Migraines and the NTI

Is this you?

We can help.

Over 29 million Americans suffer from migraines. And some dentists are trained to deal with them

We are one of them.

We can design and create an amazing little piece of plastic that fits between your front teeth that can dramatically reduce or even eliminate your migraine symptoms.

It's called the NTI-tss.  The NTI-tss is an FDA approved migraine prevention option. It is a small nightguard that comfortably fits over your four front teeth. It's patented design keeps your canine and back teeth apart. This separation minimizes the intensity of your nighttime clenching forces.

Check it for yourself

To demonstrate how the NTI-tss works, simply hold the muscles of your temples (like the woman in the photo) while biting down on a pencil with only the back teeth. The temporal muscles will bulge and intensely contract. But  when you bite down on a pencil with only the front teeth, the temporal muscles remain relaxed.  There is a reflex (it is actually called the "Nociceptive Trigeminal Inhibition" reflex) that prevents hard contraction of the biting muscles when only the front teeth touch.

Thank you, Dr. Boyd

The NTI-tss therapeutic protocol was developed by a California dentist, James Boyd, DDS. Having suffered chronic, daily headaches and frequent migraine attacks for 12 years, Dr. Boyd developed the protocol to rid him of pain. He is now an associate with The Headache Center Neurology clinic in Encinitas, CA. He is something of a genius.

There's a neat website about this at www.TheHeadacheRemedy.com.  And you can check out our website page on this at http://www.drsteveross.com/migraine-tmj-facial-pain.html.

Don't live with pain. Call (845-297-62063) or send e-mail (DrSteveRoss@aol.com) and we will be glad to evaluate you.  We can help! 

Fixing Cavities - The Old Way and the New Way

One of the most common questions asked in our practice concerns our choice of the material that we use to repair cavities in teeth.

Amalgam: The old stuff (we don't use this)

Silver-mercury (amalgam) fillings were introduced to dentistry over 100 years ago. At the time, this mixture of silver and mercury was considered a miracle material (of course, at that time, so was indoor plumbing).

Is it safe?

Today, amalgam fillings are made of a mixture of silver/zinc/tin/copper alloy and mercury. And as of today the American Dental Association believes that amalgam is a safe and effective material for use in the human mouth. They are entitled to their opinion. Here is my personal opinion about amalgam:

It is possible that the mercury in amalgam is not harmful to us. However, mercury is a toxic substance and according to the EPA, must be disposed of in a Toxic Waste Disposal Site. In my opinion, anything that must be disposed of in a Toxic Waste Disposal Site should maybe not be placed in our mouths. 

But this may simply be an over-cautious position on my part. I do not actually know what the long term outcome of on-going research will be. I do know that some European countries and a couple of states in the U.S. have regulated amalgam use, mostly because of environmental contamination reasons. Some European countries have banned the use of amalgam in pregnant women and young children.

I want to be clear on this. I have not used amalgam since April of 1982. And I'm not going to use it again. And the reason has nothing to do with its safety or non-safety. The jury may still be out on that.

So what do I like?

The reason I do not use amalgam is that, in my opinion, it is a poor restorative material compared to newer materials we have now. Like everything else, improvements have been constant over the last 100 years. It took science until the 70’s to develop an alternative to amalgam, and into the 2000s to improve it to its current excellent level.

The material I favor and use as my first choice is bonded composite resin. This material is extremely biocompatible and flexes and wears like natural teeth. A silver-mercury restoration has no bond to tooth structure. Expansion and contraction of amalgam over the years causes cracks in teeth and eventually, many teeth will fracture. You may have had this happen to you, even when you were eating something soft. Amalgam tends to leak after five or ten years, causing recurrent decay. Amalgam corrodes and turns black.


M.I.D.
Another reason I like to use bonded resin is because I am a strong proponent of what dentists call Minimally Invasive Dentistry.  Those of us who have this philosophy believe that as much natural tooth structure as possible should be preserved when restoring teeth to good form and function.  You would think that every dentist would believe this, but they don't.  It is easier to drill away teeth and make crowns than to artfully sculpt and bond modern resins onto the natural tooth. It takes time, skill and care.  But it's better for the tooth and that's what matters to me.  Crowns are very appropriate in many situations, but not as often as many dentists use them. I prefer to preserve if possible. The easy way is not always the best way.

I also restore teeth with various types of wonderful ceramic materials (usually called porcelain) and the always terrific old standby, gold.  You can use these in minimally invasive ways also.

When aging amalgam restorations are replaced by bonded composite resin or ceramic restorations, the strength of the tooth is improved and underlying tooth structure is sealed.

Plus, of course, composite resin and ceramic restorations are tooth colored and are so much more attractive and natural looking than metal fillings.

Let's talk about cost

Now let me talk with you about the economics of composite resin. Composite resin and ceramic restorations are more technique sensitive and are more time consuming to place. Special care must be exercised to operate in a controlled environment that can be moist when desired and dry when desired. These bonded restorations are more sensitive to moisture control procedures than amalgam. When placing these fillings, we use bonding agents to seal the dentin against bacterial infiltration and protect the dental pulp from irritation. As a result of this necessary expertise and the increased time associated with composite and ceramic placement, the cost of restoring teeth is a little higher than with amalgam.

Cost is not the same as value

Teeth matter.  They deserve the best chance for lifetime function, comfort and good appearance.  Replacing teeth is much more costly than preserving them. We opt for the best value for our patients.

You have insurance?  That's good!  But...

Insurance companies are slow to embrace newer techniques, especially when it could cost them money to provide state-of-the-art care to their insured. Many insurance companies will only cover the cheapest material to restore teeth. Yup, that’s amalgam, and many will pay their amalgam benefit even when composite resin or ceramic materials are used. Yes, they are allowed to do that. That should irritate you, in my opinion.

My patients have mostly learned about the ways insurance carriers pay benefits. For example, they have learned not to be fooled by the “usual and customary fee” jive. They know that this is bogus and is intended to drive a wedge between patient and doctor. If you are concerned about anything you read in an Explanation of Benefits you receive, just call us. We’ll explain it with straight, honest talk. You don't have to be my patient to get advice; we'll be glad to help anyone.

The bottom line

Composite resin, porcelain and gold are wonderful, modern, state-of-the-art beautiful materials we use to help you have the strong, functional teeth and great smile you have always wanted.

Lose Your Teeth, Lose Your Mind

Ever have a senior moment? Then you might be missing some teeth, too.

I'm sharing today a remarkable piece of research published by Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine just a few days ago (yes, I actually do read this stuff).

We know that the connection between dental disease and system diseases are becoming better understood every day. We now know that there is a correlation between periodontal disease and heart disease, pancreatic and maybe other cancers, low birth weight babies and a bunch of other problems.

But this one is really startling. Read the article for yourself. Let me know what you think about this. If it makes you worry, that's not a bad thing, really. Worry is sometimes the first step to doing something important for yourself. I'd love to help you with that. All it takes is a phone call or e-mail.

Here's the article. It will also be available on our website at Dr.SteveRoss.com (click on the section called Blog):

April 30, 2010

Researchers at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) link tooth loss and periodontal disease to cognitive decline in one of the largest and longest prospective studies on the topic to date, released in this month’s issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Dr. Elizabeth Krall Kaye looked for patterns in dental records from 1970 to 1973 to determine if periodontal disease and tooth loss predicted whether people did well or poorly on cognitive tests. She found that for each tooth lost per decade, the risk of doing poorly increased approximately eight to 10 percent.

More cavities usually meant lower cognition too. People with no tooth loss tended to do better on the tests.

Dr. Kaye says inflammation is a possible cause, noting that other studies found higher levels of inflammation markers in people with Alzheimer’s. “Periodontal disease and caries are infectious diseases that introduce inflammatory proteins into the blood,” she says. “There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence that inflammation raises your risk of cognitive decline and it could be that gum inflammation is one of the sources.”

The men studied—veterans living in the Boston metropolitan area—enrolled in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study in the late 1960s and early 70s and came back for medical, dental, and cognitive exams, which started in 1993, every three years.

Participants took two cognitive tests. The first, the Mini-Mental State Examination, tests orientation, attention, calculation, recall, language, and motor skills. The second, a spatial copying test, asks participants to copy nine geometric designs ranging from easy to complex.

“The ability to copy is one of the things people lose as they lose cognitive ability,” Dr. Kaye says.

Physicians might want to think about the dental health of their patients who test poorly, according to Dr. Kaye. “The findings should also give dentists yet another reason to prevent tooth loss and periodontal disease and encourage patients to do as much as they can to prevent dental disease,” she says.

Dental School faculty Drs. Kaye, Raul I. Garcia, Avron Spiro, III, and Thomas Dietrich; dental student Aileen Valencia, and Boston University School of Medicine nutrition student Nivine Baba worked on the study, which is a group effort among GSDM, the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Public Health, and the University of Birmingham School of Dentistry in the United Kingdom.

What You Can Learn From An Injury

I found out recently that a skill I believed I had mastered still had a ways to go. I mean walking. After all, how hard is it? I have been doing it since very early childhood.

Still, with all that practice, on March 9th I tripped and fell and broke my shoulder!

I don't recommend it.

But now that I'm healing and getting able to do more and more regular activities every day, I did my usual thing – I've been thinking about what can be learned from this miserable experience.

Here are some observations I want to share with you:

It is a truly wonderful idea to be married to a smart, good looking nurse.

The people who work in the emergency room are very overworked, very dedicated and very good at their jobs. They took good care of me. However, the emergency room is not a fun place to have to spend time. Everything takes forever, you better have all your information available because they are gonna ask you for it (maybe more than once), you have a hard time finding out what's going on, privacy is minimal, and, of course, they don't actually fix you. That comes later, somewhere else. But it's a good place to start because they are very good at, well, emergencies.

Dr. Lawrence Kusior of Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County is an excellent doctor in an excellent group of doctors. He is warm, caring, efficient and direct. He shared information with me freely. I felt he was involved. I did not feel rushed with him even though I know that physicians today have killer schedules.

Physical therapy, which is what I'm doing now, is hard and uncomfortable. A lot of the time it just hurts. But it is the key to success. It's not my first time with P.T., and I didn't like it any better the other times, either. Heather Kelly, my therapist at Orthopedic Associates, is terrific. She motivates and pushes me even when I tell her, "That's enough." Because it isn't.

Good health insurance and good access to health care is a must and the fact that our country lags behind most western nations in providing it for all their people is shameful.

My colleagues reacted to the news of my injury with empathy and offers of help. Every one of them whom I asked stepped up to the plate for me.

My patients have been fabulous. They waited patiently while I got able to resume their care and they have been so concerned. I appreciate them so much. They are the best!

My Assistant Jennifer and Care Coordinator Joan have been unbelievably effective. I could not asked for more or better. And their patience with me in my irritable times (pain can shorten your fuse) tells of their maturity, devotion and focus. I am lucky to have them with me.

A famous physician-teacher once said that every doctor should have to undergo a sickness or injury and be in the health care system before being allowed to care for patients. This is a terrific idea. There is a good movie called The Doctor, starring William Hurt, that tells this very well. I recommend it to all who care for others.

It's important to look for the gift in any experience. Sometimes it's hard to see it while you're in the middle of the crisis. But it's there.

And finally: Life goes on. The crisis passes. You get stronger if you learn something.

I would like it if you would share this blog with others. Maybe someone you know might be helped by something in it.

"TMJ" - Initials That Stand For Lots Of Unpleasant Things

OK, let's talk about pain. Wait! Don't run – stay with me a minute. I'm not talking about toothache pain. I'm talking about something more subtle. Tons of people live with this kind of pain most days or even every day and can't figure out why. Their doctors tell them different things depending on the doctor's specialty (when you are a hammer everything looks like a nail).

The chronic discomfort makes people depressed and sometimes a little desperate. Patients sometimes tell me they feel as if they are going crazy. They change they way they eat and they avoid foods that make them hurt. Sometimes they take medications, often strong medications, to get some relief.

A surprising percentage of the time, the problem turns out to be what dentists who know about this call "TMJ" (it has other names like "TMD" and "Myofascial Pain Dysfunction syndrome"). They are all pretty much the same thing and the name doesn’t matter if you have it.

Do you have any of these symptoms?

• Frequent headaches, including what has been diagnosed as "migraine".
  
• Clicking or pain in the jaw joints.
  
• Pain or difficulty when opening or closing the mouth.
  
• Pain, ringing, or fullness in the ears.
  
• Neck, shoulder, and/or facial pain.
  
• Eye pain or visual disturbances.

Some things that can cause this are:

• Trauma to the jaw.
• Teeth clenching or grinding (bruxism), especially in sleep.
• Improper bite alignment.
• Overactivity of the motor and sensory nerves that connect to the muscles of your face, which sets off spasms in those muscles.

Sound familiar? If it does, you may have TMJ.

You'd be amazed how many people have this. It shouldn't be ignored, because it gets worse over time.

Call our office. Send e-mail. We'll take you seriously. We'll review your history, conduct a gentle thorough examination, and discuss our findings. If you do have TMJ problems, we'll help get you feeling better again.

We have a special interest and special training in the the treatment of these special problems. You can feel comfortable again. Don’t live with chronic pain or dysfunction any longer. Relief could be just a few visits away.

Hushing Up Your Lizard Brain

We say we want one thing, then we do another. We say we want a great smile, but we say no when the dentist tells us how to have one. We say we want to replace some missing teeth, but we hesitate when the dentists tells us how.

Why is it so difficult to do what we say we want?

The lizard brain.

The lizard is a physical part of your brain, the pre-historic lump near the brain stem that is responsible for fear and rage and reproductive drive. Its actual name is the amygdala.

One writer described it as the resistance. The resistance is the voice in the back of our head telling us to back off, be careful, go slow, wait, compromise. The resistance is about putting things off because we aren't absolutely dead perfect sure about something.

The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to deciding to act.

That's because the lizard brain hates change and achievement and risk.

Want to know why so many companies can't keep up with Apple? It's because most companies compromise, have meetings, fear critics and generally work to appease the CEO's lizard. Having lots of meetings is just one symptom of an organization run by the lizard brain. Late lunches, middle of the road products and the excuses that go with them are others.

Dental patients are like that sometimes. They say that they will talk it over with someone, or do it next year, or they really aren't that eager to have it, they are worried about money, or the treatment, they are busy right now, and on and on.

So time passes and they get older and older and they never pull the trigger and say "YES". And they don't experience that wonderful feeling of making a decision and getting something they want. And the lizard wins.

So sad.

The amygdala isn't going away. Your lizard brain is here to stay, and your job is to figure out how to quiet it and ignore it. This is so important, and that's why I decided to blog it.

Now you've seen the lizard and you know its name. What are you going to do about it?

We can help. All you have to do is call and say, "I want (whatever) but I'm having a problem with the lizard." We'll focus in with you on your lizard's fears and help you tell the lizard to shut up. We are very good at that; it's why we are successful.

It's easy. 845-297-6206. DrSteveRoss@aol.com. You can dial or use a keyboard, can't you? After all, it's only a little lizard stopping you.

Starbucks and Toyota: How They Messed Up

There once was a coffee shop where people could come and pay a little more than it cost in other places for a truly great cup of coffee made just the way they liked it by people who really knew how to make it just right (they wore black aprons displaying the title "Coffee Master" and they completed the Coffee Master course, which educates employees in coffee tasting, growing regions, roasting, and purchasing). And they trained their employees to deliver that great coffee with great service, great style and a kind of special attitude. They named the company Starbucks.

And there once was a car company that had a tradition in the company called "kaizen" which meant "continuous improvement". And they built a reputation as a company that made cars that were very well built, with practically zero flaws and which lasted a long time with no problems. Dependable, trustworthy quality was what everyone knew about that company's cars. The company was called Toyota.

But then something happened.

Starbucks decided that they had to be everywhere and outsell everyone and they started to open stores all over the place – hundreds and hundreds of them. A newsletter called the Onion sarcastically wrote that Starbucks just opened a Starbucks inside a Starbucks rest room! And they got spread pretty thin. They hired lots and lots of new counter employees to work at the hundreds of new stores. The new employees were not trained and experienced like the old ones and they did not know how to make that wonderful coffee like you couldn't find anywhere else. And they didn't have that special pride and attitude that the older ones had. The quality and the service dropped off and people quickly figured out that they could get just as good coffee in other places, like Dunkin' Donuts. And sales dropped and hundreds of stores had to close.

Toyota decided to get huge. They greatly increased their manufacturing capacity and dealer network. And they outsold all other car manufacturers. But they forgot what got them there. They got sloppy and serious flaws started to show up in their cars. And they hid those flaws and didn't respond to them promptly. And they got caught. And now everyone knows about the brake, accelerator and steering problems Toyota is having and Toyota's reputation has been destroyed.

What's the moral of all this? It's this:

A company has to decide and understand what its mission is. Is it to be the busiest and most convenient, to have very low or even the lowest price, to give the customer an average or even less than average product and grow like crazy and have the most customers of anyone?

Or it is to focus on delivering superb quality to customers who are seeking exactly that, with wonderful service that is hard or even impossible to find anywhere else and charge what it takes to deliver that time after time, dependably and flawlessly to that smaller base of customers?

Starbucks and Toyota chose to deliver quality and superb service to a group of customers who treasured that but they wanted to grow and grow and grow. So they had to compete with the coffee shops and car manufacturers who cared way less about quality and way more about having their shops and cars on every corner at a medium or low price.

And they found out that you can't have it both ways.

So what's the lesson for Smart Dental Patients? Here it is:

You gotta choose what kind of dental office you want to deliver your care. What kind of environment do you want? Fast, cheap and open 6 days a week? Or personal, thorough, committed to excellence, dedicated to personal attention and delivering superb care by superbly trained people for a fair fee?

You can't have both. Even though you want it.

We know who we are here in Dr. Steve Ross' office. And our patients know why they chose us to create and guard their dental health.

We won’t make the Starbucks-Toyota mistake. We promise.

Valentine's Day 2010

Sally Field, playing the character of Nora Walker in the TV series "Brothers and Sisters", said that she wanted to feel like she was enough, all by herself, just like she is — enough for the man in her life.

I think there is tremendous wisdom in that thought. How wonderful it would be if we each knew totally that with all our faults, with our failings, regardless of our age, our job or our current health, that the person we love feels the same way about us.

Falling in love is easy. Showing that love, helping the people we love feel like they are special, that they are the most important thing in the world to us ... that’s harder.

People have busy lives. Work, children, keeping the home together, the stress of a schedule packed to the minute, all get in the way of reserving some time just to be together.

We can't look great all the time. We certainly can't compete with the people we see on TV and in movies and magazines. But those people, those images, don't love you. They won't be there when you're down, they don't share your tears — or your triumphs and joys, either. They won't be there for you through the good years and the not so good ones.

Young people sometimes think they will look, act, feel and function the same when they are "old" as they do today. Some adults still think the way they did when they were 20.

But eventually everyone looks in the mirror and sees that time and mileage take a toll on us physically. We might begin to wonder, like Sally Field, if we are enough any more.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I found my soul-mate and after all our years together I still love her dearly. I know I'm very lucky and I'm thankful every single day.

Do something nice for your partner on Valentine's day. You don't have to spend a lot of money, you don't have to buy diamond jewelry that goes out of style, or flowers that die, just do something to make him or her smile.

Let your partner know that he or she is not only enough for you, that he or she is everything to you.

And if love hasn't smiled on you yet, don't give up on it. When it does, and it will, don't be afraid. Let it in. Love is the best, the very best thing in life.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Are Your Teeth Wearing Down?

Are your teeth kind of worn down?

Sort of beat up? Looking a little older than you look yourself?

Like this?

Lots of people come to us with teeth like this. They've been chewing all their lives and things have just gotten worn. Or chipped by accident.

This is not a character flaw! It's just a condition. It happens. Sometimes fast, sometimes a little at a time.

You know, we get used to the way we are. Gradually we lose a little here and a little there and before we know it things are not what we want them to be.

Like this:

If this is beginning to look like you, please call us. We know how to restore the lost structure and make your teeth whole again. It's easier than you probably think.

Worn teeth are fragile, can get really sensitive and make you look old. And they change your bite and that's usually not good.

This is the 21st century. Dentistry does not struggle with worn, old-looking teeth like these anymore. Neither should you.

Don't live with worn out teeth. Call us. We can help.

Evaluations. Some of the Most Important Time We Spend With You.

Our patients know how much importance we place on regular evaluations.

So I wanted take a few minutes to explain what is happening when you are with us for that hour or so.

Because those visits can make all the difference between having oral health and teeth you like for your lifetime or a future with lots of dental problems.

And those little visits can actually save your life. Did you know that the links between dental health and a variety of systemic disease is growing every day and is now acknowledged by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and other major organizations dealing with some of the most life-threatening diseases?

So what do we do?

First we catch up on what’s going on with you. Our patients are family and we want the news. You are much more than a transportation system for your teeth to us.

We'll ask you if there have been any changes in your general health or medications you may be taking. We need to know that to be sure you are safe when we care for you.

We'll ask you if you have any concerns or wishes.

And then it begins. Our tour is done with you watching and we talk with you while we work. An evaluation is a conversation, not a lecture.

All our patients know about plaque – that sticky transparent film of biofilm that attaches to your teeth and is dead center as a cause of most dental disease. We make sure our patients know all about that and how to prevent it from taking over.

So we use a special stain to make your biofilm visible. This lets us – and you – see where you might be missing it so we can help you get on it. Tools and techniques are reviewed so you can have the power to control your own bacteria instead of being a victim of them.

And let's face it. We all need a little motivational boost every once in a while. Right? Of course right.

Next we take a tour of the mouth you brought in.

First is the health of your gum tissues and deeper supporting tissues. This is what dentists call your periodontal health. We look for places where your gum tissues may bleed (healthy tissues don't bleed), areas where gum tissue may have separated from the roots of your teeth (healthy gum tissue is tightly attached to the necks of your teeth), and the general color and tone and contour of your tissues.

We look for teeth that may be getting mobile (teeth with healthy support are not loose).

We check to see if you are building up tartar and where it is.

Next we take a look at your teeth themselves. We look for visible decay, chips, cracks, and any signs of abnormal wear.

We check the dentistry you already have to be sure it is functioning well and is in good condition.

If you are scheduled for x-rays we took them at the beginning. And if something we see makes us want an x-ray of it, we do that now.

And we'll update our photos of you if necessary.

We will conduct a careful exam for oral cancer. We'll evaluate your bite and your jaw joint function.

We're not just interested in identifying potential problems. We will compliment you on what we see that is good, healthy, strong. And we will share our thoughts about what we wish were different about your mouth and your smile. We'll talk with you about these things.

If we have suggestions for care, we’ll make them and answer questions. We'll schedule any follow up testing or treatment.

And if you are scheduled for professional cleaning services, we'll do that.

And by the way, we'll probably share a laugh or two. Dentistry should be fun. Laughter is good medicine.

This is the way people keep their teeth for a lifetime and avoid dental trouble. You, the patient and we, your coaches, work together in a partnership to create your dental future.

Working together, we can accomplish your goals.

A bright smile is the most convincing form of human communication. We want you to keep yours always.

Here's Joan!

Hi. My name is Joan and I am the Patient Care Coordinator for Dr. Ross. Dr. Ross likes to tell our patients that I'm in charge of everything here that doesn't get wet.

Dr. Ross thought our patients would like to know more about who I am when I’m not in the office helping them.

So here goes.

What do I do when I’m not in the office doing what I do here for you? I follow a lifelong passion.

After helping people throughout my nursing career (I'm a Registered Nurse) and with Dr. Ross here at our office, my next biggest passion is music. I sang in children and youth choir in Church, was allowed into the adult choir at age thirteen (probably because my voice was too tiny at that time to do any harm and I loved the Alto part), sang in high school choirs and played piano for the high school choir in my Senior year. Then nursing school and my Bachelor's and Master's degrees from University of Pennsylvania. That tough schedule got in the way of my singing but I never lost my connection to music. In 1979, I was watching the Phil Donahue Show and saw the Penna-Fores, an international champion Sweet Adelines quartet, and thought, hey, I wanna do that.

Well, I did end up as a member of both Sweet Adelines International and Harmony, Inc., two women’s barbershop harmony organizations. I have sung in three Sweet Adelines choruses and one Harmony Inc. chorus. One of the Sweet Adelines choruses won the International Championship three times. It's hard to describe the feeling when they hang a gold medal around your neck in front of 12,000 screaming, cheering people. That's a thrill you never forget.

Here I am in full Lion King Costume and makeup for a performance (2nd from right)


And I have been in four quartets (but not at the International Championship level).


My most recent chorus is Harmony Celebration Chorus, which was formerly Ramapo Valley Chorus (the one that won the championships). When our great Director Renee Craig retired, the chorus retired the chorus’s name in her honor and re-invented ourselves with a new name. We have a wonderful Director named Scott Brannon who in less than two years helped us back to the Greater New York Regional Chorus Championship and we are going to compete at the International Chorus Contest in October 2010.


I sing Baritone, which is the Barbershop harmony world’s name for a harmony part that isn’t the highest (Tenor) and isn’t the lowest (Bass) and sometimes is above the melody part (Lead) and sometimes is below the melody part. I love it because it is the smart part and is what helps form the special close harmony four-part chord that is the special sound of Barbershop Harmony rather than the sound of glee club singing.

I judged Barbershop Contests for 17 years. That includes my time training to become a Certified Judge plus 15 years of active judging. I coached performance presentations for both women's organizations and also was part of the first group of women judges allowed to judge at contests for the men’s Barbershop Harmony Society. I taught at music schools for all three organizations, and I represented Harmony Inc. as their International Education Services Coordinator for seven years.

So when I wasn’t here in the office where I am a familiar helping face, I have had more than plenty to do. If you hear me around the office humming a tune, you’ll know that the music is in me all the time and sometimes it just has to pop out!

Want help with your teeth or your smile? Call me. I'll see that you get it.

All The Best To You and Yours!

2010 is almost here!

Here's my hope that your holiday is filled with joy, and that the coming year overflows with all the good things in life.

I wish you all the very best for 2010.

Dr. Steve Ross