Best of luck to Bettyanne

For the last 12 years, Bettyanne has been a key member of our team. She recently married Mark Vito, and we all wish them much happiness in their life together. Sadly, a chronic repetitive-motion hand injury is forcing Bettyanne to leave the dental field.

Bette will truly be missed. Her passion for excellence and her interpersonal skills have helped our office achieve wonderful results for our patients, as well as deeper relationships with you.

A famous dental speaker once said that the purpose of the dental assistant is to be the "advocate for the patient." Bettyanne has gone beyond that to establish a sister-like relationship with many of our patients over the years.

She will be missed.

This is her good-bye letter to you:

I would like to take this opportunity to say good-bye to all my patients.

As most of you know, I have been working with Buzz since 1989. I have been treating his practice as my own. I have learned a lot over the years from Buzz, and I am very sad about leaving not only his practice with all the great patients and friends, but also to be leaving my career of the last 20 years. I have developed problems with my hands, and my doctors have told me to leave this career. This is not an easy thing to do, but I must do it.

Some of you know my whole life history. Since I last saw many of you, I have remarried and am doing very well. My son will be my career for now, until I figure out what I want to do.

I also wanted to say thank you to Buzz and my co-workers.

I will miss all of you.

New help for oral herpes

Early next year, Valtrex will be approved for oral herpes use. Valtrex is a more convenient dosage form of anti-viral medication from the maker of Zovirex. A single dose of Valtrex should be taken when the first tingling of the skin is felt, signaling that an outbreak of oral herpes ulcers is about to occur.

Stay in touch with your pharmacist to find out exactly when Valtrex will be approved for this use, and what the recommended dosage will be.

For your convenience

There are some products we recommend because of the excellent results they provide. Studies have shown that, for a variety of reasons, dental patients frequently fail to buy recommended products necessary to improve their dental health. One of the biggest impediments is the inconvenience of a special trip to a store. Our entire team is committed to your optimum dental health and wants to see you succeed in achieving it. For this reason, we stock the following products, generally at prices well below what you would pay in a store or pharmacy:

Braun/Oral B deluxe electric toothbrush, $65 Refill brush heads, $15 for 3

Sonicare electric toothbrush, $99.95

Refill brush heads, $10 each

Chlorhexidine antibacterial rinse (generic equivalent to the prescription products Peridex or Periogard), $8 a bottle

Tooth and Gum Rinse for periodontal health (it’s also the best breath freshener we’ve ever found), $27

Tooth and Gum Toothpaste, $8

Fluoridex toothpaste, $12 each, 2 tubes for $22, 3 or more tubes $10 each; this product, the generic equivalent of the prescription product Prevident 5000+, has 5 times the fluoride content of regular toothpastes. It’s a phenomenal decay-fighter and a terrific help for sensitive teeth.

If we feel a product is the best available, and that we can save you money and provide greater convenience, we will try to stock that product for you.

Concerned about X-rays?

I have always been unusually concerned about limiting X-ray exposure to our patients without limiting the excellence and accuracy of my diagnostic ability. Here is what we do to achieve this:

1) Only necessary X-rays are taken. We don’t take an X-ray just "because your insurance company asks for it." We take an X-ray if it helps the quality of your treatment (and the quality of all treatment flows from the quality of the diagnosis). On most patients

we take "bitewing X-rays (they give a survey view of the back teeth, in between the teeth where decay frequently starts)" once a year. We take a complete series of X-rays (the most thorough type of routine X-ray analysis) once every 3 to 5 years. If your dental health and home care are unusually good, we take routine diagnostic X-rays less frequently.

2) All patients wear a protective lead apron for every X-ray. We also provide a separate thyroid shield to protect your throat area. We use Kodak’s fastest X-ray film. A "faster" film means a lower radiation dose. Over the years, radiation doses have been dramatically reduced by advances in X-ray film technology.

3) We have equipped our hygiene room (where the majority of X-rays are taken) with a special custom-made lead-lined aiming device, called a "rectangular collimator." This device cuts the radiation dose by a further 50%. Very few dentists are even aware of these devices. We want to show you that we have the highest respect for your concerns and the utmost care for your safety.

The concept of "value"

As our national economy appears to slip, many of us have increased concerns about how we spend our money. We want you to know that a core belief of our practice is to provide you with the best possible value in dental treatment. What this means is that we avoid patchwork treatment that would soon need to be redone. We use the finest possible materials and techniques to provide you with the greatest longevity of treatment. We want you to have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your treatment has been well done and that you won’t have to worry about it for many years.

Our October winner

Congratulations to Nancy Hyland for winning October’s drawing for a $50 office credit.
Every time you choose an appointment that begins between 11 AM and 3 PM, you become eligible for that month’s $50 drawing. This is our way of thanking you for helping our office run more efficiently by making an appointment in a "less popular" time slot.

Office Hours

Mon 8:30 AM-1:00 PM

2:00 PM-6:00 PM

Tues 8:30 AM-12 NOON

2:00 PM-5:30 PM

Wed 7:30 AM-3 PM (no lunch)

Thu 7:30 AM-3 PM (no lunch)

Our Staff