Get to love your dentist or get the dentist you love:
thirteen signs your dentist is ‘for keeps’
With thanks to Maria Nevada from
Money Principle
MARIA says:
There are two things I’m
certain off:
a)
we all need to go to the dentist;
b) I’ve
never met anyone who looks forward to visiting their dentist
This made me think: is there
anything I could do that will make my visits to the dentist less traumatic? In
fact, I decided to try and come up with a mind trick that will make me more accepting
of what cannot be avoided: my twice yearly visits to the dentist.
Then it was rather obvious: one
thing that will make me more accepting of my visits is to get to love my
dentist.
Not the kind of love that
breaks couples but the grateful love we share with a brother/sister or a close
friend; the love that thrives on trust, care, honour and civility.
These are the thirteen signs
that will help you spot a dentist you could love that I could think about;
these are also the signs that you’ve found a great one.
1. The receptionist knows
your name. This may not seem important at first but I find that it
make me feel good to be seen as a person and treated with respect, sympathy and
human warmth.
2. The dentist knows your
name. Here you can see my previous point. Except that the effect is
magnified by the fact that this is the person who’ll be drilling in your month.
Human warmth and sympathy can offset the annoyance of the dental drill nicely.
3. The dentist knows the
name of your kid(s). This is about maintaining your humanity. You may think
it is not very important but I used to go to a dentist who didn’t know my name
and had absolutely no idea whether I have children or not. I am not even sure
whether he knew that I am a bit more that the teeth he checked and cleaned.
Call me weird but I didn’t like this much.
4. You can afford to see
your dentist regularly. In the UK we have a mixed system: there are
dentists who work with the NHS and there are private dentists. Good dentists
will have an affordable Dental Plan (such as Practice Plan)
5. You really want your
dentist to stop working so you could talk to them. Sound ridiculous, I
know. Still I love talking to my dentist – we discuss anything from current
politics and the state of the NHS to the latest changes in British higher
education. Thing is, he talks much more; for obvious reasons.
6. Your teeth look and feel
good. This is kind of important. I did go for a while to a dentist who
didn’t have a hygienist and didn’t clean my teeth himself. This was bad and
didn’t last long.
7. Your dentist passed ‘the
wisdom test’. Your dentist helps you make wise decisions about your teeth
and dental health so that you have the healthy mouth you deserve
8. You get a reminder to go
for a check-up. It is really important to have regular check-ups. Because
I’m not too keen on going to the dentist I tend to forget when my next
appointment is due; if I didn’t book immediately that is. If I have not been
for six months, I get a letter reminding it is time again. This is important
(see point 10).
9. You get a reminder of
your appointment. Yep, even when I’ve had the foresight to book an
appointment I have been known to forget about it. Which is not good for my
dentist (waste of time), not good for the surgery (loss of income) and not good
for me (charged or missing the appointment). This is why I welcome the text
message I receive couple of days before.
10. Your dentist does more
prevention than correction. Yep, it is true about teeth – prevention is
better than correction. This mainly means oral hygiene and this goes beyond
brushing your teeth regularly. So if the Hygienist cleans and polishes your
teeth and insists on creating good hygiene habits, keep him/her. It is less
painful and certainly cheaper than correction.
11. You have not needed a
filling in years. I remember my shock about twenty five years ago when my
dentist at the time told me that there is no reason for humans to lose their
teeth – it is a matter of good dental care. It is true though and if your dentist
is ‘for keeps’ you are likely to need a filling very, very occasionally (I
haven’t had one for about five years now).
12. Your dentist works with
the same nurse for years. Apart from the comfort of knowing the whole team,
this also tells you about the kind of person your dentist is. After all, happy
and respected employees don’t leave their jobs.
13. Your dentist saves you
the pain and discomfort they could do. I left this one for last but it is
not trivial – dental work can be painful in very acute ways. At the same time
anaesthetic doesn’t always help. If your dentist saves you the pain when this
is possible, keep him/her.
Finally…
Looking after your teeth is
important. What I’ve noticed is that every financial and economic crisis I’ve
lived through (and I’ve lived through at least three of those) shows very
quickly as deteriorating dental health. And I’m not talking about ‘movie star
smile’ here, or diamond encrusted teeth. I am talking about people in pain who
lose their teeth un-necessary.
Don’t be like that and find a
dentist you can love visiting and can afford. Oh, and make sure that this is
high on your spending priorities.
With many thanks to Maria Nevada of
the website The Money Principle http://www.themoneyprinciple.co.uk
