Dr Robert W. Berstecher

Dr. Berstecher was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Waynesburg College in 1973 and Temple University School of Dentistry in 1977. While in dental school, he was elected into the St. George Oral Cancer Society, the Periodontal Honor Society, and was President of the Temple Dental School Chapter of the American Society of Dentistry for Children. Upon graduation he entered the United States Army Dental Corps, completing a General Practice Residency at Fort Eustis, Virginia. While still in the Army, he purchased the practice of the late Louis E. Williams and moved to New Holland with his wife Katharine and son David in June 1980. Since then his family has grown with the additions of his daughter Jennifer, sons Joshua and Matthew, and five grandchildren. Dr. Berstecher is a member of the American Dental Association, having received lifetime status in 2017. A past President of the Lancaster County Dental Society and past President of the Pennsylvania Dental Association’s Fifth District, Dr. Berstecher is also a member of the Academy of General Dentistry, and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and at their recent national meeting received his Master of Implant Prosthodontics Award. Dr. Berstecher participates in several dental service organizations including Dental Access in Lancaster County, the “Got Teeth” program administered by the ELANCO School District, and the St. Joseph Health Ministry where he received their 2007 Starfish Award for service to the community. These dental service organizations provide reduced fees dental care to New Holland and Lancaster County. For fourteen years he also took a mobile dental unit and served the dental needs of the many residents of the Fairmount retirement community. Having four children who graduated from the ELANCO School District schools, Dr. Berstecher has been active in the community throughout those years and the present. February is when the American Dental Association celebrates National Children’s Dental Health Month. Since 1983 he has visited all the elementary schools in the district and has fun giving a presentation on maintaining healthy teeth and a healthy body to all the third-grade students. Dr. Berstecher was also a founding board member and the first president of the Garden Spot High School Cross Country Booster Club. Dr. Berstecher is a volunteer in the Conestoga River District, Pennsylvania Dutch Council Boy Scouts of America where he served as the district’s chairperson of Scouting for Food and past district committee’s chairperson. In 2014 he received the Conestoga River District’s Award of Merit for his service. He also is a committee member of the New Holland Boy Scout Troop 48 and a founding member and current Committee chairperson of the Smoketown Airport Aviation Venture Crew 52. Since 1985 Dr. Berstecher has also served on the board of directors for the Temple Student Life Center which is an evangelistic outreach and counseling ministry on the campus of Temple University. Having grown up in Philadelphia Dr. Berstecher considers it a blessing to be living and practicing in Lancaster County with his exceptionally dedicated and caring dental team who have a combined 208 years of patient care experience. Dentistry is an ever-changing and evolving science. The dental care of 2021 is not the same care as when he graduated in 1977. Most of the procedures, techniques, and dental materials he uses daily didn’t exist then. It is an exciting time to be practicing dentistry, see these changes, and be able to provide them to our patients who, through the years, are more like family and friends. It is how we partner with them for a lifetime of smiles through great oral care.