Thomas J. Dwork, D.M.D - Special Advertising Supplement: Medical Profiles

South Florida CEO, July, 2002

Three Palms Center * 2151 Alternate AIA South * Suite 1300 Jupiter, Florida 33477 * (561) 575-5599

Dr. Thomas Dwork always knew he would follow in his father Henry's footsteps. The elder Dwork, a dentist, was a groundbreaker in the field of aesthetic and theatrical dental prosthesis. "I came from an artistic family. My father was one of the fathers of cosmetic dentistry," says Dwork. "He used to work on all the show business people in New York, and he also did special effects for movies'

Dwork specializes in complex reconstructive work including crowns, veneers, fixed and removable dentures, and implants.

After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University with his doctorate in Dental Medicine and his graduate residency in prosthodontics, Dwork joined his father's practice in New York. He relocated to Jupiter, Florida in 1990, and established his practice, Aesthetic Dental of Jupiter, in the Three Palms Center in 1991.

"We are involved with improving a person's smile, we provide specialized skills and additional training to solve our patients' problems," says Dr. Dwork. His specialty, prosthodontics, requires two additional years of training beyond the general dental degree.

Performing "Smile MakeOvers," says Dwork, involves different procedures customized to the age group of the patient. Patients in their twenties tend to have simpler needs, using bleaching, bonding, composite and veneers that can result in impressive changes in a person's smile. By the time the patient is over forty or fifty years of age, the procedures become more complex, resulting from gum and bite problems that stress teeth and jaw joints, and can require reconstructive dentistry to solve.

In addition to his practice, Dwork educates other dentists to perform aesthetic dentistry, in part through nationwide lectures. He says today's patients are better informed and better educated on smile-restoration techniques which can improve self-image. As in plastic surgery, male patients comprise a growing portion of his clientele.

Recent advances in porcelains, says Dr. Dwork, allow restorations which are indistinguishable from real teeth, and help make natural smiles. "For me, the fun part about my specialty is the artistry," says Dr. Dwork. "I find out from my patients how they want to see themselves. I carve individual teeth to fit their face and then I match their smile to the role they play in life. And I get to play in an artistic and creative way."