Dr Ralph Bastian

Thank you so much for everything Dr Bastian.

I am a new patient, and haven't been to the dentist in 10 years. My teeth were ok but were starting to cause some problems.

I don't have private insurance, and I have had problems finding a dentist that accepted me still. Dr Bastian did not deny me as a patient, and reassured me that I would receive care for whatever happens with a problematic tooth, even if I need a specialist.

Thank you so much for treating me like a person who needed help.

I have been a patient for over 20 years and have always experienced excellent, reliable service. Dr Bastian runs an efficient office where all the staff are pleasant and welcoming.

Outstanding and professional. I have been a patient of Dr. Bastian's for about ten years. He works quickly, efficiently and diligently, and I have always found him to be very personable and helpful. I am someone who is always interested in the latest developments in the sciences, and enjoy enquiring of Dr. Bastian about new developments in dental surgery such as tooth transplants or regenerative medicine, as examples, and he is always up-to-date with the latest information and seems keenly interested in it.

Fortunately for me I have experienced very few dental problems throughout my life, and nothing outside of the scope of a general dental practice, but I am confident that should I ever experience complex dental or intra-oral issues that Dr. Bastian would be able to provide the best techniques and treatments, as well as having a solid network of specialists that he can refer to (such professional networks are a valuable resource, and I have no doubt that Dr. Bastian is held in high regard among his peers).

One of the most impressive things about Dr. Bastian is his acceptance of any patient in need of his services, and his going above-and-beyond the call of duty - certainly above-and-beyond what many of his colleagues would do - to help as many patients as he can. Like in many Ontario cities there are few dentists, here in Peterborough, who will even see patients who are on welfare or disability benefits. I have referred several people on welfare to Dr. Bastian with no issues from his office regarding accepting the patients, quick appointments booked for them, and the same high level of quality care provided to those patients as to the patients who have the money to pay or have generous employer-provided insurance plans. The latest patient I referred has received, within the past two months, a couple of thousand dollars of dental surgery, and easily a thousand dollars or more of it not reimbursed by the municipally funded welfare program. Unlike the vast majority of others dentists who might even accept a patient on welfare in the first place, Dr. Bastian does all the work that needs to be done, with the best interests of the patient in mind (e.g., saving the tooth if possible vs. just pulling it) and clearly absorbs the financial loss so as to not deny every patient equal care regardless of their ability to pay. Perhaps that is part of his Christian (which he is) as well as professional ethics, I don't know, but he is to be commended for his professional management and professional and personal caring of all his patients. Early this year I referred another person on welfare whose own family dentist would not see him if it was a welfare case, but would see him if he could come up with the cash or his mother agreed to pay the bill, and the bill would be nearly $1000.00 for a cleaning which his dentist insisted had to be done in four separate visits (quarter mouth each visit) and with local anaesthetic. The patient asked that the work just be completed in a single visit and without local anaesthetic, and the dentist refused this. Under the $400/year maximum allowance for dental work provided to persons on welfare Dr. Bastian did a full cleaning, xrays and general exam in a single visit, and then a dental filling on a second visit.

Now, I would like to say that I hope my comments won't lead to any problems for Dr. Bastian with a patient arguing about services or cost and referring to my posting and telling Dr. Bastian, "But I read online that you did (this or that) or charged (this or that) for another patient" ... I think it understandable and fair that those individual decisions be left up to Dr. Bastian, and I have full confidence that he makes decisions equitably and fairly, but business is business and I can understand that charity has limits, as it does for all of us. He certainly can't be expected to take every patient on welfare, as an example, and keep a business running doing two, three or four times more work than he is actually paid for.