colin-browncoatDr. Suzman’s Credentials

Dr. Suzman has been in practice since 1990 after graduating from the following dental schools:

  • U.S.C. School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA Degree: D.D.S. (Graduated with honors)
  • UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA Dental Refresher Program
  • Univ. of Witwatersrand (WITS) School of Dentistry, Johannesburg, S.A. Degree: B.D.S.
  • Numerous courses in the latest techniques and materials for cosmetic and general dentistry.

“A Master in the Art of Living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both”.

Francoise Rene Auguste Chateaubriand.
French writer and statesman
(1768 – 1848)

Message from Dr. Suzman

I have been meaning to write this for a long time and for my existing patients you probably already know this about me. Some of these comments are blatant and might be offensive to my colleagues, but please keep in mind that I am generalizing and this is merely my opinion based on 16 years of dental practice.

To my disappointment, the practice of Dentistry has become a big business rather than a health care profession, with the selling of unnecessary procedures to unsuspecting patients in exchange for financial gain. Every week I am giving second opinions to patients who have been grossly over-diagnosed not to mention the scare tactics used to push patients to make appointments immediately for unnecessary dental work. And to make matters worse, I see a good percentage of this unnecessary work being done at a sub-standard level.

I believe in treating all patients the way I would want to be treated. I have your dental health at heart. I practice honestly and abide by the Hippocratic Oath of do no harm. I am only interested in doing what is dentally needed to the best of my ability. I have seen the so called famous “dentist to the stars” dentistry and it’s no better. I will merely inform you of the procedures I feel you need in order to maintain optimum oral health and it’s your decision whether to proceed.

I consider myself a conservative dentist with a philosophy on early intervention of dental work that is needed. Early intervention allows the dentist to conserve tooth structure. Preservation of tooth structure is the key to keeping your teeth for a long time. I believe the dentist of the future will be one that does less and not more. When I see a patient who has been seeing a dentist every 6 months and they have almost every tooth capped (crowned), I regard this as a failure.

I don’t recommend the removal of amalgam fillings unless it is absolutely necessary. To date, there is no material available which has such long term success as amalgam. I believe dentists who recommend the unnecessary removal are providing a disservice to their patients. These alternative “white fillings” wear and leak more than amalgam fillings and should not be used to replace very large silver fillings especially in the back teeth. There are other more durable materials available but these as expected are not covered by most insurance companies.

I do not accept HMO insurance. The method of practicing in a HMO environment encourages dentists not to do required maintenance such as cleanings and fillings, but rather sell unnecessary dental services like gum therapies and caps in order to make up for the financial loss. Because dentists lose money by seeing HMO patients, they don’t want to see them and that’s why it takes months to get an appointment.

I will do my best to see you at your appointed time and respectfully request that you come to your appointment on time and give us at least 24 hours notice if for any reason you are unable to attend.

I will only recommend what you truly need to have done and guarantee my highest standards. If you are looking for a dental bargain or are leaving your dentist you trust to find one that will save you a few dollars, please look elsewhere.

Change your dentist if:

  • They are too cheap to give you a new toothbrush when attending your recall hygiene appointment (tooth cleaning).
  • The hygienist doesn’t inform you that you need to clean your tongue daily with a tongue scraper.
  • They don’t offer you dental implants as the best choice to close a space for a missing tooth.
  • They say you have many cracks in your teeth and they all need crowns (caps) or ALL the old silver fillings are leaking, cracked and decay and need to be replaced.
  • If you have persistent sensitive teeth and they tell you to brush with Sensodyne only.
  • They don’t offer you teeth whitening.
  • If you feel pressured into doing supposedly urgent dental work.
  • You feel uncomfortable for any reason (follow your instinct). Please also read what you should know before you visit the dentist… http://www.nicedentist.com/InformationRequest/InfoRequest.htm