The Dentist/Patient Relationship

Why a good understanding and communication between the patient and dental team is important.

Medical knowledge and advances in dental technology have been very beneficial for patients, whether you have a damaged tooth that needs restoring or wish to improve the way that your teeth look. These advances have been important but the relationship and communication between the patient and their dentist still have very important roles to play in ensuring that you receive the best treatment possible.

Putting patients at ease

Like other dentists Alexandra Dental Care sees its share of patients who exhibit various degrees of anxiety about their visit. Whilst some stoically manage their way through it, others are much more nervous and need reassuring throughout their treatment. We do all that we can to make sure that you feel at ease, taking time to explain the procedure and answering any questions that you might have. In many cases, the calm and gentle manner of our dentists is enough to put the patient at ease, but IV sedation is available if required.

Diagnosing problems

Our Burton and Ashby patients come to us with a variety of problems. Some of these are visibly obvious, such as a broken tooth. Whilst we do have x-rays and scanning equipment to help us diagnose any issues, it always starts with the patient explaining what the problem is that they are experiencing. We encourage you to let us know if you are experiencing any issues with your teeth, even if they don’t seem that important to you. For example, an occasional and minor ‘niggle’ with a tooth may seem like something you can ignore, but letting us know these things will enable us to detect and treat a problem, if there is one, as early as possible. This will also help us to preserve more of the natural tooth if we do need to intervene.

Medical information

One thing that patients are sometimes reluctant to tell us is their medical situation. As you will know, we routinely ask if there have been any changes each time you visit us, even for an examination. We appreciate that this might seem a little intrusive, especially if you have a medical problem that you find ‘embarrassing’, but it is very important that you keep us up to date, especially where your medication is concerned. This is for your own safety and patients can be assured that all information is treated in a private and confidential manner.

Whilst our patients can take advantage of a virtual consultation, and these are certainly a useful addition to the services that we offer, nothing really beats a face to face conversation with the dentist and a thorough physical examination of your teeth. These also allow us to discuss all of the treatment options that are available, for example the most appropriate solution from a selection of orthodontics where you need teeth straightening.

As we adjust to new systems following our reopening, you can be sure that we will do all that we can to maintain a personal service and offer helpful advice and care to all of our Burton, Swadlincote and Ashby patients.

If you would like to arrange to see a dentist, or to register with our practice, you can do so by calling Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347. Our team looks forward to welcoming you!

Google+