Wow. I never read a review that missed the point of a professional's care more completely (see below 2-star review). Dr. Silver is a caring, kind and warmhearted guy who goes the extra mile, sometimes to his own detriment, to ensure that his patients have excellent care, complete and comprehensive information, and the best possible context within which to make their own decisions about their course of treatment.
First of all, there is no such thing as a SMALL infection. ANY infection at all in the mouth can lead to all kinds of problems, including, serious heart and brain problems that can indeed be life threatening, such as periocornitis. If you happen to have an infection, ANY competent dentist is going to prescribe antibiotics. If you have a bad reaction to them, that happens, but it certainly isn't the dentist's fault, and a simple call to his cell phone could have remedied any side effects in a matter of hours. Why anyone would suggest that Dr. Silver's proper course of action was somehow in error is really confusing--when you go to see a doctor, it is his or her duty to make sure you have the appropriate care, which in the below case sounds like antibiotics. I also notice how in the comments Shawn keeps talking about how he/she has healthy teeth and nothing really wrong with them. How do you know? Are you a dentist, or are you going to let the man who went to dental school and knows more than you tell you what the real situation is with you? Maybe he scared the s*** out of you because if you don't listen to him, you might suffer bone loss in your jaw, which leads to gum disease, which leads to...you guessed it...brain and heart infections!
There is a lot of data out on this now, and it is about to become standard protocol to counsel patients about the importance of tooth and gum care as it relates to heart health, and if you don't like that your dentist is ahead of the curve and don't choose to listen to his advice, that's your misfortune. if you don't finish the course of antibiotics, of COURSE the guy is going to show you his dismay! Not only did you not treat the infection you came to him for in the first place, but you made yourself more vulnerable to future infections by making your body more resistant to the antibiotic.
Secondly, the fact that Dr. Silver has a lot of high-tech equipment goes to my opening statement that he seriously cares about his patients and their level of care. If he didn't care, he would go at their mouths with scary drills and old fashioned equipment that is invasive and hurts and is horrifying, rather than shelling out however many thousands of dollars to provide minimally invasive, quiet and pain-free dentistry. This guy and his team are all about making sure you have the best experience possible with the least amount of fear, pain and trouble. If you would rather have your teeth poked with a sharp metal instrument that makes you bleed and hurts you instead of painlessly with a laser, hey, your choice, but my money is on the pain-free way...dismiss modern technology all you want, I guess, and lose your teeth.
He also specializes in treating jazz musicians who have special needs when it comes to caring for their teeth. They also typically don't have a lot of money, but that hasn't stopped him from making their care a priority for years. You don't see Dr. Silver encouraging ANYONE to have unecessary procedures done, and your implication that he would try to get you to have your wisdom teeth taken out just for the hell of it is absurd.
I really hope that people take their dental care seriously, instead of selfdiagnosing like Shawn here, and educate themselves as to what a good dentist should be. When you do that, you will find that nobody in Manhattan exemplifies what modern dentistry is more than Dr. Silver, who not only cares for your mouth, but for you as a person. The number of patients who show up for his jazz band concerts is a testament to how close some of them have become to him, and a testament to how nice a man this is.
As to my own experience, I have had cleaning, bleaching and an exam at his office. My mother is having crowns replaced, and I referred one of my closest friends to him for implants, who then referred her own husband to him. I mean--I entrusted my mother's teeth to this man. Go there. read more