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Dr. Philip Wasserman was born in Brooklyn, NY just blocks away from the old Brooklyn Dodgers stadium (Ebbets Field) in the Blizzard of ‘47 (no, not 1847!)
He lived in a one bedroom apartment on the third floor and his dentist had his office in a 2nd floor apartment; which Dr. Wasserman literally slid down a bannister and into his office. He doesn’t think that had anything to do with his vocational choice but does admit that there were all kinds of “cool things” in the office.
He went to the NYC public school system, Brooklyn College and did his formal dental training at Temple University School of Dentistry. After a 2 year stint in the US Army as a dentist, he realized that working with adult mouths was not the way to go and at that time decided to go into pediatrics to try to make a difference BEFORE the problems arose. He received his Pediatric training at Brookdale Hospital in, where else, Brooklyn, NY. He joined Dentistry for Children in 1976.
When out of the office, he enjoys skiing, cycling and gardening. His two children are grown and out of the house which he now shares with his two corgi's Nigel and Dylan. You may know corgis as the dogs that grace the palace of Queen Elizabeth. No, they’ve never met but they do twitter often.
Dr. Philip Wasserman, Pediatric Dentist
Dr. Wasserman with Dylan and Nigel
Dr. Wasserman with newest puppy, Dylan
Practice thoughts and philosophies
One of the first responses when I tell people I’m a pediatric dentist is “How can you work with screaming, wriggling kids?” My response is that it’s all in your expectation and if not for pediatric dentists, who then would treat young kids with dental problems so severe that kids as young as one and two may suffer multiple extractions, abscess and life threatening infection. The fact of the matter is that dental caries in children is quite common and you only have to see a child come into the office with a swollen face, fever and having not eaten for several days to understand how dangerous a disease dental caries can be.
The best part of working with kids is that it’s like having thousands of kids of your own growing up before you’re eyes and watching them mature but not having to take them home and feed them!
The toughest part of pediatric dentistry is relating to the parents, having them understand what you’re doing and explaining that the untoward behavior of some kids is just part of who kids are and assuring them that they will eventually become great patients as long as we are caring and consistent in our approach to them. It’s a process that takes time. It’s important to spend time with the parent so they can understand that this is a partnership between the doctor, the child and the parent.
Perhaps the most rewarding experiences are with our special needs patients. Not only are we able to care for and treat these patients but the parents are especially thankful that they have found an office that is not afraid of a little adversity and assure them that they are in the right place. Their life is challenging enough and this is one less thing they need to be concerned with.
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