This page is a small measure of thanks to Dr. Roland Estrabillo for his care and skills which he provided during a difficult period of rebuilding. His generosity and compassion are exceptional.
I have had the good fortune to be under the care of various excellent dentists over the years. The skill, speed and professionalism shown by Dr. Estrabillo in painless completion of almost a dozen root canals and then full permanent crowns rebuilding a decimated mouth is beyond description.
Even his office is a delight to visit. It is a place where smiles and laughter are the norm, where beautiful and competant staff actually make a visit to the dentist a pleasure. Even Roland is singing the latest hits as he works on his captive audience.
He has my deepest respect.
Bruce Ritchie,
CEO NetStorm Technologies Inc.
The following is an extract from the book "Hamilton - It's Happening" by Sherry Sleightholm and Michael B. Davie. This hard cover photo essay book is in honour of Hamilton, Ontario's 150th Birthday in 1996. ISBN 1-895208-02-5
When it is time to visit the dentist, most people can think of some place that they'd rather be. But Dr. Roland Estrabillo is a dentist who takes pride in making such visits more pleasant by cutting in half the time required for many dental procedures. "We're working faster." notes Dr. Estrabillo, who attributes his time-saving techniques to the best practices he's picked up from other dentists and from a lifetime of continuous learning.
Born and raised in The Philippines, Dr. Estrabillo immigrated to Canada in 1980 at age 20 and made Hamilton his home town. After graduating in l987 from the University of Toronto with a degree in dentistry. Dr. Estrabillo set up practice on Upper Wcntwonh Street in a strip mall opposite Lime Ridge Mall.
Building up his practice from scratch, Dr. Estrabillo went from an empty appointment book to 6,000 to 7,000 active patients by the mid-1990s.
By the early 1990s, he had outgrown his strip mall location and relocated in renovated offices at his former home, also on Upper Wentworth Street.
By 1996 he was contemplating yet another move to larger quarters to accommodate his growing practice. Fueling this impressive growth are referrals from satisfied patients who appreciate the extra care Dr. Estrabillo takes to make their visit pleasant and brief. "We have a system." explains Dr. Estrabillo. "I've learned from other doctors and I've taken courses regularly throughout my career. I copied a lot of the other dentists' better techniques and added some of my own and put it all together to share with others."
That sharing takes place during seminars Dr. Estrabillo hosts to pass on to other dentists some of the efficient, time-saving techniques he's picked up during a cumulative, shared-learning experience spanning his full career. Although general family dentistry still accounted for 75 per cent of his practice in the mid-1990s, Dr. Estrabillo was concentrating more on full-mouth reconstructive dentistry as a growing, and satisfying, part of his work.
"After the orthodontist and periodontist have treated the patient. I perform the bridge work, teeth implants, crowns, veneers and cosmetic improvements to their teeth," he explains.
"Normally a crown takes an hour. Now we can cut that to just half-an-hour, so the patient is more comfortable."
Dr. Estrabillo notes this full-mouth reconstruction, comprehensive dentistry can improve chewing efficiency, improve the functioning of the jaw, save teeth and actually make people look younger with whiter, rearranged, straighter teeth which support the mouth better.
Through referrals from satisfied full-mouth reconstructive dentistry patients, Dr. Estrabillo's work has drawn patients from Seattle, Washington, Texas, California and the Philippines. "That's an exiting part of this process - we can help people even from a considerable distance," says Dr. Estrabillo, who has provided basic dental care at no charge to residents of nursing homes in an effort to give back to the community by helping people who might otherwise never seek out dental services.
And Dr. Estrabillo is quick to attribute the success of his busy practice to his staff of 12, including a fellow dentist, a hygienist and support staff. "My staff is the best in the world," he asserts. "Without them, I could not have achieved anything that I have achieved. They play a very big role in our success. They run my office and they take very good care of our patients.
Dr. Estrabillo also credits his wife Maria, who operates her own laboratory from his office, for "being the technician who does the laboratory work for crowns, bridges and veneers. Maria helps us provide customized care to every patient.
And Dr. Estrabillo is grateful for the input, advice and support he has received from "my mentors," fellow dentists and friends from all walks of life who have helped him overcome problems and achieve new levels of success in a demanding, time-consuming career.
"Success is never something you achieve all by yourself," he says. "It's when you learn from others and share your own experiences that you improve in the process. And everyone benefits from this type of sharing."