why I love dentistry

Quality is paramount:

I get a real thrill out of doing dentistry in the highest quality way; it is a life long love.  In fact, I see dentistry as an art form as well as a science. The craftsmanship and skill involved in the work is always a pleasure; I love that it cant be done by a machine!  It’s a way of expressing a part of myself while helping others and there is always scope for creativity and thinking laterally. I am very passionate about detail and precision and this perfectionism is reflected in all my work.

Quality care includes things like taking time to thoroughly explain concepts and options and ensuring they are understood, checking all my work is as perfect as possible and calling patients myself the next day to follow up.  I am dedicated to ensuring that all work must have the best chance of lasting and therefore represent good value for money. This approach is especially important in this modern disposable consumer society. If my name is attached to anything it has to be done to the highest level in all ways.

Working together

I love working closely with people towards a mutual goal of oral (and thus general) health. The mouth is such a central and critical area for both quality and quantity of life; eating, talking, kissing, immunity and more.  It is such a delicate and intimate place. I love having that high level of responsibility and building a trusted relationship by treating people really well and going the extra mile for them.

The continuity that develops over the years is so rich and satisfying and the relationship is really special. Seeing the progress people make over time with our team work is the best reward. I help such a diverse variety of people from different ages and backgrounds who all arrive with different ways of thinking and learning. This keeps things very interesting.  I love to inspire people to get excited about preventing dental disease. We educate each other and the outcome is the best oral health possible.

It is critical that you have a clear understanding of what is happening in your mouth and all of your treatment options.  I explain all the relevant concepts and information as we go.  That way you are empowered to make fully informed decisions. This also means you have autonomy and full involvement in the treatment planning process. I discuss my recommendations and have no pressure or attachment to any decision as long as it is a fully informed choice. I always treat people as I would want to be treated myself. Most dental disease is preventable and lifestyle based.  In fact much of the success we have relates to what you do outside the surgery!

Fear

Working with scared/phobic people is one of my passions. Helping anyone overcome fears from bad dental experiences and other trauma (eg sexual abuse) is a special passion.  I love being in this sensitive, trusted position and gradually rebuilding a patient’s confidence in dentistry and in themselves. I do this by tuning in to a person’s every move with 100% of my attention, being extremely gentle, kind and patient.  Helping someone really relax is very fulfilling.

The team

I cherish the close relationships I have with the nursing and reception team here. We get to know and love patients over the years and have developed a wonderful system of working together. I love having a relaxed focussed and fun energy in the surgery. Working in a community where reputation and doing the right thing by people counts for a lot really suits me. I love pleasing people and making dentistry fun and interesting.

The most satisfying situation is seeing rates of things like decay and gum disease drop to zero over sucessive visits.  Then I know I have really made a difference. There is nothing like stopping a process at the cause. This eliminates the need for any extensive future work. This process often takes time, so it’s a case of delayed gratification for me.

I love encouraging ‘religious conversions’.  These are people who previously neglected their mouths, often for years.  Seeing people get highly motivated to address things comprehensively is amazing. Working together on the causes by doing things like diet analysis for sugar and acid, demonstrating correct oral hygiene techniques etc all makes me feel less like a tooth carpenter and more like an oral physician.

Learning and education

I really enjoy keeping up with the latest developments in dental research.  I pass all this knowledge onto my patients. Dentistry is such a rapidly changing area with upcoming revolutions like stem cell treatments to regrow teeth and jaws and 3D bioprinting of gum, bone and periodontal ligament tissues. The area of periodontics is fascinating and exciting. There has been a lot of research into the risk of heart attacks, stroke, respiratory infections, preterm birth, impotence, diabetes and pancreatic cancer, all of which are now confirmed to be related to gum health. If you are also passionate about these things, follow my blog here

I would love to hear your comments and ideas!

Humour:

Dealing with the undignified elements of saliva and blood with people in a vulnerable state physically and emotionally often leads to a lot of funny situations. I love making people laugh!