Editor’s Letter

April 17, 2008

Wow! I’m even impressed! Chairside® magazine has a long form interview with Dr. Gordon Christensen and Dr. Bill Strupp in the same issue? Chairside, have you been reading my diary?

My favorite part of being Editor in Chief for our magazine is getting the opportunity to talk to my mentors and then share their knowledge with our readers. These types of conversations allow Chairside the opportunity to delve deeper into specific topics, and gives these renowned clinicians a chance to shed light on why they do what they do.

Dr. Gordon Christensen was one of the first dentists I followed after entering private practice. His CRA Newsletter (as it was known then) is the only subscription I have had for the last 20 years. Now called the Gordon J. Christensen Clinicians Report™, it is still a must-subscribe newsletter. After attending a couple of Gordon’s courses in Provo, I realized why I liked his point of view: he is very practical and down to earth. The patients in his practice reminded me of my patients, and his fees were even lower than mine! Gordon practices in a college town, and he charges what the average patient can afford. He is profitable through efficiency and delegation, and I brought my whole team up for his Faster, Easier, Higher Quality Dentistry course to implement that same type of teamwork.

I also attended a lecture by Dr. Bill Strupp around the same time, and I couldn’t decide if everything he did was overkill or state of the art. As I have continued to follow Bill and his teachings, I’ve realized he is ahead of the curve. As far as restorative dentistry goes, I don’t know anyone else who can do it better day in and day out. I spent some time in the office of Bill’s periodontist, Dr. Danny Melker. During my visit, Danny worked on a couple of Bill’s patients and I saw firsthand that his preps are really as good as they look in his lectures, and all of the buildups were there and intact. I consider a subscription to his interactive Crown & Bridge Update newsletter a must for any quality-conscious restorative dentist.

Dr. Michael C. DiTolla

Yours in quality dentistry,

Michael C. DiTolla signature

Dr. Michael C. DiTolla
Editor-in-Chief, Clinical Editor