Dr. Freedman’ s personal story
I was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Abington Township, Pennsylvania. I’ m a graduate of Abington High School, and in addition to attending Temple University School of Dentistry, I also attended Temple as an undergraduate where I was a biology major and chemistry minor.
I grew up with two younger brothers as I am the oldest. My brother Barry lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is retired from the food service industry. Unfortunately my brother Max, the youngest, passed away in 2000 at the age of 40.
I have just celebrated my 43rd wedding anniversary to my wife Susan. We raised two boys into men and we have three grandchildren; Ike, who is age 6; Ruth, who is age 4; and Finn, who is 1 year old.
What do you believe is the most challenging issue facing dentistry as a profession? I believe the most challenging issue is the value or lack of value that has been placed on what we provide. To the vast majority of society, we are viewed as nothing more than tooth carpenters, and they placed little value on the services that we provide. We need to re-educate society as to the vital role we play in healthcare and in quality of life.
What do you believe is the most challenging issue facing organized dentistry? I believe the biggest challenge that’ s facing organized dentistry is apathy on the part of non-members and the disillusionment of members. In order to rectify this situation, we as leaders in organized dentistry must bring our ability to communicate the benefits we provide to our members and the profession to an entirely new level.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? What community activities are you involved in? In my spare time I enjoy cooking, reading, gardening and traveling. And the traveling does not have to be the large and distant trips. Just going to explore places close to home is enjoyable. Fun day trips or overnights are something that Sue and I do very often. As far as community involvement, I am involved in my synagogue, I am radiology lead for the Pennsylvania Dental Foundation’ s MOM-n-PA and have been since 2014. In addition to being a PDA trustee I also sit on various PDA planning committees, and I have been involved in the Abington General practice residency since 1989. I serve on a number of committees, lecture and teach.
Name some fun / interesting things about yourself that others would be surprised to learn A few fun or interesting things about myself that you’ d be surprised to learn are that I met my wife in prison( more about that if you ask me because then I’ ll know you read this piece in the PDJ). I was a sprinter in high school and was part of a record-setting relay team in the 4 x 200. I’ m a history buff and I love, love, soft pretzels.
Who was your greatest role model? My greatest role model would really have to be role models, and that would be my parents. My mom and my dad each provided me with unique perspective on the world and how I should interact with it.
What famous person would you most like to spend a day with? If I could spend a day with a famous person, that individual would be Theodore Roosevelt.
Dr. Freedman said,“ I truly enjoy mentoring our newest and youngest colleagues. There are several members of the PDA currently who I mentored when they were still in high school, and being co-chair of the PDA Leadership Academy and an attending at the Abington General practice residency provide me with a platform to help guide and improve our beloved profession.”
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 27