I had just purchased a dental practice in a great midtown location. I went to my new office and sat at my new (old) desk and wondered "What have I done?". It was too late for second guessing, since the contract was signed and I had taken out loans with the seller and Chemical bank. There was no way to change my mind.
The rent for my office was shared by another dentist, H. G. Martin. Dr. Martin was an extremely experienced dentist who took pride in the fact that he just might have been the "Best dentist in Manhattan". He showed me models of his crown preparations from when he was in his prime and they were the best that I had ever seen, but now he had lost one eye to a melanoma and he spent part of every day napping in a lazy boy in his private office.
Since my schedule wasn't initially fully booked I had time to observe Dr Martin's work and discuss the ins and outs of running a dental practice. Dr Martin's presence turned out to be an unintended benefit. His enthusiasm for dentistry and his pride in in his work was contagious and it reinforced my inclination to do quality dentistry. Most of my earlier jobs had been in insurance oriented dental practices that limited the time I could spend on my procedures, but now I was my own boss and I could schedule the time I needed to do my best work.
I discussed cases with Dr Martin, and he would offer his bluntly worded critiques, and it would motivate me to do better. These early interactions influenced the nature of my dental practice and reinforced my urge to be the best dentist I could be. "Good work takes time" and I would allow myself the time and visits needed to achieve a high level of dental results.
Many dentists starting their own dental practice have to have part time jobs to supplement their income and I was no exception. I had an outside job at a research testing lab that did studies for toothpaste and tooth brush companies to generate safety and efficacy data to the FDA and to allow advertising claims to be made. I spent one or two days every week working at the research lab and three days per week in my dental practice.
I also taught for a couple of years at New york University College of Dentistry and had an appointment in the Departments of Prosthodontics and Family Practice. I was a clinical instructor and spent time on the dental clinic floors supervising students treating patients.
Since I was located on the sixth floor of a professional building with over 40 other dentists, the only way patients would find me was by word of mouth referral. Internal marketing became extremely important to the growth of my practice and my version of this was to treat my patients well and do the best dentistry I was capable of. I explained the procedures I was doing to my patients and tried to educate them on their necessity and on how I was going about accomplishing their procedures.
I wanted them to see that even if sometimes my visits took longer than they were used to, the results hopefully would be worth the extra time that we might spend. Slowly my practice expanded as my existing patients referred their friends and colleagues. My practice enlarged and exceeded the size of the original practice that a had purchased in 1984. Although I have purchased, some new equipment the facility that I practice in has been in continuous operation since 1946 and still has the its original layout. I take some pride in the fact that my practice has a proud history and has been serving New Yorkers continuously since before I was born!
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