June 11, 2025 • 17 mins
We spoke with Dr. Abbas Mohammadi, Founder and Clinical Director of Columbia Dental about extractions, dental implants and what's new in orthodontic technology.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is doctor Abbas Mohammadi. He is founder and
clinical director of Columbia Dental.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, doctor, Good morning Alison. How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm great?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Thank you, how are you excellent?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Thank you for being here today. For those who don't
know about Columbia Dental, you have so many offices, you
serve so many needs. Where are you located and how
many are there?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
So let me give you a little bit background. The
Columbia Dental actually founded by me as a sole practitioner
in seven hundred and fifty square feet building in Manchester, Connecticut.
I opened that location mainly as a hobby rather than
(00:48):
you know, didn't have that goal to have my own practice.
So I was working on after in another dental practice.
I was bored in Kennedy, get coming from you know,
all my life, I was in the bigger city more
than a nine milon people, any cities that I lived
(01:11):
through all my life until I got to Connecticut. So
I got the most cultural shock when I got to
you to the suburb. So I wanted to keep myself busy.
I was single at that time, so open the office
as a hobby. But when I opened, I discovered something
(01:37):
very you know that helped me economically to expand my
business was that I saw so many people or wanted
to come. They so demand to come after hours and
on weekends. So as the result, you know, my business
(02:01):
model is still operating seven days a week and we
are open after hours. And based on that business model,
I was able to expand within the same location or
Manchester location.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Of course, I expanded.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And I purchased other you know, places within the Manchester
to be able to expand open and then start to
expanding through the whole Connecticut. So right now we have
offices from Norwalk to Enfield, from New Milford to Waterbury, Manchester,
(02:44):
so we cover all the state or every corner of Connecticut.
We have a place for our patients to go.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And how many offices do you have today?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Totally we are twelve location and but all locations are connected.
We have a very robust networking. That means all the
officers live. That means we share the radiograph, we share
the patient information, insurance, everything it shared within the cloud.
(03:23):
And so let's say our patients it's been seen let's
say three months ago in Waterbury end up to move
or for whatever reasons, come in Manchester location for emergency.
We have all the information so we don't have no
start all over again and request the record from another doctor.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We know exactly what.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
The insurance demographic is, what you know insurance has, what
radiography is, so everything it shared.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
We are a very robot.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Networking in our practices. So although we are twelve location,
in reality we are one.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Okay that's wonderful, yes, but all of the information is
there regardless where you visit, and you serve anywhere from
toddlers all the way to seniors.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
We have pediatric dentists that we see patients from even
age one and you know, I just we made removed
teeth and made a denture to just this past sunday
for somebody was ninety nine years old. So so you
(04:43):
name it. We serve all the you know type of population.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Wow, ninety nine and they wanted nice dentures.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Yes, of course they want a nice nice denture is
And frankly they could have even implant if they wanted
to do. Because the patient biologically was okay, but had
some old bridges that was falling out of his mouth.
(05:13):
So of course they came because they wanted to remove
the bridges obviously, but then we told them, okay, we
can remove it, but how it can be replaced. So
having the laboratory on parmises, we were able to do
everything in the same day. So we had to remove
(05:36):
all the upper tief and we insert the denter those
type of dentsires that we make in it before extraction.
We call it immediate denture because the dentire will be
made while the patient is on the chair and we're
removing the thief. So by the time the extraction completed,
(05:58):
the dentually already been fabricated, and the patient is walking
out of the office with teeth.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Oh my goodness, they just must smile so big. Oh yeah,
feels so much better to not have teeth. It's so
difficult and it doesn't matter what age you are.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
They were very grateful. The patient already was a retired physician,
and yeah, they call us the next day. They were
very grateful for the services that they received.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
That on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Wow, what a genius you are having everything on the
premises like that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well, yes, this is something that you know.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
People saying, Although I appreciate your characterization of the genius.
But Alison, there is no secret in this. There is
nothing us about it. If you work hard and you
put your mind, you can do whatever you wanted to do.
(07:08):
So this is it and there is no secret. There
is no trade secret of Columbia Dental or any anybody
genius beyond it. No nothing. You just put your mind,
go every day, work hard, try to do your best,
and try to deliver the best for your patients.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Well, you're being humble, but I thought to myself, the
fact that he came up with this concept was genius.
It was brilliant, very very smart to have it all
right there. It's like one stop shop of.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Course, to make things happen.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
But that's it become after you wanted to have the
ambitious and you wanted to deliver the best for your patient.
It comes after Yeah, okay, these ideas happened, you know,
like I was sleeping or was walking in the park
and it came to my mind. Those ideas came as
(08:09):
my business evolved, as I never get satisfied to make
better satisfactions for my patients. So it becomes after evolving it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
But the fact that you implemented those ideas, you're just
not going to take any credit for anything at all,
but it really is a reflection of who you are
and how much you care about your patients. Let's talk
about extractions today. If someone had a bad tooth, then
they need to have it removed. Do they see an
oral surgeon? What should a patient look for if they're
(08:45):
in the situation.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Extractions years ago?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Is we just removed the tief and we didn't care
when we're removing the teeth how much of the bone
removed during the extractions. So the bottom line was take
the tooth out because there is you know, the tooth
is hopeless. But in a recent year, there is a
(09:12):
new concept came in the oral surgery and we call
it socket preservation. Socket preservation means that we need to
do the surgery very a traumatic. We need to preserve
as much as bone we can, and following the extraction,
(09:32):
we want it to many times we can place the
implant concurrently. So imagine, when we remove the tooth, there
is a hole we call it socket. Within that socket,
we place the implant body, which is a titanium post.
We covered the gap between that titanium post with some
(09:54):
bone graph material and we cover it with collagen memory,
and we put the tissue back together. The patients leave
the office for three four months and it comes back
and then we can put the implant. Now, the advantage
is on many advantages of placing the implant concurrently, which
(10:18):
we call it immediate placement, is that by doing that
it preserves the bone. Because if we don't fill the
whole or socket with the implant or with the bone
graph material, that socket is going to fill love with
(10:39):
the blood clo Obviously that clot predominantly is going to
be transformed to the soft tissue or connective tissue. So
the patient comes back after two years and we wanted
to place the implant at that time, might not be
enough sufficient bone or the bone would not be on
(11:03):
that good quality. So we cannot place the ideal size
of the implant at that time. So for that reason,
patients are seeking to remove their battieve always has to
look at for the facility that they offer that services. Okay,
(11:25):
it doesn't mean that you know some aral surgeon they do,
some they don't. They have to, especially if they're interested
for replacement of their tieth at least down a road
to go to the facilities that they performed those things, okay,
because they still you know, it's all about the public awareness,
(11:47):
even sometimes by the phone ringing out of the my
office and sometimes believe or not, I have to pick
up the phone too. And the first thing the person was, Oh,
you guys doing extraction. You know what I mean? So
I want the patients. No, is not just removing the thief.
(12:07):
They have to go to the places that they can
think or they have the capacity to prepare for the
next step or do the following. Many patients, for economical
reasons or sometimes for biological reasons, we cannot do immediate
placement because there is not even sufficient bone, or do
(12:31):
the severity of the infections. One of the wall of
the bone is completely gone, so we cannot stable the implant.
But even those cases, we wanted to do a bone
graphic and cover that with the college and Membry to
gain bone and preserve the bone for future placement of
(12:54):
the implant.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Okay, I'm gonna switch gears for a minute. Sure, if
it's okay, we'll talk about orthodimes. Is there anything new
going on in that area?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yes, I'm sure you heard a word about a clear
aligner on an in Wizilne. When the in gwie Zeilan
came years ago, was was very limitated.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Just we use that.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
On a most you know, a very minor orthodontic movement.
We use a lot of races. I know your daughter
went through.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yes you did, my daughter's races just beautiful teeth.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
So and but but these days almost ninety ninety five
percent our ar cases it done by in Biezilan and
clear aligners. Amazing the technology there. We have reached a
very amazing result just using those with a lot patient
(14:01):
love it. Obviously they don't have those you know, bracket
on their teeth. They you know, classmates, they don't bully them.
They you know, eliminate the hygiene. Would be much easier
because they it's a removable so they can remove.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It and brush it flows it.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Every patient with the braces, you say, after two years,
eighteen months, you know, there is a lot of bleeding,
a load of gum inflammation. It eliminates a lot of
problems and it's so easy. So the chair time it
would say one third, yes of of you know, if
(14:50):
you accumulatively you're added up all the time because you
just you know, if we don't need even these days.
Take there in pression. We have a scanner called iTero,
so everything it done in the cloud. And you know,
we take the scanning, they make the model, no impression,
(15:12):
everything done. They just you know, we get the tray,
we deliver the tray. So imagine the hours that the
orthodontist has to you know, spend time to place every bracket.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
We call it bonding.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And then after you know, eighteen months, two years, then
another hour and a half two hours the doctor dantis
has to spend time to debonding those procedures is eliminated
to five minutes, you know, without you know, any sensitivity,
without any issue putting those acid age, put the bonding.
(15:54):
It eliminated a lot of hazards and the result is amazing.
Everything calculated by AI and technology. The forces because you know,
sometimes you know, you put too much forces and the
(16:15):
tieve the you know, passions not to you know, develop
some type of siptom pain or whatever.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You know.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
The old traditional orthodontics, there is a lot of guessing
was involved because it was based on the empirical experience
and knowledge of the orthodontists. Now these days, the knowledge
of the orthodontists is combined without the technology. So that
(16:45):
is a revolutionary phenomenon that we have in me. You know,
I find it fascinating this technology.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Speaking with doctor Abbas Mohammadi, founder and clinical director of
Colombia Dental. If you need a tooth extracted or an implant,
they do pediatric dentistry, you name it. Go to Colombiadental
dot com for more information. Thank you so much for
being here and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Thank you so much, Allison
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is doctor Abbas Mohammadi. He is founder and
clinical director of Columbia Dental.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, doctor, Good morning Alison. How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm great?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Thank you, how are you excellent?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Thank you for being here today. For those who don't
know about Columbia Dental, you have so many offices, you
serve so many needs. Where are you located and how
many are there?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
So let me give you a little bit background. The
Columbia Dental actually founded by me as a sole practitioner
in seven hundred and fifty square feet building in Manchester, Connecticut.
I opened that location mainly as a hobby rather than
(00:48):
you know, didn't have that goal to have my own practice.
So I was working on after in another dental practice.
I was bored in Kennedy, get coming from you know,
all my life, I was in the bigger city more
than a nine milon people, any cities that I lived
(01:11):
through all my life until I got to Connecticut. So
I got the most cultural shock when I got to
you to the suburb. So I wanted to keep myself busy.
I was single at that time, so open the office
as a hobby. But when I opened, I discovered something
(01:37):
very you know that helped me economically to expand my
business was that I saw so many people or wanted
to come. They so demand to come after hours and
on weekends. So as the result, you know, my business
(02:01):
model is still operating seven days a week and we
are open after hours. And based on that business model,
I was able to expand within the same location or
Manchester location.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Of course, I expanded.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And I purchased other you know, places within the Manchester
to be able to expand open and then start to
expanding through the whole Connecticut. So right now we have
offices from Norwalk to Enfield, from New Milford to Waterbury, Manchester,
(02:44):
so we cover all the state or every corner of Connecticut.
We have a place for our patients to go.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And how many offices do you have today?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Totally we are twelve location and but all locations are connected.
We have a very robust networking. That means all the
officers live. That means we share the radiograph, we share
the patient information, insurance, everything it shared within the cloud.
(03:23):
And so let's say our patients it's been seen let's
say three months ago in Waterbury end up to move
or for whatever reasons, come in Manchester location for emergency.
We have all the information so we don't have no
start all over again and request the record from another doctor.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We know exactly what.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
The insurance demographic is, what you know insurance has, what
radiography is, so everything it shared.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
We are a very robot.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Networking in our practices. So although we are twelve location,
in reality we are one.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Okay that's wonderful, yes, but all of the information is
there regardless where you visit, and you serve anywhere from
toddlers all the way to seniors.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
We have pediatric dentists that we see patients from even
age one and you know, I just we made removed
teeth and made a denture to just this past sunday
for somebody was ninety nine years old. So so you
(04:43):
name it. We serve all the you know type of population.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Wow, ninety nine and they wanted nice dentures.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Yes, of course they want a nice nice denture is
And frankly they could have even implant if they wanted
to do. Because the patient biologically was okay, but had
some old bridges that was falling out of his mouth.
(05:13):
So of course they came because they wanted to remove
the bridges obviously, but then we told them, okay, we
can remove it, but how it can be replaced. So
having the laboratory on parmises, we were able to do
everything in the same day. So we had to remove
(05:36):
all the upper tief and we insert the denter those
type of dentsires that we make in it before extraction.
We call it immediate denture because the dentire will be
made while the patient is on the chair and we're
removing the thief. So by the time the extraction completed,
(05:58):
the dentually already been fabricated, and the patient is walking
out of the office with teeth.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Oh my goodness, they just must smile so big. Oh yeah,
feels so much better to not have teeth. It's so
difficult and it doesn't matter what age you are.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
They were very grateful. The patient already was a retired physician,
and yeah, they call us the next day. They were
very grateful for the services that they received.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
That on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Wow, what a genius you are having everything on the
premises like that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well, yes, this is something that you know.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
People saying, Although I appreciate your characterization of the genius.
But Alison, there is no secret in this. There is
nothing us about it. If you work hard and you
put your mind, you can do whatever you wanted to do.
(07:08):
So this is it and there is no secret. There
is no trade secret of Columbia Dental or any anybody
genius beyond it. No nothing. You just put your mind,
go every day, work hard, try to do your best,
and try to deliver the best for your patients.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Well, you're being humble, but I thought to myself, the
fact that he came up with this concept was genius.
It was brilliant, very very smart to have it all
right there. It's like one stop shop of.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Course, to make things happen.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
But that's it become after you wanted to have the
ambitious and you wanted to deliver the best for your patient.
It comes after Yeah, okay, these ideas happened, you know,
like I was sleeping or was walking in the park
and it came to my mind. Those ideas came as
(08:09):
my business evolved, as I never get satisfied to make
better satisfactions for my patients. So it becomes after evolving it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
But the fact that you implemented those ideas, you're just
not going to take any credit for anything at all,
but it really is a reflection of who you are
and how much you care about your patients. Let's talk
about extractions today. If someone had a bad tooth, then
they need to have it removed. Do they see an
oral surgeon? What should a patient look for if they're
(08:45):
in the situation.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Extractions years ago?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Is we just removed the tief and we didn't care
when we're removing the teeth how much of the bone
removed during the extractions. So the bottom line was take
the tooth out because there is you know, the tooth
is hopeless. But in a recent year, there is a
(09:12):
new concept came in the oral surgery and we call
it socket preservation. Socket preservation means that we need to
do the surgery very a traumatic. We need to preserve
as much as bone we can, and following the extraction,
(09:32):
we want it to many times we can place the
implant concurrently. So imagine, when we remove the tooth, there
is a hole we call it socket. Within that socket,
we place the implant body, which is a titanium post.
We covered the gap between that titanium post with some
(09:54):
bone graph material and we cover it with collagen memory,
and we put the tissue back together. The patients leave
the office for three four months and it comes back
and then we can put the implant. Now, the advantage
is on many advantages of placing the implant concurrently, which
(10:18):
we call it immediate placement, is that by doing that
it preserves the bone. Because if we don't fill the
whole or socket with the implant or with the bone
graph material, that socket is going to fill love with
(10:39):
the blood clo Obviously that clot predominantly is going to
be transformed to the soft tissue or connective tissue. So
the patient comes back after two years and we wanted
to place the implant at that time, might not be
enough sufficient bone or the bone would not be on
(11:03):
that good quality. So we cannot place the ideal size
of the implant at that time. So for that reason,
patients are seeking to remove their battieve always has to
look at for the facility that they offer that services. Okay,
(11:25):
it doesn't mean that you know some aral surgeon they do,
some they don't. They have to, especially if they're interested
for replacement of their tieth at least down a road
to go to the facilities that they performed those things, okay,
because they still you know, it's all about the public awareness,
(11:47):
even sometimes by the phone ringing out of the my
office and sometimes believe or not, I have to pick
up the phone too. And the first thing the person was, Oh,
you guys doing extraction. You know what I mean? So
I want the patients. No, is not just removing the thief.
(12:07):
They have to go to the places that they can
think or they have the capacity to prepare for the
next step or do the following. Many patients, for economical
reasons or sometimes for biological reasons, we cannot do immediate
placement because there is not even sufficient bone, or do
(12:31):
the severity of the infections. One of the wall of
the bone is completely gone, so we cannot stable the implant.
But even those cases, we wanted to do a bone
graphic and cover that with the college and Membry to
gain bone and preserve the bone for future placement of
(12:54):
the implant.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Okay, I'm gonna switch gears for a minute. Sure, if
it's okay, we'll talk about orthodimes. Is there anything new
going on in that area?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yes, I'm sure you heard a word about a clear
aligner on an in Wizilne. When the in gwie Zeilan
came years ago, was was very limitated.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Just we use that.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
On a most you know, a very minor orthodontic movement.
We use a lot of races. I know your daughter
went through.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yes you did, my daughter's races just beautiful teeth.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
So and but but these days almost ninety ninety five
percent our ar cases it done by in Biezilan and
clear aligners. Amazing the technology there. We have reached a
very amazing result just using those with a lot patient
(14:01):
love it. Obviously they don't have those you know, bracket
on their teeth. They you know, classmates, they don't bully them.
They you know, eliminate the hygiene. Would be much easier
because they it's a removable so they can remove.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It and brush it flows it.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Every patient with the braces, you say, after two years,
eighteen months, you know, there is a lot of bleeding,
a load of gum inflammation. It eliminates a lot of
problems and it's so easy. So the chair time it
would say one third, yes of of you know, if
(14:50):
you accumulatively you're added up all the time because you
just you know, if we don't need even these days.
Take there in pression. We have a scanner called iTero,
so everything it done in the cloud. And you know,
we take the scanning, they make the model, no impression,
(15:12):
everything done. They just you know, we get the tray,
we deliver the tray. So imagine the hours that the
orthodontist has to you know, spend time to place every bracket.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
We call it bonding.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And then after you know, eighteen months, two years, then
another hour and a half two hours the doctor dantis
has to spend time to debonding those procedures is eliminated
to five minutes, you know, without you know, any sensitivity,
without any issue putting those acid age, put the bonding.
(15:54):
It eliminated a lot of hazards and the result is amazing.
Everything calculated by AI and technology. The forces because you know,
sometimes you know, you put too much forces and the
(16:15):
tieve the you know, passions not to you know, develop
some type of siptom pain or whatever.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You know.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
The old traditional orthodontics, there is a lot of guessing
was involved because it was based on the empirical experience
and knowledge of the orthodontists. Now these days, the knowledge
of the orthodontists is combined without the technology. So that
(16:45):
is a revolutionary phenomenon that we have in me. You know,
I find it fascinating this technology.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Speaking with doctor Abbas Mohammadi, founder and clinical director of
Colombia Dental. If you need a tooth extracted or an implant,
they do pediatric dentistry, you name it. Go to Colombiadental
dot com for more information. Thank you so much for
being here and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Thank you so much, Allison
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