About Us
Meet Mark E. Silberg, DMD
Dr. Mark Silberg, Periodontist, Implantologist
Dr. Silberg is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from Peabody High School's Scholars Program he received his BS in Psychology from the University of Syracuse. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh and received his dental degree in 1978. After graduation, he received his postdoctoral specialty training in periodontology from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1980, he moved back to Pittsburgh to join the faculty of the Pitt Dental School as an Assistant Clinical Professor and began his private practice of periodontics, known as The Silberg Center For Dental Science.
Dr. Silberg is the founder of the Discovery Study Club, which promotes continuing education and training for member dentists and their staffs. He lectures on implants and periodontics.
Since my earliest days in dental school, I have been fascinated with the concept of replacing teeth. I always wondered why in the world we had to destroy perfectly good teeth by grinding them down in order to replace, or repair, a tooth with a crown or a bridge. Or, why we were still being taught how to make and place dentures in people’s mouths, when the treatment was 300 years old. Surely, I thought, there had to be a better way. It just didn't make sense to me.
In 1974, when I started dental school, dental implants were generally not being done. I heard stories and rumors that a New York dentist, Leonard Linkow, was experimenting with dental implants, but he was said to be a "mad man." Many also believed that a dental implant could never really replace a tooth and, therefore, Leonard was harshly criticized and nearly run out of the profession, just like Galileo or any of the other great minds of science who dared to challenge the status quo.
Upon graduation from the University of Pittsburgh Dental School, I turned down an oral surgery program in 1978 and instead,I accepted an advanced specialty training program in Periodontics at the University of Pennsylvania. I wanted to be able to save teeth instead of removing them.
In late 1984, I found out that Dr. Linkow had perfected dental implant treatment and was training other dentists to place dental implants. I made sure that I was able to get my very first training in implant dentistry directly with Dr. Linkow in early 1985. Thus, my implant career began. Since then, my primary interest has been to determine how to make the use of dental implants more predictable and more available to patients. My focus today in permanent teeth dental implant dentistry has evolved into fine-tuning the dental implant placement process, to maximize the esthetics of the final restoration and the duration of the implant, while minimizing any inconvenience to my patients by making the process safer and more efficient.
From day one of my life as a periodontist, I have worked to promote the importance of the highest quality treatment, along with the highest possible regard for the patient’s health, safety and comfort, within my own practice, and within the community of dental and medical professionals. These values have become the guiding principles of my (and my staff's) approach to medicine, embodied in our patient CARE Continuum.
When I'm not practicing dental implant dentistry I share my experience and insight with fellow dentists. I have always loved to teach and share knowledge with my fellow dentists, which is why I formed the Discovery Study Club in 1994. The Discovery Study Club is part of an international network of Seattle Study Clubs for dentists and dental specialists. As the founder and director of the Discovery Study Club, my mission is to promote continuing education and training for member dentists and their staffs by giving us a forum to work together, share knowledge, study and learn new technology and better ways of planning our treatments, for the benefit of our patients. The most rewarding aspect of directing a club like this is that I get to work and study with fellow doctors who all share common values of commitment, excellence and integrity.
I have also lectured extensively on implants and periodontics at a variety of universities and dental associations and societies, such as the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital Dental Department, Children’s Hospital Pediatric Residents, the Three Rivers Dental Meeting and even the Pittsburgh Zoo, where I served as a special advisor.
Read the Article: Dr. Mark Silberg, a member of the Global Dentist Panel, is interviewed by Apex magazine.
VALUOCITY: A Fable for Dentists
Dr. Marc Cooper and Dr. Mark Silberg’s new book, VALUOCITY, is the first practice management book written as a fable. In the style of highly successful business books by Blanchard, Johnson and Lencioni, VALUOCITY tells the story of Dr. Carl Oldquist, a seasoned, previously successful owner of a practice in Madison Wisconsin who is confronting the pressing problems and issues of running a practice in today’s tumultuous economic times.
The recession has directly impacted Carl’s practice. His revenues are down 20 percent, new patients are decreasing, receivables are growing like a weed, his staff is unresponsive to the situation and his personal life is beginning to unravel. Carl feels helpless to turn his situation around.
It is only in the chance meeting with Dr. Sidney Kaprov on the San Antonio River Walk during the annual ADA Convention that Carl is introduced to concepts that will ultimately lead him to understand that the practice he has worked so hard to build is no longer equipped to work in the new economy.
When Carl visits Sidney at his ranch in northern New Mexico, during a highly engaging two and a half days of one-on-one interactions, Carl learns the distinctions that will allow him to reformulate his practice, enabling him to be highly successful and satisfied now and well into the future.
Order VALUOCITY at Amazon.com