Medical Billing
In our ongoing mission to make dental care as accessible (and stress-free) as possible, Dr. Veronica spent the last few weekends traveling to Pennsylvania—giving up her precious free time—to dive into an intensive medical billing course. Why? To learn how medical billing can help our patients use their medical insurance for eligible dental procedures, easing out-of-pocket costs and opening the door to coverage for a wider range of services.
While Dr. Veronica was busy hitting the books and expanding her superpowers for patient care, Dr. Vin was hard at work on the home front—proudly expanding his skill set with full-time Daddy Daycare duties alongside baby Amelia. Teamwork looks a little different these days, but it’s all for a great cause!
Happy Birthday to our very own, Dr. Veronica!
With the demands of a busy life, it can sometimes feel challenging to make time for everything. However, if we do not make it a point to create memories, we may one day realize that the moments we were rushing past were the ones that mattered most. From being a provider to helping with administration work and maintaining office protocols, Dr. Veronica is the heartbeat of our office. So, on her birthday, we took the opportunity to show her just how special she is to us! Pictured are Bianca, Edith, Shanni, and Dr. Vin all taking some time to show Dr. Veronica just how much she means to us. In the middle of patients, we took a 10-minute break to sing Happy Birthday, cut some cheesecake (her favorite!) and give Dr. V her flowers, both literally and figuratively. Happy birthday V, God bless you!
SMILE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO!
Imagine a life where you uncontrollably grind all night without realizing it. Imagine waking up with jaw pain every day but not understanding why. Imagine witnessing over the years the deterioration of your teeth before your very eyes without any proper explanation as to why it’s happening and feeling too helpless to fix it. Meanwhile your quality of life starts to decline as you become more self-conscious about the presentation of your teeth and smile.
This was the reality for our patient, Ms. L.A fter years of suffering with undiagnosed bruxism and losing the protective enamel around her teeth,she was now also starting to develop extreme sensitivity to cold liquids. Finally ready to do something about it, Ms. L came to MDG to see what her options were.
Phase 1: Consult, Chief Concern: “I am not happy with my teeth and the pain is now worse than ever.”
We met with our patient and conducted a thorough examination, both clinically and radiographically. After understanding and confirming patient’s expectations and explaining what was feasible via modern dentistry, a treatment plan prioritizing function, esthetics and most importantly, longevity was created. Due to extreme wear, Ms. L’s bite was collapsed -in order to increase her bite, we decided the best treatment plan option would be full mouth restorations via crowns and bridges and one single implant to replace a missing molar on her upper left. These crowns would be made taller to increase her bite.
Phase II: Digital Planning
Using our advanced technology, we are able to create outcome simulations which we present to our patients via digital image and 3D printed models. These tools help us navigate complications associated with treatment. For example, this digital image shows us with the bigger crowns that “open” the patients bite, the esthetics were off because the patient had a gummy smile. Thanks to this realization, we knew that upper anterior gingivectomies (gum reduction surgery) would be required to reduce the amount of visible gums showing when patient smiles.
Phase III: Treatment day
During treatment day, the patient can elect to pursue treatment via:
general sedation adminstered via our anesthesiologist
nitrous oxide via nose mask combined with local anesthesia, a good movie and some noise cancelling headphones. Ms. L personally opted to go with this option!
Phase IV: Delivery Day aka The Big Day. These are the days that make it all worth it. Ms. L couldn’t believe how stunning her smile was and we were so grateful that she placed her trust in us to be able to navigate this case with her.
Phase V: One week post-op. We were able to observeour patient and not only admire our work, but also take feedback from her to enhance the overall experience for other prospective patients who trust us to do work for them.
Paying it Forward
Dentistry and higher education have given us so much- from purpose to human connection, we couldn’t be more grateful to be in the positions we are in. With that in mind, when one of our patients told us her daughter is interested in being a dentist and wants to shadow us at the office, we were quick to seize the opportunity. Pictured is Sienna with some of our crew here at MDG. During her visit, Sienna was able to get a front row seat to a day in the life of Drs. Vin and Veronica – with the permission of our patients, Sienna was able to sit in on root canals, extractions and implant procedures. After the experience, Sienna said she is now committed more than ever to be a dentist. We wish our best to everyone out there working hard to get what they deserve in this life!
Continuing Education
Being a professional carries an obligation to keep up with continuing education to stay at the forefront of information and technology in the field of dentistry. At Matawan Dental Galleria, our team is dedicated to keeping up with emerging techniques and protocols to ensure our patients receive the most up to date information and treatment options.
Pictured is Dr. Vin in Guadalajara, Mexico pursuing training in implant surgery, full mouth rehabilitation and ridge augmentation to become a recipient of the International Congress of Implantologists Fellowship Award. After obtaining his ICOI Fellow, he went on to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the American Academy of Clear Aligners and receive his AACA Fellowship. Pursuing these educational opportunities provide our office with the capacity to offer new and cutting edge treatment modalities to serve our patients.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
With how quickly this past year flew by us, we realized two things. Firstly, all these special moments that make up our lives are fleeting just as quickly as they are being formed. And second, if we do not intentionally take some time to “stop and smell the roses,” just like Jack, we will also turn dull! So what’s the answer …How about a quick reset with a trip to Japan? Pictured are Drs. Vin and Veronica with their daughter Amelia in Japan at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Traveling not only helps with gaining insight and perspective into new cultures, it also gives us a much needed break so that we can come back with a greater purpose to serve our patients.
Happy first birthday to Amelia, the Brightest Star in our Skies
After watching your growth and development this year, it’s become clear to us that raising you has been the single greatest experience and privilege of our lifetime. We will never be as close to God as the day we held you in our hands as a newborn. Your precious eyes and goofy smiles give us more purpose than you will ever know. With all our love, Mama and Dada.
Happy Holidays!
The end of the year signifies a time to celebrate all that we achieved the past year, reflect on all the experiences we gained and having gratitude for making it through another year in our time together on Earth. This was our first year in our new office and it has been an incredible journey both personally and professionally. Our path was not easy, but we wouldn’t change a thing. We want to give a special thank you to our families for their support, our staff for all their help and our patients who trust us with their care. We are grateful and blessed beyond belief and look forward to everything coming our way. We wish everyone a very happy holiday and a Happy New Year!!
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
We had a vision and worked extremely hard to bring that vision to reality. It wasn't easy by any means but when looking back, our original goal was to create something special by delivering our patients a nice office—but after the doors opened and we started creating relationships with the beautiful people of the historic city of Matawan and its surrounding areas, we realized the magic was in the relationships created in our office and not so much the office itself. We give special thanks to our respected Mayor Walker of Old Bridge and the Matawan-Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce for making time for our office ribbon cutting ceremony and making it a moment to remember!
Community
A local community is one of the most important influences we have in our lives. Our community imprints us with identity via a sense of belonging, directs our children’s bright futures and fosters our local small businesses. At Matawan Dental Galleria, being part of the neighborhood means taking accountability for our role as community leaders in promoting oral healthcare. Pictured here are Edith and Drs. Vin and Veronica at Matawan Day, a day where the local community shows out! The crew made it their mission to bring the people together by educating and demonstrating the importance of oral hygiene while gaining exposure and making their local presence felt.
Values
We put value on our clothes, our cars, our homes and our lifestyles. But what happens when something comes along to reset our perception on what we thought we valued? We start to REALLY live! Introducing to the world our precious daughter, Amelia V. Rajan.
Time for a Change
After working very hard to bring you the best possible dental experience, the wait is almost over! We have started construction on our new office. Our new space will be modern, spacious and offer all the amenities you would expect to find in a contemporary, patient-centered dental visit. Although the path to get here was not easy, just like Dr. Veronica demonstrates, here is a friendly reminder to be strong enough to break down the walls on anything limiting you from achieving your goals! Join us today.
A New Future
Change can be scary at times, but with proper planning and commitment, it can bring new innovations, perspectives and brighter horizons. We are humbled by the journey that got us to this point and look forward to creating new memories at Matawan Dental Galleria, former office of Dr. Gary Weber. In our transition, we will be working closely with Gary to continue the exceptional care you have come to expect from the practice!
