By: A few years ago, Dr. Lou Berman decided he was done overpaying for dental instruments. He realized the expensive instruments he’d been buying his entire career cost very little to produce, and that dentists needed a company that offered high - quality, fairly priced options. After nearly 40 years as an endodontist, Dr. Berman decided he would be the one to create that company, and that’s how Berman Instruments was born.
A rubber dam clamp has less metal than a 50-cent piece, so why should it cost $25?” Dr. Berman said. “I thought if I could put together a line of inexpensive dental instruments that met my standards, that would be something my colleagues would be interested in, too.
And he was right. It took a lot of planning, from vetting the products to finding the best manufacturing process to partnering with the right people, but the effort paid off. General dentists love the fact they can buy high-quality instruments from the Berman website for 50 to 75 percent less than what they were paying before, and that they’re supporting a company run by dentists with every purchase.
“The response I usually get is, ‘It’s about time,’” Dr. Berman said. “It’s been really well received.”
Berman Instruments: Setting A New Standard
Berman Instruments is following a similar model to that of EdgeEndo, a company that sells endodontic instruments at a significantly lower price than large manufacturers like Dentsply Sirona.
Instead of trying to offer every tool Dentsply Sirona did, the EdgeEndo team focused on providing clinicians affordable prices on the most common instruments—a strategy that led to incredible success in a very short period of time, Dr. Berman said.
Like EdgeEndo, Berman Instruments is focused on offering instruments that dentists use most frequently. They offer an assortment of commonly used diagnostic, endo, surgical, restorative, and hygiene instruments for significantly less than other premium priced companies. How are they able to do this? By selling direct and cutting out the frills. Instrument company leaders who once thought they had the market cornered are starting to realize they don’t, with Berman Instruments offering an attractive option that goes beyond just lower prices.
At Berman Instruments, the owner and the Board are all dentists, which isn’t common in dental companies,” Dr. Berman said. “We’re able to vet the manufacturers and the products that we sell, so we keep our standards really high while still offering instruments at a very good price point.”
Some of Berman’s most popular products include Iris Scissors for $2.98, College Pliers for $7.98, Explorers & Probes for $11.98-19.98, Rubber Dam Clamps for $5.98 and Extracting Forceps for $49.98.
To order from this dentist-founded instrument company, visit www.bermaninstruments.com
MORE ABOUT DR. LOU BERMAN
As soon as he started seeing patients during his third year of dental school, Dr. Berman knew he wanted to be an endodontist. One of his first patients was a young girl who came in seeking relief from a toothache.
“I did a simple endo procedure, and she was out of pain,” Dr. Berman said. “It became less about the art and more about the science. The personal gratification of helping somebody in such agony was the start of why I wanted to go into endodontics.”
Dr. Israel Boris “I.B.” Bender became the mentor who helped him the most along the way, Dr. Berman said, describing him as a brilliant man and an icon in the endodontics field.
“He taught me always to ask why,” Dr. Berman said. “And in private conversations he also taught me always to forgive.”
From Clinician To Editor
About 20 years ago, Dr. Stephen Cohen, who was editor of Pathways of the Pulp at the time, approached Dr. Berman at a meeting in Tulsa to ask him a few questions. That conversation led to Dr. Berman authoring a new chapter for the 9th edition of Pathways, which is the most widely used endodontics textbook in the world.
That first chapter led to a second, with Dr. Berman also taking on the web editor role for the 9th edition. He served as the co-editor along with Dr. Ken Hargreaves for the 10th edition and the senior editor, again along with Dr. Hargreaves, for the most recent twelfth edition.
“It’s been wonderful,” Dr. Berman said of his time working on the textbook. “It’s connected me with endo program directors from all around the world. It really has enlightened my own education and allowed me to interact with some of the best in the industry.”
A Love For Music
Between treating patients, giving presentations and running a dental instrument company, Dr. Berman keeps pretty busy. But when he does have down time, he likes to spend it playing the keyboards. For his birthday a few years ago, he had the opportunity to play at Whiskey a Go Go in LA, an experience he described as “the best birthday present ever.”
“I played in bands in high school and college and have a very musical family. My wife is a classically trained pianist and my kids are very much into music, so it’s one of the things we do around the house that everyone can agree on. And we all have fun doing it. If I wasn’t a dentist I’d probably be working in piano bars. I’d be broke but really happy,”
