Contrary to popular belief a great dentist doesn’t just fix your teeth. A great dentist cares about their patients.
This blog will discuss why it is so important to find a dentist that cares about more than just giving beautiful smiles, but also healthy smiles that last.
What’s the difference between a dentist specialist and a regular practitioner?
It would be wonderful if you could know from the moment you walk into a practice that the entire team is working in your best interests. Specialist dentists may not be the most affordable option, but that’s due to the high standard of service they provide.
A specialist provider has different qualifications than a regular practitioner. Periodontists, like me, have to complete an additional 3 to 6 years of postgraduate studies after being certified as dentists. This allows us to provide you with the best care and beautiful smiles.
Keep an eye out for future blog posts, where we will be exploring the various dental specialities and how they can help your smile.
This is not to suggest that all specialist dentists are good and general dentists bad. There are many ways to achieve excellence, as you can see. However, before you receive treatment, it is impossible to determine who is truly exceptional and who isn’t.
You want to ensure that the best person is going to treat you. The General Dental Council in the UK has a list that lists specialists. This allows you to check the provider against the list to determine if they have the clinical expertise required to deliver the service you want.
A great dentist is not necessarily a technical expert in a particular field but also someone who cares about their patients’ lives and takes good care of them.
While technical skills are important, a great dentist understands that exceptional customer service from both the dentist and support staff is equally important. Do you feel that your provider truly cares about you? Are they there to reassure you? Are you comfortable with their expertise and care? Are their customer services as good as their technical skills?
What about online dental solutions?
The above questions are crucial to remember when approaching any provider, especially if the provider is online. Online direct-to-consumer services are causing a lot of controversy in the dental world. Many people are tempted by aligners or teeth whitening services online.
To ensure the best possible treatment, we spend a lot time with our patients to examine their oral health and lifestyle. Direct-to-consumer aligners require very little clinical examination or understanding before treatment can begin.
Let me say it like this: You wouldn’t build a house on your land without first getting surveys done and having architectural plans drawn up. It’s a crazy idea! The same applies to the design of oral products or services. You need to have a complete mouth survey and a clinical assessment before you can proceed. Direct-to-consumer medical aligner systems don’t allow for this (watch Rhiannon’s story about what happened to her with online dental aligners).
You could endanger your oral health if you use direct-to-consumer product to treat a problem. We create healthy, beautiful smiles to highlight our mission, which is evident in every patient.
It is easy to make your smile beautiful. What is difficult for patients – and even some dentists – to identify is whether or not that beautiful smile is actually healthy. This is only possible if you are very attentive to any signs that could indicate disease. This is what we mean by beautiful and healthy smiles. We are working from the root and not just the surface.
These potential dangers cannot be identified if you do not conduct full examinations before you start building your beautiful smile. You could end up spending a lot of money on quicksand if you skip this critical step, as is the case with direct-to consumer aligners. You are at risk of:
- Recession
- Breaking of teeth
- The teeth are slowly returning to their original positions
- Toothache caused by an insufficient assessment of abscesses.
These are the most common issues we see with patients who have not received the correct treatment plans before coming to us. Patients who have been through the direct-to consumer route may need help to correct any issues.
This blog will help you achieve a healthy and beautiful smile
Our blog series will help you gain a better understanding of the importance of a healthy and beautiful smile. Patients, past and present, should have a better understanding about the intricacies of my care and the complexities of my team’s work
London Dental Specialists has one goal: to ensure that our patients are well taken care of. Patients can feel safe and secure in our practice, regardless of past treatment or genetic predispositions.
We achieve this feeling through our core values. They are the foundation of everything we do.
- We love dentistry.
- We are warm and engaging with patients, referrers and each other
- In everything that we do, we exercise diligence
- Strong professional ethics are our hallmark
- We want to be the best at what we do
- We are willing to help and adapt in any situation.
These are essential because they frequently come up in patient feedback. Patients frequently comment on our professionalism and excellence. Patients know that we will work hard to ensure they receive the best possible care. That’s what a specialist dental does.
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Get In Touch
If you have any symptoms of gum disease or would like more information, give us a call at London Dental Specialists on 0207 589 7792.