Always good care.
John Lesniak★★★★★(5/5)
Good Enough Is Never Good Enough for Me!
If you have ever been in my dental chair and I have done any kind of dental work on you, then you already know something about me.
I am a perfectionist. Not a day goes by that I do not find myself making one more tiny adjustment to a tooth, refining the fit of a crown, or making certain the color of a restoration blends naturally with the surrounding teeth.
Sometimes patients catch me at it. After the third or fourth little adjustment, they will finally say, “Dr. Jim, it looks fine!” I am sure you have heard the saying, “Good is good enough.” Well, not for me. Good enough is simply not good enough. Ask my wife, Sally, and she will tell you that my obsession with details does not end when I walk out the dental office door. Unfortunately for her, I bring it home with me.
This past summer, my friend Rich and I decided to replace the wooden fence around our home. For most people, that is probably a weekend project. Maybe two weekends if you take your time. Not for me. It turned into a summer-long project!
If you recall, we experienced some pretty intense winds this past spring. Mother Nature took her toll on our fence. Besides the storm damage, the old fence was looking a little weathered anyway. I decided it was time for a replacement. I am sure Sally would have been perfectly happy if I had simply replaced the damaged posts and pickets and called it a day.
Nope. Not good enough. The whole fence had to go!
For some people, demolition is the fun part. I suspect there is something therapeutic about swinging a sledgehammer, tearing things apart, and cutting things up with a saw. A great way to release a little frustration! Not me. I enjoy the planning and building.
If you have not figured it out by now, I like building things. As a young boy, I built models, and I have always enjoyed working with my hands. I suppose that is one of the reasons dentistry appealed to me. It combines science, precision, creativity, and craftsmanship.
Now, you might think building a wooden fence does not require the same precision as reconstructing someone’s teeth. For most people, you are probably right. But I approached this fence project much like I approach dental reconstruction. Fortunately, my friend and co-conspirator, Rich, is every bit as detail oriented as I am.
And that is a good thing, because when I build something, I expect it to last.
Let me put that into perspective. Did you know your back teeth can generate as much as 250 pounds of biting force? That is almost like having Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet, all 257 pounds of him, standing on one of your back teeth!
Now imagine the stress your teeth endure if you’re grinding or clenching them night after night. That is why I am so particular about the work I do in your mouth. Those crowns, fillings, and restorations must withstand tremendous forces, day after day, year after year.
Now, what does any of this have to do with my fence? Remember those spring windstorms?
On Friday, March 13, 2026, the National Weather Service recorded wind gusts reaching 64 miles per hour in the Chicago area. Then, on May 18, winds gusted to an incredible 79 miles per hour at Midway Airport! For perspective, hurricane-force winds begin at 74 miles per hour, although that is measured as sustained wind rather than a momentary gust.
That is a lot of force pushing against a wooden fence! And here is where my dental perfectionism really kicked in. Did you know the spacing between fence pickets can influence how wind moves through a fence and how wind pressure is distributed across it?
It can. The size and arrangement of the gaps influence airflow and local wind loads. Of course, the strength of the posts, rails, and fasteners is even more important. So, Rich and I were not about to start nailing boards in place and eyeballing the distance between them. We made our own picket spacers. Every picket was positioned at exactly the same distance from the next. Every board was aligned. Every connection was secured. And every section received the same attention to detail. Was all that necessary? Maybe not to the average homeowner. But it was for me.
The finished fence looks terrific. More importantly, we took the time to build it with the strength and durability to withstand the kind of weather Chicago can throw at it. Just like the dentistry I do, I want my work to look good, function properly, and last. I am often asked how I find the time to do all the other things I do outside of dentistry. Truth be told, I have always believed that when you take the time to do something right the first time, you are far less likely to waste time doing it over.
And that brings me right back to my dental chair. When I am making that third or fourth tiny adjustment and you tell me, “Dr. Jim, it looks fine,” I appreciate your patience. But I am not quite finished until I know it is right.
So, now you know a little more about me. I don’t just geek out over the details of dentistry. I geek out over the details of just about everything!
Just ask Sally. Or Rich!
Dr. Jim
Happy Birthday to Us
It seems like I was just reporting on celebrating our birthdays, but believe it or not, a year has passed. Me, Wendy, and Dani may be a little wiser by a year. Thank you to Dania, Ivone, Atziri, and Sally for coordinating our little celebrations.
Marie & Marlo’s Story
We are very proud of the care we provide for our special needs community. If you visit our website, SpecialNeedsWarriors.org, you’ll find several heartfelt stories shared by patients and their families about their experiences finding dental care.
We recently added a new story from longtime patient Marie Perez. Marie sat down with us to share her journey to find compassionate, quality dental care for her younger brother, Marlo, who has Down syndrome.
After approaching nearly 30 dentists, many of whom refused to treat Marlo, while others provided care that was anything but compassionate or respectful, Marie finally found Family Dental Care of Oak Park. Today, she and Marlo have something every family deserves: a dental home where they feel welcomed, respected, and cared for.
I encourage you to scan the QR code (or click the link below) and watch Marie and Marlo’s story. You may recognize some of the struggles they experienced, either from your own journey or that of someone you know and love.
One thing I have learned over the years is that families within the special needs community often share the same frustrations and challenges when it comes to finding quality dental care. They also share something else: a willingness to help one another by passing along valuable resources when they find them.
If you know someone struggling to find a dentist for a loved one with special needs, please share Marie and Marlo’s story with them. You may be giving that family something they’ve been searching for, sometimes for years.
And to Marie, thank you for opening your heart and sharing your journey. By telling your story, you are helping other families realize they are not alone in their search for compassionate dental care. And more importantly, the care they’ve been looking for really does exist.
Sometimes I Splurge
I am agnostic when it comes to rooting on Chicago sports teams. That is because I like them all, but also, I have something in common with virtually all my patients. I do not get to nearly as many games as I used to, however, in September I splurged and bought club seats to a Notre Dame Irish game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Sally, me, and several thousand of our not so close friends cheered the Irish on to a victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. It was a great game if you were an Irish fan, as Notre Dame beat Wisconsin 41-13.
