The specialist dentists Dr. Aladin Sabbagh and Dr. Martin Wirth in conversation.
Dr. Aladin Sabbagh and Dr. Martin Wirth have had their orthodontic practice in Erlangen for 25 years, giving them the longest local experience. In this interview, they talk about their vocation as specialist dentists, their multiple FOCUS awards as “Top Doctors” and happy patients.
From surgeon to orthodontist
Looking into other people’s mouths, examining crooked teeth and figuring out how to straighten them doesn’t seem like an overly interesting profession at first glance. Orthodontists Dr. Aladin Sabbagh and Dr. Martin Wirth see it differently. Sabbagh in particular, who first worked in oral surgery after his state examination, sees his current job as a calling. “Oral surgery was also interesting. It made you feel like half a god in white,” he admits. But orthodontics is more than just a beautiful smile for him. You can prevent many diseases in this profession, and so Sabbagh describes this field as “completing the path of dentistry.”
From young people and their families
According to Sabbagh and Wirth, a great aspect about the practice’s daily routine is the patient contact.
“What’s special about orthodontics is that you deal with a lot of young, happy, easygoing people”
Dr. DDS/Syr. Aladin Sabbagh
What’s also interesting, he says, is that over the course of a patient’s intensive, long-term treatment, you gradually get to know their entire social environment. Sometimes the students come with their parents, then again with grandma or grandpa, and now and then they probably bring friends along.
From priests to nuclear engineers
When asked what kind of curiosities they experience in their profession, both specialists have funny stories to tell. Dr. Martin Wirth recounts, “One experience we will never forget is when a patient threw up in the mouthwash basin after his spaghetti meal.” Incidentally, such an incident can be easily avoided these days by using innovative scanners in the practice.
Sabbagh, on the other hand, tells of a pastor who left the church after treatment to get married. His new smile was simply too beautiful. And who says you don’t experience anything in an orthodontic practice in Erlangen? A nuclear engineer, on the other hand, once presented the orthodontists with unusual challenges. He wanted to know in detail what materials the braces’ brackets are made of and how exactly the materials behave in cold and heat, i.e. when eating ice cream or drinking tea.
“It makes us happiest when our patients are satisfied after treatment.”
Awarded by FOCUS
The orthodontics practice has been named a top medical practice by FOCUS several times. This is a great honor because, as the doctors tell us, you cannot apply for it, but are selected by a research team. Patient evaluations, recommendations by colleagues and the number of scientific publications are among the criteria that are important for the award. So it’s no wonder that the orthodontics practice is doing so well. Having moved from Friedrichstrasse to Hugo, the doctors doubled the number of treatment chairs to ten. Their patients do not only come from Erlangen. About ten percent are national and international patients.
Just another day
The daily routine in the orthodontics practice begins around 8 a.m.. In the morning, mainly adult patients come. In the afternoon, mainly school-age patients are treated. The first appointment is a non-binding and free consultation. It takes place in a neutral room without the typical dentist’s utensils, so that even excited patients can find peace. However, the two doctors have little to say about people who have a panic fear of treatment. “We refer anything that hurts to the dentist. We don’t give injections; we don’t pull teeth; we have surgery,” Dr. Aladin Sabbagh tells us. In addition to innovative techniques and equipment, the inventions of Dr. DDS/Syr. Aladin Sabbagh, such as the Sabbagh Universal Spring or AquaSplint, also help to simplify orthodontic treatment and shorten the treatment time. So: Don’t be afraid of the orthodontist – at least not with Dr. Aladin Sabbagh and Dr. Martin Wirth!
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