Popular dentist to retire

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 3/10/21

When a famous baseball player hangs up his cleats they often permanently retire his number but when a family dentist does the same, we’re not sure what to call it. But one thing is for certain, …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Popular dentist to retire

Posted

When a famous baseball player hangs up his cleats they often permanently retire his number but when a family dentist does the same, we’re not sure what to call it. But one thing is for certain, the doctor and his patients will dearly miss each other.

After 46 years in practice, Dr. Anthony Pascale will be retiring in May, acknowledging that, “it is time.”

Dr. Pascale graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1975, starting out in Highland in September working with Doctors Winter and Strell. But by February of 1976 he opened his own practice on North Road in Highland.

In 1980 Dr. Pascale moved over to Route 9W across from the Bridgeview Plaza and in 1997 set up shop in a house that was formally owned by John Castellano, where he has been ever since.

“It was readily modified as an office and fit the bill to a T, so we’ve been here for 25 years,” he said.

Pascale found his calling in dentistry in his freshman year through a pre-dental program at his college.

“We were mixed in with the med students but I found out that I enjoyed dentistry a lot more than with the medical end of it,” he said. “About three years later, as a junior, I got accepted into the University of Buffalo dental program, which is four years.”

Before returning to the Hudson Valley, Pascale did residencies at Strong Memorial, the Eastman Dental Center and at Genesee Community Hospital, all in the Rochester area.

Pascale is now passing the torch to Dr. Taylor Truncali. She did her undergraduate work at SUNY Albany and went to SUNY Stony Brook Dental School, finishing in 2019 and doing her year of required residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Truncali said when she was young she had a lot of orthodontic work done by Dr. VanVliet, “and that’s what got me interested in dentistry.” She initially thought that was the field she wanted to go into but, “once I got to dental school I realized I liked general dentistry the best. I get to do a little bit of everything and you get to build relationships with your patients and you get to work with your hands a little bit more.”

Truncali said General Dentistry covers fillings, extractions, root canals, cosmetic dentistry, dentures and crowns, to name a few procedures.

Pascale described Truncali as, “a younger version of me, very competent, very confident and a good communicator. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She has all the same values and she is very good with her hands. She understands what people need and doesn’t try to sell them things they don’t need.”

Pascale is quick to fault what he calls “corporate dentistry.” He said this business model is not concerned with building relationships with patients but is about, “trying to get as much money out of them as they can.” He has seen the after effects that this type of dentistry has had on patients who came to him afterwards; “over-treating is a big problem. When I first started out, dentistry was more about keeping patients healthy and trying to maintain their dental function.” He is particularly critical of some elective cosmetic dentistry because, “once you start to drill on the tooth structure you’re headed for a lifetime worth of dental work.”

Pascale said more than half of his patients have been with him for a very long time, “and that’s why I didn’t want to turn this office over to a corporate type of dental office where you have an absentee dentist who actually owns the practice and maybe hires a couple of dentists to run the place. That goes on a lot now. Dr. Truncali has a vested interest and will take care of my patients like I want them to be taken care of.”

Truncali, who is from Marlborough, wants to stay in the area.

“It’s nice to be back in the community that I’d love to continue serving,” she said. “I agree with Dr. Pascale, we have very similar values on how we treat patients. Its really about giving them a strong foundation of good dental work and helping them keep their natural teeth for as long as they can.”

Pascale began to take notice of Truncali’s growing interest when she began coming to his office to observe while still in dental school.

“She and I clicked right away. If something [technical] came up and I asked her a question, it was the same answer that I had in my mind, so I felt very comfortable with her. She’s here, she’s very, very good and knows what to do and when to stop.”

Truncali is hoping to grow the business while maintaining the practice’s past relationships with the patients.

“I definitely would like to keep it small and still make sure that the patients are the number one priority in doing what’s best for them. I think that’s really important that people find someone they trust and who is watching out for them,” she said. “I am hoping to continue Dr. Pascale’s legacy as much as I can. I can’t stress enough how much they love and adore him and I just hope that I can fill his shoes.”

Pascale and his staff have taken all of the required precautions during the pandemic to ensure the safety of their patients.

“I have great employees that are all going to continue with Truncali and because of these dedicated staff members I was able to remain open during the initial phases of the pandemic taking care of emergency patients from a wide region of the Southern part of New York State,” he said.

Pascale offered a special thank you to Frank LaManna and Jeremy Barone, of LaManna Dental Lab in Highland, for a wonderful professional relationship that has lasted for 30 years.

Pascale said part of his reason for retiring is because being a dentist is very physically challenging.

“It’s like being an athlete. You’re in crazy positions for long periods of time with patients and that’s part of the problem with my neck and my hands; it’s caught up with me,” he said.

Pascale was also a Captain in the New York Guard and provided dental care for the 105th Air Guard at Stewart and for personnel serving in the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron [MALS] and for the ground crew.

Pascale pointed out that his practice, which Truncali will now continue, “is very capable of doing oral surgery, orthodontics, endodontics, root canals, fillings, restorations, cosmetics and we can provide the people in the area with a wide range of services.”

Pascale said, “I am going to miss the people [but] it’s tough because physically you can’t do it. If I couldn’t find Dr. Truncali to be here I would have probably closed up. I just don’t want the people that I’ve taken care of for so long to have to go someplace else.”

Pascale plans to spend more time with his wife Sandy, with whom he will be celebrating 50 years of marriage in September, their children Nick and Matthew and their 7 grandchildren. He is thankful for all of their love and support, as well as sacrifices, they have made during his professional life. The couple may be doing some traveling in the future but most assuredly Doc will find time to work in his garden, a pastime he loves and has shared with his grandchildren.

Sandy has always worn a number of hats at the office, “since the beginning. I was his dental hygienist, his dental assistant, his front office person; I’ve done them all. I also manage all the accounts payable at home to make sure the checkbook is good.”

When the idea of retirement came up Sandy said, “I was ahead of schedule. I love the people and we have so many good relationships with so many families that we’re seeing the kids’ kids now. It’s amazing and we’re blessed to have so many good families.”