As dental care professionals we are here first and foremost to offer a service to patients.
It is our role to deliver lifelong oral wellbeing.
We are regulated by the General Dental Council, and CQC( Care Quality Commission) and we have to complete post graduate training every year to be able to continue to work.
Alongside this we also must have indemnity insurance.
The General Dental Council highlights the importance of person-centred care. This means putting the patients’ interests first.
At Boundary Implant Centre we work extremely hard to make sure our patients are well care for, informed and that choices are offered.
Dental terminology is a whole new language to learn and it is vital that when we talk to patients we do not do ” dental talk”. We like to sit down and take the time to explain what is happening, if we take radiographs (X-rays) then we show the patient the findings and why treatment may be required.
We like our patients to be well informed and allowed the chance to think about the options given.
When a patient comes along to see us for the first visit, they are given a short ‘new patient’ questionnaire.
This gives us starting point for discussion and we then know that we are offering what a patient may like rather than the treatments being offered not being what the patient had hoped for.
It is also very possible the patient may not need any treatment and just require regular examinations and hygiene visits.
Radiographs would n0rmally be taken for a new patient to allow the dentist to see below gum level and under old restorations (fillings).
Patients coming in for dental emergencies are also likely to have radiographs taken for diagnostic purposes.
There is no such thing these days as ” routine ” radiographs but most dentists will take them around every 12-18 months, depending on the patient’s needs.
If you are a new patient at the surgery, following your appointment you will be issued with a full new patient letter and report.
Within this letter you will be offered all your choices and options, along with the costing and consent forms.
You then can take the time to read and decide how you would like to progress.
Regular attenders to the practice are given treatment plans, with costs and consent forms to complete. Once they have read and had time to consider, they are invited to book an appointment.
We do always stress the choice to proceed with treatment is the choice of the patient, we are simply here to offer advice and guidance.
All warnings are offered, along with the choice to seek a second opinion.
We realise that very few people enjoy going to the dentist and as a team we always like to remember how we would feel if it were us or our loved ones.
It is all too easy to see the working day as a ‘tick list’ of names but that simply is not and must not be the case.
A dentist needs to offer a calm, warm and friendly approach to patients…we do like to think we are good at that.
We do, of course all take our roles very seriously but at the same time maintain as less formal approach.
We like to take the time to get to know our patients and their lives outside of the dental practice, this allows us to build rapport and offer times and care to suit their busy needs as well as allowing us to fulfill our obligations to the patient.
A great dentist-patient relationship simply makes it easier all round to offer good consistent care.