Please scroll down near the bottom of the page to read helpful information for
very nervous and phobic dental patients.
That's me "Dr. T" in the picture above. I'm on one of my regular trips to
Jerusalem, Israel where I've been volunteering at The Trudi Birger Dental Clinic. The clinic treats children from Jerusalem
up to age 18 that are living below the poverty level. Three of the great kids I treated are pictured with me.
I
actually decided on a career in dentistry while in middle school after taking out several career oriented (So You Want To
Be A This Or That) books from the library. As a child, I had my own fair share of dental problems and was fortunate to have
a very kind and talented dentist treat me. He further sparked my interest in dentistry. I wrote a paper in high school on
Tooth Decay, and never looked back. My DDS degree was earned at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1975 and
I also earned a Master of Science degree in Oral Pathology from the University of Illinois Graduate College in 1978 and completed
a 12 month residency program in General Dentistry at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago where I greatly expanded my skills
in all phases of General Dentistry.
Picking Dentistry as a career has turned out to be a wise choice
for me and I've enjoyed every day of my professional career (but certainly not every moment of every day though). After practicing
dentistry in Chicago for over twenty years, I came to Boone Creek Dentistry in McHenry, IL in 2008. We treat both adults
and children at the Boone Creek office and I have focused my practice on what is commonly referred to as restorative and cosmetic
dentistry. This includes doing fillings, bonding, veneers, crowns, bridges, partials, dentures and doing the needed restorative
work after dental implants have been placed in the jaws by a dental specialist. We also provide periodontal treatment (gums),
endodontic treatment (root canals) and I do some of the dental extractions needed by my patients. There is a strong emphasis
on prevention in our practice and we will frequently point out home therapies that our patients can use to improve their dental
health. I also work closely with dental specialists when I feel the complexity of the needed treatment is beyond my capabilities.
I've always had a particular interest in working with highly anxious and phobic dental patients and had a faculty position
at Northwestern University's Dental School working with psychologists in a Phobic Dentistry section.
I
feel that my many years of experience as a dentist is a great benefit to my patients as I have treated thousands of patients
over the years, many with complex dental problems (especially common in phobic patients). With my vast experience in dentistry,
I can help my patients decide on an approach to their dental problems that works with their budget. I will always do my best,
especially in complex situations to explain all of the options to my patients to help them to make informed decisions about
their treatment.
In addition to volunteering in Israel, I have been the head of the free Dental
Clinic at The Ark in Chicago, where I have been volunteering one morning per week for over 25 years. I believe that I personally
benefit more from the volunteer work than the patients I treat.
I am married with two daughters.
My oldest - Rachel is a software engineer in Chicago and my youngest - Becky is a Nurse in Chicago. I am an active member
of my synagogue and enjoy chanting in Hebrew from the Torah there regularly. I also enjoy reading, biking, exercise, movies
and a good political discussion (but don't get me started on that). I am also an author, having written a book about my father's
amazing life - The Max Tannenbaum Story, which is in The Chicago Public Library system. Anyone interested can also find the
story online at www.maxtannenbaumstory.com.
About The Boone Creek Dentistry Staff
In addition to myself, our McHenry, IL office has a dental hygienist
- Kris, a dental assistant - Amber, and two front office staff - Tina and Jackie.
Kris has been
a dental hygienist since 2004, earning her degree in Dental Hygiene after attending The University of South Florida. She has
been working in the Boone Creek office since 2006, providing preventive care, education, and periodontal treatment in our
office. Kris enjoys running, biking, cooking and regular exercise, especially with the P90X program. She is married and has
two children and is also an expert on all things Disney.
Amber has been a dental assistant
since 2006 and has been working with me since 2008. She does chair-side assisting, takes dental X-rays, and helps provide
preventive treatment including preventive dental sealants to our child patients. Being a very experienced dental assistant
with three children of her own, Amber is very good with our younger patients, easily calming them down if they've become anxious.
Amber enjoys reading, exercise, and spending time with her husband and three children.
Tina has
been the office manager at Boone Creek Dentistry since 2003. She is responsible for all of the "front desk" concerns
of the office, including financial and insurance matters. Generally, her smiling face will be the first thing you see as you
enter the office. Tina enjoys reading, outdoor sports including 4-wheeling and snowmobiling, trips to Michigan's U.P, as well
as spending time with her husband and two children.
Jackie is the newest member of the staff,
starting at the Boone Creek office in 2013. She works primarily at the front desk, scheduling patients and handling some financial
concerns along with helping out with instrument sterilization. She enjoys attending concerts and spending time with her two
children.
Information for Very Nervous
and Phobic Dental Patients
From the earliest days of my career in dentistry, I have had a special interest
in helping very anxious and phobic dental patients get needed dental care. I held a position for several years at Northwestern
University's Phobic Dental Clinic and have extensive clinical experience treating dental patients that have put off dental
care, sometimes for decades due to their fears. This aspect of dental practice has provided the greatest degree of satisfaction
of my career in dentistry.
Highly anxious and truly phobic patients often present
to the dental office with a significant amount of dental problems, including numerous cavities, broken down teeth - sometimes
to the gum line and below, gum disease, multiple missing teeth, drifted teeth, cosmetic deficiencies, pain and infection.
Often these patients feel their dental problems are likely the most severe that I have ever seen. I can tell you that
after working as a dentist for over 30 years, with a special interest in treating very anxious and phobic dental patients,
that this thought is extremely unlikely to be true.
There are a
few things you should know that should help put you at ease. First of all, neither I, nor any member of our staff would ever
be critical of you, lecture you, scold you or in any way embarrass you because of your dental condition. Behavior like that
on our part would not be productive at all, and we really do want to help out. Secondly, I know that many patients with significant
dental disease are very concerned that the examination of their mouth will include me sticking a sharp dental instrument into
cavities. I can assure you that I won't do that. It is very easy for me to see cavities with my naked eye and x-rays, and
there is no reason that I would need to stick anything into a cavity or broken down tooth. I never did understand why some
dentists feel the need to do that. I will take a look, jot down some notes and look at x-rays that either you provide us or
that we take in our office. I will likely want to check for loose teeth, but that is a simple matter and not uncomfortable
at all for the patient.
So the first visit will generally be a sort of "meet
and greet" discussion of your concerns and fears, a few questions from me, and a gentle, non-painful examination and
recording of my findings. Generally someone that has avoided dental care for many years will not have a dental cleaning
done at the first appointment. These patients often have some gum problems that require numbing of the gums in order to do
a thorough job comfortably.You should definitely let me know at this appointment of any fears that you might have. Don't be
shy. I might be able to provide some possible treatment ideas for you at this first appointment, but I might also need to
give your case some additional thought and planning, and then speak to you at a subsequent appointment with some treatment
ideas.
Once we decide on a course of action to treat your dental
condition, you should know that I will always make every effort to keep you comfortable during the treatment. We always use
a local anesthetic (Novocaine) to numb teeth and gums that need treatment. We first apply a rub-on topical anesthetic gel
to the area. This will numb the gum prior to the local anesthetic injection (shot) in the area. Over the years I have developed
a technique for administering the local anesthetic that is generally very tolerable. Some areas in the mouth can be numbed
with this technique in a way that is hardly detected by the patient. Other areas can be a little more difficult for me to
numb completely painlessly, but I always give it my best effort.
We wait for the local anesthetic to work before proceeding with any treatment, and keep plenty of
local anesthetic in the office in case more is needed to numb the area to be worked on. To determine if the local anesthetic
is working well, I might gently press on the gum near the tooth or blow some air or spray some water on the tooth to be worked
on. You will see that I am constantly (perhaps even annoyingly) questioning you to be sure that you are comfortable and ask
that you simply raise your hand for me to stop, even if it's just to give you a needed break. If something isn't feeling right,
we will give you more local anesthetic. Second (or third or fourth) doses of local anesthetic are almost always painless to
administer. I promise you that I will not continue to work if you are having difficulties.
As a result of my extensive experience treating highly anxious and phobic dental patients with significant
dental problems, I will often be able to come up with several possible treatment solutions for you to consider and these are
often much more affordable than you might imagine. While most offices are encouraging patients with missing teeth to have
dental implants, and I do work with dental implants, there are often other far more economical approaches available and these
all will be discussed with you. I have a lot of experience with this and will do my best to work within any budgetary restraints
that you might have. Again, I will generally come up with a few recommendations and rank them for you in terms of best, second
best etc. Most expensive is not necessarily the plan with the longest likelihood of success.
Finally, I am easy to reach. My private/emergency phone number and email address is available in the "About
The Boone Creek Dentistry Office" section of this website near the bottom of the page. Sometimes, a patient might want to call me personally with a question before they might meet me.
Give it a try on my emergency number and be sure to leave me a message with a good number and time to reach you. I like to
try to be in touch with patients on my way home from work in the late afternoon. Alternately, you can send me an email with
any question or concern, even before we meet. I will do my best to respond.
About The Boone Creek Dentistry Office
Charles J. Tannenbaum DDS MS
Boone Creek Dentistry
5404
Elm Street Suite F
McHenry, IL 60050
Office Phone (815)759-0871
Office Fax (815)759-0875
Dr.
Tannenbaum's Emergency Phone (847)373-5442
Dr. Tannenbaum's Email DrT@DrTDentistry.com
Office
Hours Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday 7:00 - 3:00
Our Boone Creek Dentistry office
in McHenry, Il is "cozy". While a busy practice, we pride ourselves in our patient service, offereing a knowledgeable
staff, safe and proven procedures, and an upbeat and friendly atmosphere. We all look forward to meeting you if we are chosen
to be your dental practice.
Accepted Insurance and Other Dental Plans
Click the link below for information on the insurance
plans that we work with at Boone Creek Dentistry. From time to time there will be additions or deletions to the list of insurance
companies and dental plans that you will find. We will confirm with you that we are working with your plan when you call to
inquire about an appointment.
