My voyage into dentistry is a little bit different from others. I wanted to be a truck driver growing up. Oh, you know, a nice 18-wheeler, enjoy myself. Now as a 15-year-old, I was having some tooth pains and went to the dentist and he says, “You have a lot of cavities. We need to pull 11 teeth.” Now, my mom and I lived 1500 miles apart, so I had to write, “Hey, Mom, I need some money to go to the dentist.” I was boarding out and going to a special high school. So she sent me money and every week I went down and I had one tooth pulled. And after he pulled the third tooth and says to me, “Be a man.” Because I was being a little wimpy, I said, “There’s got to be a better way.” So I says, “Since there’s got to be a better way, I’m gonna find that way.” And I decided then, at 15 years old, I’m gonna be a dentist, whatever it takes. And that’s how I got into dentistry.
The most rewarding part is to run into somebody like myself. I’m a dentophobic. To run into somebody like myself who’s scared and they go through a whole process with me over the course of time. And then they’re coming in for recare. And they say, “Hi, Dr. Bonnick. Bye Dr. Bonnick.” And it’s just a great feeling to see that people can actually tone down their fear of the dentist. I think it’s always there. And generally, most people have it at some levels, but it’s just great to see people be able to overcome their extreme fear of the dentist and being able to tolerate recare appointments, to be able to tolerate small restorations where before they couldn’t. And that’s just the biggest joy for me is to have people go through that transition.
Visit This Caring Dentist for Excellent Smile Care
Dr. Bertrand Bonnick is one of the leading dentists in North Carolina because he provides a wide range of dental services and gives each patient the individual care they deserve. He has over 30 years of practice experience, ranging from general dentistry to sedation dentistry and everything in between. He fell in love with North Carolina on his honeymoon in 2000 and decided to relocate here. Before that, he had practiced in New York for 18 years.
Dr. Bonnick graduated from the State University of New York-Albany cum laude in 1982 with a B.S. in chemistry and a combined minor in mathematics and physics. He went on to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1986 and was selected as a Who’s Who Scholar for academic achievement and student government leadership.
Dr. Bonnick wanted to further his education, so he competed for and earned a position in advanced training at Long Island Jewish Hospital Medical Center-QHC. He completed a rotation in the Department of Anesthesiology, providing sedation for six to ten patients each day.
Dr. Bonnick stayed for a second year of residency, serving as the Chief Resident. He remained in the program for 10 years as an instructor and in 1991 was voted Instructor of the Year by the dentists he taught in the post-graduate dental program. Dr. Bonnick has received many honors over the years, but he counts this as one of his proudest achievements.
Dr. Bonnick understands that his lifelong commitment to learning and continuing education are crucial to maintaining his position as one of the best dentists in North Carolina. By 1992, he had completed over 500 credits of continuing education and had passed an extensive written examination on all areas of dentistry, allowing him to be recognized with a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry (FAGD).
In November of 2004, Dr. Bonnick completed the Medical College of Georgia’s one-year Maxicourse program on dental implantology and became the first dentist in Guilford County to own the Simplant software for virtual implant surgery.
Thus far over his long career, Dr. Bonnick has achieved Master in the Academy of General Dentistry with over 1100 hours of continuing education completed. He also became the first North Carolina dentist awarded the Diplomate in the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS). Dr. Bonnick maintains membership in a number of other professional dental organizations, including the North Carolina Dental Society and the Dental Implant Association of North Carolina.
At Relax Dental, we realize that technology and credentials are important, but are only part of what makes a good dentist. That’s why caring for patients in an ethical and compassionate manner is Dr. Bonnick’s primary concern.