and banquet facility. This year, I went along too.
To my surprise, I saw a dentistry display with a model of dental implants. Some women were asking questions to the man who held the implant model. I wanted to know answers too, but I wanted undivided attention. I was ready to consider the prospect of having extensive dental work done. After all, I broke a tooth this past year. I could see hairline cracks on other teeth. I was leery just brushing my teeth, for fear that any force would mean breaking open those lines I saw, and fracturing my teeth. That kind of practice just makes things worse.
I’d heard of dental implants years ago, from a friend who loved having hers. She acted as if paying for dental implants was the best money she’d ever spent. I’m no expert. I didn’t know a dental implant from a mini dental implant, but no matter. I saw at this expo, a dental display that made me want to know more.
I waited my turn. I wanted that undivided attention. When would I ever have an opportunity like this to ask questions without an appointment?
“That’s what I need,” I said to the man at the display. He said he didn’t think so, but he listened and asked questions. Then he said to give his office a call and schedule an appointment to see him for consult. Oh great, I just met the dentist--the man I fear most.
But, it wasn’t scary. I had been ready for this moment. The dentist in Buffalo is Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer.
I let him know there was courage and time needed to make the sort of phone call that would result in a dental appointment. I shared my apprehension of wondering, would I really do it? Would I call the office and make an appointment? Dr. Ben took my phone number and handed me his office card. He said he’d make a special notation about my dental phobia.
Sure enough, Dr. Ben’s office personnel followed through by calling me to make an appointment. I wanted an appointment for next week—before I had a chance to over-think things and chicken out.
A free consult, no dental work to be done, being a first visit, what’s the apprehension? Just allow him take a look, present options, and, again, what’s my hesitation? My hesitation is I’m the stereo-typical scaredy-cat about dentistry, the kind of scaredy-cat portrayed in cartoons and comic strips.
I’m not alone in my phobia. That’s why there’s an audience for dental-phobic infused cartoons, comic strips and comedy routines.
Times have changed. It’s time to give new technology a try, trust in the dentistry existing in this millennium.
I’ve had good dental experiences in the past. I truly have. But those ones from childhood, they knock the present-day commonsense right out of me.
The new technology at Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer’s dental office was a relief. Gone are the days of holding x-ray film in-mouth only to have it fly out and hit the floor, generating sighs from the dental assistants who’ve been retrieving and discarding films from the floor at least three times, repositioning films that feel like they are cutting my jaw, before an exposure’s ever taken place.
Today there’s a camera that moves around the patient. There’s a probe-looking oral camera too, used in-chair, allowing real-time images to be seen on a monitor, as Dr. Ben points out and explains things to me what he proposes and why.
That same monitor, where I saw images from inside my mouth, it broadcasts television shows—a patient distraction I suppose, when that monitor isn’t in use for computer purposes or camera imaging.
I met the actual doctor of dentistry at the senior expo! Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer himself, not someone hired to market and represent his dental practice. Having met him, it kind of made the excuse that I’m scared of dentists just evaporate. He’s more like the neighbor next door who you want to say hello to instead of ignore.
He listened to me in the first place about my apprehension of making the phone call for the consult appointment. What sold me on Dr. Oppenheimer is he listened to me again, in the chair. He asked what my apprehensions were about his proposed dental treatment plan. He addressed each and every one of my concerns.
It takes a long time for anesthesia to take effect on me. He addressed that. I wanted to be numbed with gel before being numbed by a needle. Done. I’m a scaredy-cat and I wanted ALL my dental work done in one visit, so I won’t have a chance to fret between appointments over what “might” happen, then scare myself silly and cancel an appointment needlessly. He blocked out time in the schedule for me, a couple hours of an afternoon, wherein he could do all the dental work I needed: fillings, extraction, crown, mini implants—in one visit. . I didn’t have any concerns left, so scheduled an appointment.
I had been saving money for this day, when I would finally get extensive dental work done. That day arrived because a tooth had broken, and because I attended a senior expo where unbeknownst to me I was speaking to the dentist himself, the one who would perform the dental work.
Much to my surprise, the cost of it all, even without dental insurance was less than I expected. Imagine that, LESS than expected. Dr. Oppenheimer told me at the expo that his prices were comparable to prices for folks who carried dental insurance.
He must be right. I’ve seen a local mini implant specialty dentist on local television programming. He’s talked about the cost of mini dental implants. I rest assured knowing my money was well-spent in that I got fillings, an extraction, a crown and two mini implants for less than I heard quoted by the dentist I saw on television when he quoted a price for just two mini implants.
Dental work completed, I brush my teeth with reckless abandon as I say, because I don’t have to be concerned about breaking teeth. Brushing and flossing is a breeze.
For all a scaredy-cat can imagine about mini dental implants, I barely mentioned the procedure., because it was really just rather uneventful. I don’t have a horror story to tell. I could hear the work being done. I couldn’t feel a thing. No after pain either.
What I did experience was having teeth, where there had been space. I had more money left in my pocket too, If I’ve lost anything, I guess it would be that I’ve lost apprehension of going to the dentist.
In the words of Martha Stewart, “That’s a good thing.”
Thank you Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer and staff, for giving me a smiling outlook on being a patient of your in-chair dentistry.
Respectfully,
Sue (Buffalo, NY)
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