Our partnership philosophy: your patients stay yours
A referral is an act of trust. You are placing your patient, and a piece of your reputation, in another doctor's hands. This page states plainly how we honor that trust, because a referral relationship should never rest on assumptions.
We are the specialist chapter in your patient's story, not a new book
Patients build years of history with the doctor who knows them. When you refer, that history should be protected, not interrupted. Our role is to complete a defined piece of specialty care at the highest level we can deliver, then hand the patient back with everything your team needs to maintain the work.
Dr. Gerald M. Marlin has practiced prosthodontics in Washington, DC for more than four decades, and this practice has been built on referral relationships that span much of that time. That kind of longevity only exists when referring doctors learn, case after case, that sending a patient here never costs them the patient.
Treatment ranges from replacing older crowns to full-mouth reconstruction depending on each patient's needs, and our goal is to help every referred patient make thoughtful long-term decisions, whether treatment is limited or comprehensive. What never changes is where the patient belongs when the specialty work is done: with you.
In one sentence
"We treat your patient, we keep you informed, and we send them home to you."
Dr. Gerald M. Marlin, DMD, MSD
Specialty-Trained Prosthodontist
Five commitments to every referring doctor
Your patient returns to you
Every referred patient is told, plainly and early, that their home for general dentistry remains your practice. We complete the prosthodontic treatment you referred, send you a completion summary, and return the patient for hygiene and ongoing care. No quiet conversions, no gradual absorption of your patient into our schedule.
We treat what you referred, and nothing more without a conversation
If the examination reveals a need outside the scope of your referral, our first call is to you. You hear it from us before the patient hears a recommendation. Whether that additional need is treated here, in your chair, or not at all is a decision we make together with you and the patient.
You hear from us at every milestone
A consultation report after the first visit. The proposed treatment plan before work begins. Updates at major milestones on longer reconstructions. A completion summary with records when the patient returns to you. If you prefer more or less communication, tell us once and we will match it.
The case is structured around your role
Some referring dentists hand off the entire case. Others keep a restorative role and want a partner for the specialist phase. Specialists may want prosthodontic planning and restoration around surgical work they are completing. We shape each case around the referring doctor rather than forcing one model on every relationship.
Doctor-to-doctor access, before and during treatment
Unsure whether a case is worth referring? Call and talk it through with Dr. Gerald M. Marlin first. A five-minute conversation about a panoramic radiograph is often the fastest way to serve the patient, and there is no obligation attached to the question.
Care that makes your referral look like the best advice you ever gave
The patient you refer meets one doctor who stays with them from consultation through final restoration, supported by an in-house laboratory that has crafted this practice's restorations since 1985. Many referred patients simply want dentistry that looks natural, functions properly, and lasts. They get exactly that, along with unhurried appointments and a concierge team that handles the logistics.
For anxious patients or long reconstructive visits, CRNA-administered IV sedation is available for appropriate cases. Your patient hears what they need to hear at every step, including this: their dentist made a careful choice in sending them here, and their dentist is where they return.
The questions that define a referral relationship
What happens if my patient asks to stay at your practice?
We remind the patient that your practice is their dental home and that our role is the specialty treatment you referred them for. Patients occasionally ask because the experience here is attentive and personal. The answer does not change. A referral practice that keeps other doctors' patients does not remain a referral practice for long, and we have built this practice on more than 40 years of professional relationships.
How do you handle emergencies during active treatment?
While a referred patient is in active prosthodontic treatment with us, we handle urgent issues related to that treatment so you are not interrupted for problems we created or are managing. Anything unrelated to the referred treatment is coordinated with your office.
Do you co-plan cases with specialists?
Yes. Periodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, and orthodontists refer patients for prosthodontic planning and restoration, and we are comfortable working within a multi-provider plan. Dr. Marlin places and restores implants, and on referred cases the surgical and restorative division of labor follows whatever the referring specialist and patient have established.
What do you send back when treatment is complete?
A completion summary describing the treatment performed, the materials and prosthetics involved, radiographs and imaging as appropriate, and any maintenance considerations for hygiene visits, such as how to probe and clean around implant restorations. The goal is that your team can maintain the work confidently from the first recall visit.
Start the Conversation
Refer a patient online, or call the practice to discuss a case with Dr. Marlin before you decide. Either way, your patient stays yours.