Jewish Deaf Business
by David Rosenbaum
- Steven Rattner, DDS
- 6100 Westchester Park
- College Park, MD 20740
TTY: 301/474-8278
FAX: 301/474-3330
How About A Jewish Deaf Dentist?
Dr. Steven Rattner, DDS has been a practising dentist since 1982. A Washington, D.C. native, Rattner has remained in the area and operates his own general dental practice in College Park, MD.
His wife is Tracey [Ballan], a Gallaudet graduate, and they have two daughters: Michelle who is 6 1/2 and Jaclyn, 10 1/2 years old.
Rattner, 43, explains that after four years at University of Maryland where he majored in chemistry, he studied for another four years at University of Maryland Dental School before he took the Board exam.
He counts himself as one of 20 dentists across the country who are
deaf or hard of hearing. He had always liked to work with his hands and credits his uncle,
also a dentist, for encouraging him to pursue the dentistry field. "Everyone in my
family and extended family were wonderful, supportive and encouraging" Rattner says
of his upbringing, "they always made sure I was not left out and that I understood
what was going on."
He has been a practicing dentist since 1982 and after working for a group practice in Rockville, MD, he decided to open his own general dentistry practice in July, 1985.
Why?
Rattner's response: he likes to set his own hours. He explains that he also does orthodontics (braces) and surgery "which I love because of the challenge involved."
His practice in College Park, MD, currently has about 3,500 clients. Although College Park is in middle of a large community of Deaf residents in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, two-thirds of his clients are hearing.
Communication
How does he communicate with hearing clients? "If I cannot lip read them," Rattner explains, "I would ask one of my staff assistants to interpret for me." He is oral and uses a hearing aid on the left side but has become proficient in sign language.
Active In Deaf Community
Rattner is one of three partners in the Metropolitan Washington Directory for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, often known as 'the Red Book', and also served until recently as president of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Entrepreneurs Council.
Dream?
His long term dream is to have his own large office space, even though he recently remodeled his dental suites to accommodate the growth. He currently supervises eleven part-time and full-time people.
He considers himself a Conservative Jew and had his bar mitzvah.