It Starts with a Smile
Dr. Brian Handel and his team at Wayne Dental Care specialize in transforming patients’ smiles and, in turn, vastly improving their quality of life.
“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
It’s a common turn of phrase that lines the office walls of individuals who work in the dental profession, but Brian Handel, D.M.D., knows first-hand that it’s far more than just a catchy quote. At his Main Line dental practice Wayne Dental Care, Dr. Handel and his staff have spent nearly 30 years transforming imperfect smiles into healthy, brilliant ones—and, by extension, significantly improving the quality of patients’ lives.
“My favorite thing to do is help people get that smile they’ve always wanted and immediately change their lives for the better,” Dr. Handel says. “I’ve had patients come in with their hand covering their mouth as we talked because they were embarrassed about how their teeth looked. We start out by talking to them about themselves, their families, and what is the motivation for coming to see us. We deep-dive into what they want.”
In other words, he gets to know them as people before he starts treating them as patients.
“After we give them that smile they’ve always wanted, they can’t thank us enough,” he adds. “Patients come back to us and say they’ve met the person of their dreams or got the job of their dreams and attribute it to their smile and how it improved their personality. The change in their smiles and personality is dramatic.”
Personalized, Comfortable, Safe
Wayne Dental Care offers the latest, most effective treatments and procedures in the industry. Dr. Handel’s team possesses the skills and expertise to address virtually any dentistry-related need, whether a patient requires general dentistry or something more cosmetic in nature, or perhaps both. In fact, the practice has earned a sterling reputation throughout the region for its ability to deliver these services in a personalized and comfortable environment with the safest, most technologically advanced equipment available.
Wayne Dental Care specializes in cosmetic analysis, laser dentistry, dental implants, dentures and partials, as well as implants restoration, metal-free crowns, veneers, tooth-colored fillings, root canals, gum care, preventative care, and teeth whitening. The practice also offers sedation dentistry, orthodontics such as ClearCorrect/Invisalign, and oral cancer screenings. In addition, the practice provides treatments for troublesome conditions such as sleep apnea and temporomandibular joint disorder, often referred to as TMJ or TMD.
“Things go on in the mouth that can be predictors of future overall health,” notes Dr. Handel. “Some people will come in with high blood pressure and wonder why. We’ll examine them and find out it’s related to sleep apnea, which we can treat.”
Dr. Handel acknowledges that a visit to the dentist can sometimes wrack the nerves, not only for children but also for adults. At Wayne Dental Care, Dr. Handel and his team address these concerns by ensuring patients are as comfortable as possible. Among the many comforts offered in the office are headphones for music and TVs in every room, as well as soft pillows, warm blankets, and lavender-scented cloths for relaxation.
“Patients want an environment where they feel comfortable, and we provide that for them,” Dr. Handel says. “We also pride ourselves on using the latest techniques and materials that are less invasive and quicker to do. Another thing we pride ourselves on is treating patients the way they used to be treated in health care a long time ago. Today patients go to the doctor and have to wait forever, or wait forever to get a doctor on the phone. We are always there for our patients when they need us.”
In Good Hands
In practice since 1987, Dr. Handel is a graduate of the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University, and he has been named to the “America’s Top Dentists” list six times since 2009. His many industry affiliations include membership in the Academy of General Dentistry, the International Association of Orthodontics, the Academy of Laser Dentistry, the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation, and the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, which emphasizes education in TMJ treatment and sleep-related breathing disorders.
Dr. Handel has also completed continuing education at the world-renowned Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Cosmetic Studies, as well as advanced training in aesthetics, periodontics, implants, ceramic restorations, laser dentistry, and orthodontics. He is also ClearCorrect certified.
The son of a World War II prisoner of war, Dr. Handel was the first of his family to graduate from college, and was followed into dentistry by a younger sister, Michelle. He remains committed to the “work hard and help your neighbors” lessons imparted from his blue-collar upbringing in Delaware County.
Since the 1990s, he has volunteered his dental services to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Give Back a Smile program, which offers complimentary cosmetic care to domestic violence survivors. He also offers his services free of charge to the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped, a national charitable organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of citizens with physical, medical, and mental disabilities by providing dental care to disabled and aged individuals who cannot afford treatment and are not eligible for public assistance.
“The organizations contact me about patients in need in my area,” Dr. Handel says. “We evaluate them and care for them at no charge. The labs and specialists also are free of charge. It’s a great network of providers and support companies. The people are so thankful. My staff and I love doing this for them. It’s a way of giving back to the community.”
Dr. Handel recently encountered one of those patients with hand over mouth, sad instead of smiling. The woman, only in her 20s, had a host of dental problems, including many broken teeth and rampant decay, caused by a combination of health issues and neglect. The woman’s grandmother could no longer stand idly as dental problems damaged her granddaughter’s life, so she took her to see Dr. Handel. In his care, the young woman’s smile—and her life—improved dramatically.
“Her transformation was unbelievable,” he says. “It changed how she looked and also how she felt about herself.”
Dr. Handel gave that patient the smile she had always wanted. Put another way, he set everything straight.
Wayne Dental Care
295 Old Eagle School Road
Wayne, Pa.
(610) 624-6730
WayneDentalCare.com
Photography by Jeff Anderson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life Magazine, November 2018.
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