Page 10 - FINAL San Diego Woman interactive

San Diego Woman Top Dentist

Dr. Gary Braunstein, DDS

Putting the Care in Carlsbad Dental Care

By Judith A. Habert

Rutgers College in New Jersey, and then locations which I rotate between and have
went on to NYU Dental School. After added some great dentists to work with
graduation, Dr. Braunstein tried to get me in both locations.”
a position in a dental office, but things Working in dentistry for over 40+
were tough for new graduates, so instead years, Dr. Braunstein has seen some major
he joined the Air Force and served his changes to his profession. “While I was
country. studying in Dental School, they intro-
Photo by Judith A. Habert
Dr. Braunstein was stationed in Vic- duced white fillings, but those were only
torville California where he worked as a being used on front teeth, silver fillings
When I have the opportunity to inter-
view those who have attained top levels of
expertise in their fields, I often ask what
made them decide to enter into their cho-
sen profession. When I had the pleasure of
interviewing Dr. Gary Braunstein, whom
we selected as one of San Diego Woman
Magazine’s Top Dentists, this was one of
my first questions.
Dr. Braunstein was born and raised
in New Jersey and was a football enthu-
siast. Who would have guessed that this
would have a role in his decisions later on
in life. “When I was 12 years old, I was
playing football in the street and ran into
a parked car breaking my front tooth. It
happened on a Saturday night. My par-
ents called our family dentist, and he told
them to bring me right over. His office
was in his home and he was just really
wonderful. My tooth ended up needing
a root canal. So, he did the root canal on
the spot, in a tuxedo. As it turned out,
he was at a wedding that evening and he
left it to come to my aid. He was my hero
and at that moment I knew I wanted to
become a dentist. I also realized how bad
you look when you lose a front tooth and
I wouldn’t want anyone to have to deal Photo courtesy of Dr. Gary Braunstein
with that.”
If you are a patient of Dr. Braunstein’s Dentist for the Air Force. After getting out were still being used for the back teeth.
or have had the pleasure of meeting him, of the service, he settled down in Califor- Silver contains mercury, so it has slowly
you would not be surprised by this story. nia, choosing San Diego as the place he disappeared from dentistry. Today, there
All of his patients agree he is probably one would open his own practice. The year are new materials that are much better. In
of the most caring and kindest individuals was 1979, and Dr. Braunstein's practice the early days cosmetic crowns were made
you will ever meet. He treats his patients has been a valued part of the community from porcelain fused to metal, which was
like family and truly listens to the needs ever since. “My first office was a small one groundbreaking at the time, but didn’t
of each. in Encinitas and then we graduated to a prove to last as fused materials are not
Knowing the direction that he wanted bigger one. I opened my current office strong enough to withstand long peri-
his life to take, Dr. Braunstein attended in Carlsbad in 2009. So, I now have two ods of time. Now there are full porcelain

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