Farmingdale, NY | Close Up: Ferrari & Aldieri Dental Associates

Janis Marie: Hello everyone. Welcome to Close Up on America's Business. The program that takes you inside some of the most unique and successful companies in America. I'm Janis Marie. On each edition of our show you have the opportunity to meet some of the most innovative business leaders in the country today. You'll find out what their products, services, technologies and business models can do for you and what they're doing to change our world and to change the way we do business.

Doug Llewelyn: We hear an awful lot about technological advancements in almost every field these days, which have a marked impact on how those industries function. While the same holds true for medicine, especially dentistry, where the latest technological advancements in recent years have been nothing short of amazing. Today, dentists cannot only change your cavities painlessly, they can also change your smile and in turn even change your life. It's not only possible, but as you are about to see, it goes on in here virtually every day. We are in the offices of doctors Kahn, Ferrari and Aldieri in Farmingdale, Long Island. It's one of the most technologically advanced dental offices anywhere in the country.

Donald Kahn: I really enjoy treating patients. I really enjoy the satisfaction of creating smiles for people, people who are very much afraid of coming to the dentist and uncomfortable with their appearance. And when you do these kinds of cases and you see that you really change their lives, it's very self satisfying. Patients come in and they're afraid and they've had bad experiences. So we work really hard on trying to turn them to try to make them see that dentistry today does not have to be a painful experience, that it can be a comfortable environment, that they don't have to be afraid to be here. Since I've been doing dentistry the technology has been incredible, but over the past 10 or 15 years it's taken tremendous leaps and bounds in terms of some of the things that we can do because of the advent of computers, the advent of technology, the advent of lasers, the advent of implants. The field is just booming. There's just so much out there to keep you interested.

Shirley Powell: Dr. Aldieri is fantastic. I've always said to even friends that asked me about my dentist, oh well I tell them about him and I tell them it's a ministry for him. It's really not something that he does as a job. He takes it to heart. He makes sure that I'm comfortable. I'm never in any pain unlike any dentist that I've been to. I'm just very comfortable. The staff, everyone here has been very pleasant. They greet me by name. In fact, the first visit I had here, I was very surprised when I walked in the door and they said, "Hi Shirley." And I said to myself, how did they know that this is Shirley just walking in the door? They make it their business to know who their patients are and they treat us like people, not really patients.

Daniel Aldieri: As you could see, what we just did is we removed the unhealthy portion of your tooth and you could see that you still have quite a bit of a tooth structure left, so we're going to go ahead and we're going to make a partial crown or a ceramic onlay for this tooth. You can see how we design it. So we're able to conserve enough tooth structure and we're able to make a ceramic restoration for this tooth that's going to look beautiful. It's going to be long lasting and it's going to feel great after it's placed. So we're going to custom make this to fit right into your tooth. And basically from the design that we're able to get, we're going to actually mill your partial crown out of this block. So I'm going to go ahead and put that in and we'll show you how this works.

Angela Ferrari: I'm my own advocate. I've done Invisalign. I've whitened my teeth. I maintain every four months. If I'm going to advocate something to my patients, I want to be able to be behind it. I do it as well. So I'm not only the dentist I'm the patient too.

Doug Llewelyn: So explain what Invisalign is.

Angela Ferrari: Invisalign is a fantastic way to straighten your teeth with the current technology that's available today. Traditionally people, when you think about moving your teeth, people think of braces and that involves wires and brackets and it brings you back to those days when there was a lot of metal involved and it's very visible. With Invisalign it's a form of moving teeth that is clear. There are no metal wires and there's no bracketing. The way the teeth move is actually through a series of aligners. They are invisible. You really don't know that they're there. People function with them at work. They give presentations with them. I treat mostly adults with Invisalign clear shells that are custom made to the teeth and gradually move the teeth from their current position into a more optimized position, a straighter position, a more healthy possession. Before we even do any movements on a patient's teeth, we can see what the outcome will be prior to touching them so it's a fantastic tool.

Dana DiDonato: We met Dr. Ferrari at a bridal fair through WBLI radio station and basically we just had an instant connection with her. I felt like she was a long lost friend and I told her immediately, I'm afraid of the dentist and I don't want to go and she was telling me not to worry about it. I trusted her, had an amazing experience the first time we came and I've been coming ever since.

Randy Spears: Oh, I've cracked my tooth and I came to see Dr. Ferrari. She gave me a whole set of teeth. After I met Dr. Ferrari I was not afraid.

Dana DiDonato: There's been times where somebody in our office, because we get everyone to come here, has told us, "Oh I have to go to Dr. Ferrari for a root canal." And we said, "Oh that's so lucky." Really, it truly is. It's always a good experience. Just the fact that there's no pain. It's pain free dentistry. You don't have to be afraid to come to the dentist.

Drew Appelbaum: I've gotten Zoom whitening. I've gotten a root canal. I've gotten crowns in one day and I've gotten it all, really. I get my regular checkups here. We come right from work. We're in and out and it's just comfortable and easy.

Dana DiDonato: And I know that when Dr. Ferrari has another patient and I need to get in right away, it's no problem. Dr. Aldieri has seen me. We have a good relationship with all of them. There's a couple things that make this dentist's office different from others. For example, when have you ever been to a dentist office that has massage chairs, flat screen TVs, and a blanket? Dr. Ferrari tucked me in one.

Victoria Watson: At every recall, when a patient comes back, they're screened for periodontal disease, which will show us if their gums are healthy, if they have gingivitis or if they've moved to a more advanced level of periodontal disease. What makes this place most unique is that we all work together and we really are on the same team and while we want to do what's best for the patient and let them reach their dental goals, we all work together to make sure that they're comfortable and happy here and that their concerns are heard and we're able to help them.

Doug Llewelyn: And what's it like handling children in an office like this?

Victoria Watson: We make it fun for them. We set up appointments. Normally their first cleaning is when they're young, between the ages, I say three or four and they come in, we let them take a ride in the chair, we let them test everything out and it's totally a fun experience. We don't do anything that scares them. We show them our tools. We let them look in the mirror, stuff like that. So they have a good time.

Doug Llewelyn: Explain something for me. I know you practice it. What is conservative dentistry?

Daniel Aldieri: When we're treating a patient and treating certain types of situations or certain type of conditions in patients' mouths we like to look at treatment that is least invasive and is the most conservative for the tooth. So in other words, if a patient has a problem that has a tooth that's broken or has a very large silver filling that has been breaking down, it needs to be replaced. Many times a tooth may need to have a crown. Well, we have other conservative options. Rather than doing a crown you can make a partial crown. We call it a ceramic onlay and it's basically a part of the tooth that we make that gets bonded into the tooth and it's just as durable as doing a crown, but it's less invasive. You don't have to remove as much tooth.

John Gaudioso: I had a history of bad experiences with dentists so I was very leery about what I was going to do next. I was not satisfied with the dentist I had. I was looking to make a change. When I came here, I met the staff here and actually for the first few times I was here, I did not even sit in a chair. They spent a lot of time with me basically reviewing what my history was. Also, what was important to me, so I couldn't believe the customer care that I got here. For example, I required my gums to be numbed. I no longer need that, so it's really a positive experience. I actually look forward to coming to the dentist. They really enjoy what they do. They're very patient friendly and patient oriented.

Donald Kahn: We were able to make implants in the bone which actually support the dentures, which then can come in or out or other types of implants which are basically built up into the bone and then the dentures are put right on top and they snap in or something sophisticated like this where the implants actually screwed into and the denture is then supported by the implants themselves and these don't come out. Patients who have suffered with dentures that they move and they loose and they can't eat and they can't chew and they're constantly in pain have had tremendous success. We usually have to have a CAT scan taken, a three dimensional x-ray to determine if there was enough bone to support the implant and if there is, what location and how many and that will determine what type of restoration we can make for the patient.

Beth Goodrich: The whole ambiance here is like an electrical flow of kindness. He's a devoted, loving, nurturing state-of-the-art professional. He's kind and caring and he does expert work. I've been his patient for about 20 years and he never let me down ever and everyone here is utterly professionals. They're interested in your wellbeing. I live in Whitestone, Queens and it's a very nice long ride and I would never not be here, especially when he goes all lengths out to help me. I would never disappoint. I've recommended him to many people, but I just wouldn't think of going to any other dentist.

Doug Llewelyn: Talk to me a little bit about the sedation that you use when you have somebody who's really nervous.

Angela Ferrari: Sedation dentistry is a fantastic new modality of treatment. What it is basically is medication that we give a patient who's very anxious. A lot of times patients come in with previous experiences, previous phobias, and they're really hard to shake. A lot of times people have avoided the dentist for so many years that they built this anxiety that's almost insurmountable. So by sedating them, we give them medications the night before their visit and the morning of their visit. They are awake. A lot of times patients think that conscious sedation is going to sleep. It is not going to sleep.

Angela Ferrari: You are awake, but the medications make you have an amnesia effect so they don't remember what's happened at the appointment, which is nice because if they're very anxious they don't really want to know all of the ins and outs of what's going on. So the sedation actually helps them achieve the health that they need and get the treatment they need, but they don't really remember it so, that's always a plus. It's a great thing. Patients leave with just more confidence and just a presence about them that they didn't have when they first walked in. Thirty to 50% of the population currently is afraid of coming to the dentist. It's unfortunate because dentistry is not the way that people remember it. We really strive to have a patient, have an experience that is completely comfortable and I know that coming to the dental office is not where people really want to be. What we want to do is to try in every way possible to make it anxiety-free, comfortable, and just painless, really.

Doug Llewelyn: And there you are. A look at the latest advancements in state-of-the-art dentistry as practiced here at the offices of doctors Ferrari and Aldieri, the home of dental excellence. I'm Doug Llewelyn reporting from Farmingdale, Long Island.

Janis Marie: Well, that does it for this edition of Close Up on America's Business. I'm Janis Marie. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time.