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Yes, You are in the Right Place
Laser Dentistry is Here to Stay
Looking For New Patients, Just Like You
My Personal Cholesterol Story
Ten Years and Still Pedaling
Dear Valued Patient:
As I write this, summer has finally arrived, as it is 85 degrees today, it certainly has been a long wait. This letter contains a lot of valuable information regarding your dental care, so I hope you will take the time to read about our new reception room, the introduction of lasers to dentistry, your role in helping us grow and the reasons that we need too, my personal story regarding controlling my cholesterol that may help some of you with the same problem and lastly once again putting my ego on the line and riding in the Pan Mass Challenge. Thank you reading through this important information.
Jay Morgenstern DMD and Staff
Yes, You are in the Right Place
For those of you who have been to our office after March 28 of this year you did a very pronounced double take when first walking in. For those yet to see our new reception area we think it is a big improvement. Moving the front desk to the window side of the office allows more light in the reception area, new carpet and paint gives the office that nice clean new feeling and once the electrical upgrade to our building is complete, we hope to add cable TV and internet access for those patients who need to sit in our reception area waiting for a family member to complete treatment. This was supposed to be done a few weeks ago but the Nstar strike has pushed us back some. So we hope to see you soon, but remember when you walk in and don't feel just right, you are actually in the correct office.
Laser Dentistry is Here to Stay
We have now installed a Biolase Water Laser in the office. This laser is the first one approved by the FDA for removing decay from teeth. In many cases when we do a new filling in a tooth the laser can be used instead of a drill, and the best part is in 4 out of 5 adults tested no anesthetic was needed. Yes you read that right, no needles for most simple fillings. In children the most recent five year study showed no need for anesthetic in 100 percent of the fillings done. That is exciting stuff. The laser will also allow me to make more beautiful crowns by better managing gum tissue during the crown impression procedure. The laser will also be used to control gum disease and reduce the need for future gum surgical procedures, a common dental problem and treatment as we age. There are many more uses for the laser than I can mention here, but I can assure you that in the future the laser will make your dental care more comfortable, more predictable and best of all give you a better dental experience
Looking For New Patients, Just Like You
Almost every day a current patient asks me, are we taking new patients. The answer is a resounding yes. Like any business whose customers come and go, dentistry has a constant turnover of patients. Many of you have been loyal patients for decades and I thank you for that. However we live in a very transient time as people move often. This leads to a constant need for new patients to keep our practice vibrant. With a healthy growing practice we can afford to add new technology such as the laser and provide the most modern dental care possible. One of my favorite professors in dental school used to say when you have a practice that grows mostly through current patient referrals you will have hit the jackpot. Since your current patients like you and you like them, chances are you will like their friends as well. So I have enclosed our new business card and feel free to spread the word and send in nice people just like you. Thank you.
My Personal Cholesterol Story
As far back as I can remember my doctor has been warning me of my borderline high cholesterol. With the addition of fifteen extra pounds two years ago, the cholesterol finally went from borderline 200 to too high at 228. My doctor being an excellent physician and one of his partners strongly recommended medication. I personally do not like to take prescription drugs, especially for a lifetime, if I can find an alternative. I tried my best to lose weight, but that was not working too well. After doing research I found a product made of purified omega three marine oils, in combination with a second product called red rice yeast that had remarkable results at lowering cholesterol. The company that makes these products has been in business over 25 years, and the research behind these products has been published numerous times in reputable medical journals for two decades. Well, the bottom line is, after trying them, my cholesterol dropped drastically to 148. I then decided to try some experimentation on myself and stopped the red rice yeast, and sure enough my numbers climbed back to 200. I went back on both products and I am back to a healthy 170 and going down. I am having a report about these products printed up and I am working with the company to set up a less expensive way to get the product for my patients who want to try it. If you want more information, including research references, just call the office or email me at drj@radiantsmiles.com and I will get it to you as soon as possible. After reading the information discuss it with your doctor and see if it is worth a try.
Ten Years and Still Pedaling
If someone had told me ten years ago when I rode my first charity ride, a grueling 300 mile ride from Boston to New York for the AIDS foundation, that I would still be riding hundreds of miles in a weekend for charity today, I would have sent them to a psychiatrist for treatment. Well, I guess it is I who needs the therapy because here I am ten years later and doing it again the first weekend in August to raise money and awareness for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The PMC has become the official charity of my office and you have been very generous in the past ten years helping me raise over one hundred thousand dollars. My radiant smiles team of my brother David and friends Tim and Joel have raised thousands more. In years past I told you heartbreaking stories of friends, patients and relatives suffering with cancer to illustrate the need for more research funds. This year I would like to share a story of success from these important research dollars.
 In 1994 I received a call from my best friend from dental school telling me his wife was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. As you can imagine this was quite a shock since we were only 37 at the time. His wife went through the usual treatment of chemotherapy and surgery. The first treatment was not successful, and she went through three more rounds of chemo and two more surgeries over the next few months, all of which failed.
She then went to a major cancer center near her home in Florida and they tried a very aggressive form of treatment, involving more chemo and more surgery. This too failed and the doctors basically said to go home and live the remaining days as best you can, but there was nothing more they could do. My friend would not give up that easily and after many calls to cancer centers and university based researchers he found a doctor in Denver who was doing an experimental treatment regimen on patients of ovarian and breast cancer who were deemed hopeless. This type of clinical trial and research is paid for with funds raised through programs like the PMC. She flew to Denver and spent two months there in the spring of 1995. The treatment consisted of a bone marrow transplant with an experimental form of stem cell transplant and very heavy chemotherapy, some of which with drugs not even on the market yet. After two weeks near death in the hospital and a six week recovery, they were headed back to Florida. It has now been ten years and I am happy to say my friends wife is alive and doing great. She shows no sign of cancer recurrence.
None of this treatment would have been possible without private donations and fundraising, as most experimental trials like this are not funded by the government or by ordinary health insurance. So when you are deciding whether to donate, remember this money is put to good use. At the PMC, over 97 cents of every dollar raised last year went to Dana Farber Cancer Institute with no strings attached. The money can be used as the Institute sees fit. This ride has the lowest overhead of any athletic fundraising effort in the country. Thank you for considering supporting my ride this August, I think of every one of you and the many people you ask me to ride for on every one of the 192 miles of the ride.
You may print out a donation form which you can send back to my office or you can go to the PMC web site and donate in my name there. Just go to www.pmc.org and click on e-gifts. You may search for my name or use my code "JM0125", to donate online. You may even leave me a message, such as the name of someone special in whose honor you wish me to ride. As in years past, I will carry the names of your loved ones living with cancer, or in memory of someone who passed away, with me on the 192 mile ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown.
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