Dr. David Skarin is founder of Skarin Orthodontics and inventor of ground-breaking orthodontic technology that advances patient care in ways never before seen in orthodontics. Graduate and former professor of Northwestern Dental School, Dr. Skarin demonstrates his dedication to improving orthodontics for patients and orthodontists, alike.
As a perpetual student and classic wire-bender that excels at a wide variety of orthodontic treatment techniques, Dr. Skarin is highly capable of treating even the most complex cases. He believes that each patients case is unique and that an orthodontist is responsible for providing the best patient treatment for each individual patient. He values his patients trust and, as a result, provides them with various treatment options when evaluating their needs, not applying a cookie cutter approach to all.
The specialty of orthodontics is different from any other area of dentistry. A player commented to me while umpiring a Chicago Park District softball game that I had two of the worst jobs imaginable: umpiring and dentistry.
I thought about it and realized he was wrong. It is true that many people see the dentist as nothing more than a repair person, managing to fix problems that occur during a lifetime of use. But orthodontics is different. There is a level of appreciation that comes from every person whom I have helped, and the lifetime of smiles speaks volumes. The personality changes that frequently occur in patients who previously would never smile are wonderful to experience and mean everything to me. Knowing I have treated them in ways they would not have experienced elsewhere gives me complete satisfaction.
The personal interaction with each patient is very important to me. I want to get to know each of them well, and the manner in which I practice defines that. I utilize no chairside assistants: all clinical work is performed by me, and only me. I have long felt that if people are paying for my expertise, then they should receive it, all the time. And by being the only individual working on each patient, I develop a comfort level with each patient that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.
I attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and received my Bachelor of Arts in 1974 with majors in biology and history. While there, I lettered four years in baseball, two in football, and played in the basketball pep band, all while preparing for a career in dentistry. I received my Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Northwestern Universitys Dental School in 1978 and my masters degree and orthodontic specialty certificate from Northwestern in 1980.
Having been in orthodontic treatment personally for six years and knowing the levels of discomfort patients endure, I continue to explore ways that treatment can be effectively rendered with as little discomfort as possible. This is the basis for the David Doctrine, a personal philosophy that maximizes comfort and results for every patient.
As a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the Midwestern Society of Orthodontists, and the Illinois Society of Orthodontists, I participate in and attend all of the continuing education seminars given throughout the year, as well as review the professional journals published monthly. Every healthcare professional has no higher obligation than to continue to learn in order to provide the best of care to the people who give us the honor of treating them. Being a perpetual student is truly a requirement in order to do that. In addition, I have taught at Northwesterns Graduate Orthodontic Department for the last 13 years of the schools existence, and collaborated on many research projects and continued to develop curriculum and techniques that benefited the students I taught as well as the patients I treat.
I am married to Brenda Dudley Skarin, who has a Ph.D. in speech pathology and has a private practice in Naperville. We have two sons: the oldest lives in Texas, has a masters degree in interactive technologies, and develops video games (the last one he helped develop was game of the year in 2013: The Last of Us, Naught Dog Studios); the youngest just completed a BA and BS in preparation for dental school, but is putting that career on hold while he develops an already impressive golf game.
When Im not at work, I can be found on a golf course, coaching baseball at all levels, running batting practice for the local high school team, working with the punters and kickers in the summer and fall, on the ski slopes, basketball court, traveling, and doing projects either at home or at the office. I like to keep busy, stay in good shape, and live life to the fullest!
Most of my community involvement is connected with our church, where I continue to serve in many organizational capacities and use my musical abilities to serve in the choir as well as a substitute organist, an important lifetime avocation.
Since we use a lighter, more continuous force on the teeth, we do not have the same heavy and immediate forces on the teeth that are caused by retightening of braces or snapping in each new aligner tray.
The words 'ground-breaking' and 'revolutionary' really do not have the same meaning as they once did. We understand. There is so much marketing in today 's day and age that it is almost impossible to differentiate the geniune from mere hype. The truth of the matter is, the reason why our advantages are so significant is not because we built an improved orthodontic device to straighten teeth. This it not a new aligner or a new bracket, this is a completely new way of moving teeth that does not use the same mechanics of orthodontics that have been assumed by braces and aligners for the last 100 years. We like to think of this as the biggest advancement in orthodontic technology in over 100 years because it breaks away from how teeth have traditionally been moved. Dr. Skarin invented a completely different technique for moving teeth that not only overcomes the current limitations of orthodontic technology, but it truly revolutionizes how teeth can be moved.
The graph above shows the movement speed of our device compared to aligners. Teeth move at very small increments that are hard to see on the screen, so these lines are a blown up version of the speed of movement at a scale of 133x. We want to reiterate, these are actual rates of tooth movement.
Comparing movement speed is always difficult because it is not an exact science. This is also why marketing for different devices is so difficult to understand nowadays. Seemingly every device is faster than the other, and others use other studies to try to substantiate their own methodology of testing for speed.
For us, we want to be as upfront and as objectively honest as we can possibly be. We are very proud of what we are offering, but more importantly, we want our patients to understand orthodontics on a more technical level. This way, orthodontic healthcare for everyone not only increases, but it also further substantiates our technology.
As to the graphs above, our measure of speed is objectively measured by mechanics. The graph states that in two weeks 'aligners move 0.3mm max.' What we mean by this, is that aligners are made from a clear plastic material that has a known range of material deflection before it permanently deforms of 0.2-.0.3 mm, depending on the company and their proprietary acrylic materials. What this means is the teeth can only move as far as that material can deflect and force the teeth back to the original, un-deformed or passive position of the tray. This distance was readily available by asking the various sales teams who were happy to answer.
For The Skarin System, we are not limited by the flex of a clear aligner material. We are able to determine through accurate, superimposed photographs what distances the teeth move over a known period of time. Knowing the distance moved over time will determine rate, and is conservatively compared to the known rate of aligners to compare treatment times.As previously stated, the Skarin System can move teeth up to 5 times that of aligners.
*AN IMPORTANT POINT* - even if the rate of movement was exactly the same, the significantly lighter continuous forces placed on the teeth in the Skarin System are far safer, more easily tolerated than any aligner system can hope to duplicate. This is how we can state a measurement of 1.5mm max and ultimately make the claim that our movement speed is up to 5x faster than aligners.
Even for cases that require small adjustments for alignment, this principle would still hold true. The Skarin System accomplishes this task up to five times faster than aligners. Moreover, treatment will be accomplished with a gentle force on the teeth that our patients say they can barely feel. Patients often describe the force as 'pressure' but without any soreness or pain.
We created this chart to help you go through the technical details of how our device compares on a technical level. We always strive to give more detail. We know it takes more time on your part, but we truly do believe that the best way to understand our device is by understanding more about how the traditional treatments work.
Personal one-on-one care is not just a catch phrase, it is the only way we provide treatment. Every aspect of your treatment, from initial screening, to lifetime retention checks (Dr. Skarins lifetime!) is rendered by Dr. Skarin, and only Dr. Skarin.
There are many aspects of our practice that set us apart from all others. We invite you to see how our treatment philosophy of putting the patient first -- above all else -- runs through every aspect of our practice.
Your treatment may require various techniques to best treat your case. The multiple appliances and techniques taught at Northwestern Universitys orthodontic program provided Dr. Skarin a diverse background to treat cases and a wide range of resources to draw from at any stage of treatment. Dr. Skarin continued that rich teaching tradition for seventeen years with extensive experience treating orthognathic surgery cases, cleft palate, tongue thrust, and TMJ difficulties.
Presently, more and more dental and orthodontic practices are being bought out by large dental service organizations. With this comes both expected and unexpected changes. Office efficiency is maximized, staff are universally trained, supplies and appliances are standardized to cut costs, and in many cases, quotas are established as the bottom line is expected to be maintained.
Unfortunately, with this business-first model, the professional staffing resembles a revolving door. There is little assurance that the doctor who initially treated and planned the case will be the one who finishes it. In addition, the personal responsibility for the patient, which is so important to Dr. Skarin, is then relegated up the corporate ladder to be dealt with by various assistants and doctors. For us, we believe personal connection is incredibly important when it comes to healthcare of any kind. Skarin Orthodontics will always be a practice first, not a business. Dr. Skarin knows each and every one of his patients and always looks forward to seeing them decades later for their regular complementary retention checks.