Wellington:
(04) 801 6228
Lower Hutt:
(04) 570 0520
When we talk to patients about dentistry, one of the main concerns they bring up is whether the dental care they receive will be gentle. As dentists, our main concern of course is your health, but we understand the desire to have a gentle dental care experience. We know it’s not everyday you have to let another person look around your mouth, so we strive to do all we can to make sure your visit & your treatment comfortable, & we mean this in the broadest sense possible.
We pride ourselves on having brought together a team of dental professionals who always use a gentle touch when treating patients. Our dentists & dental hygienists provide meticulous teeth cleanings & take care & time when navigating the delicate structures of your mouth, such as your gums. And we are always happy to make accommodations for you if you have specific sensitivities. If you are uncomfortable in any way, please let us know! We prefer hearing feedback to worrying that you might have endured some kind of discomfort in silence!
Advances in dental technology, procedures & materials mean that we can take a more conservative approach to dental care than ever before. Plus, many of the technological advances we use at our office result in quicker, more comfortable processes & procedures. Even taking x-rays has become a faster & more efficient process now that we use digital radiograph technology. Technology means being able to catch problems early when they’re easier to fix & shorter recovery times for procedures that were more invasive with the limited instrumentation of the past. We’re living in a bright new future of dentistry & we’re happy to bring all of the best advances in smile care here at our practice.
We know one of the roughest parts about going to your regular teeth cleanings is fitting the visits into your busy schedule. We don’t want anything to stand between you & regular preventive dental care. That’s why we offer teeth cleaning appointments that fit around your work schedule, so you don’t have to take time off to see us. We will always do our best to learn your availability & schedule you into an appropriate time slot in the first place. However, please let us know if an appointment time conflicts with another obligation in your schedule. Asking to reschedule is always preferable to a last-minute cancellation. Seeing you consistently for cleanings is vital to keeping your smile healthy for the long run.
Our pledge to you is to provide the most personalized, effective dental care possible. Caring for your individual dental health is part of our larger goal of improving & supporting the overall health of the community. Dental health is deeply linked to your general health, so the happier & healthier we can make your smile, the stronger our community will be.
We fulfill this pledge in the following ways:
Chances are you don’t think of going to the dentist as a convenient & easy experience. We want to change that for good. We are committed to offering our patients preventive care appointments that fit with their busy schedules. We don’t want you to ever have to miss work or pull your children out of school for a teeth cleaning. That’s why we offer teeth cleanings outside of normal work & school hours to ensure you can see us regularly. If your next appointment is not scheduled at a time that is convenient for your, let us know, & we will do our best to get you in at a time that respects your schedule.
We’ve been working in dentistry long enough to know that many people have anxiety or fear about dentistry, & that these feelings can come from many different sources & be expressed in many forms. We promise to always do our best to make your dental visit as comfortable as possible by listening to your concerns & adapting to accommodate & alleviate them. We know that how comfortable you are at our dental clinic is tied to how healthy we can keep your smile. Never hesitate to let us know how we can put you more at ease!
We understand that the cost of dentistry can be intimidating for many patients. Please rest assured that our staff is trained to maximize all dental insurance benefits to ensure insured patients pay as little out of pocket as possible. For example, teeth cleanings are free for all insured patients at our dental clinic. And remember, not only is preventive care the most affordable kind of dentistry, it also saves you lots of money in the future by ensuring you don’t need any expensive restorative or gum disease treatments. We also provide dental coverage options for patients without insurance & financing options to make sure you get the care you need without having to stress about the cost. An investment in your smile always pays off!
With today’s modern sedation techniques & better understanding of the causes & solutions for dental phobia, there is no reason to fear the dentist. As dentists, the thing we fear the most is our patients being in pain or experiencing other challenges due to not visiting the dentist for checkups & treatment. Dentists & dental professionals are caring & compassionate people who got into dentistry to help others. Our primary goal is always your health & comfort, so if you experience dental phobia or fear, we will do everything we can to make visits to the dental clinic easy for you.
If you have dental fear or anxiety, it is very important that you tell the dentist, the dental hygienist, the dental assistant, & any of the other dental clinic staff who you directly interact with (for example, the receptionist or even the financial advisor). Don’t be afraid to tell us you’re uncomfortable! There is no way it’s the first time we’ve heard this & you are not alone. Plus, if we know you might be fearful or nervous, we can pull out all the stops to make sure you’re as comfortable & relaxed as possible.
We also recognize that dental anxiety can be a generalized anxiety about going to the dental clinic, or anxiety about a specific dental procedure or routine. For example, if you’re fairly comfortable at the dentist but feel anxious at the sound of an ultrasonic dental scaler, be sure to let us know so we can attempt to make you more comfortable.
We’re also aware that there’s such thing as dental phobia, that is more generalized & not necessarily rational. No matter your level of anxiety or fear, there are many ways we can put you at ease at our dental clinic & restore a positive relationship with your dental care.
For those with fairly mild dental anxiety, we can offer you creature comforts to distract or insulate you from certain irritations. If the sounds of certain dental procedures bother you, we can offer you earplugs. Or, you can wear headphones & listen to music that you find calming or that will distract you. We can offer you headphones if you do not bring your own. We can also provide sunglasses to protect your eyes from the light the dentist may be using to see inside your mouth.
From breathing exercises to simply talking to you, our dental hygienists & dentists are happy to walk you through calming techniques to guide you away from anxiety & back to calm. We’ll be encouraging when you’re doing well & understanding when you are not. If you’re starting to get uncomfortable, just signal us & we’ll pause the procedure until you’re able to go on.
Sedation is a fantastic option for those who have dental anxiety or fear. And just like there are different level of dental anxiety, there are different levels of sedation to go along with it.
Intravenous or I.V. sedation is the most powerful form of sedation & is sometimes referred to as “being put under”. I.V. sedation is usually administered by an anesthesiologist or a dental professional certified in anesthesiology. With I.V. sedation you will be unconscious during your dental procedure & may have very little memory of it when you wake up. You’ll be groggy afterward, so a friend will need to take you home.
Pill sedation involves taking an oral sedative prior to your visit or procedure. This can be prescribed by the dentist once you have had a conversation about your dental anxiety. You will receive instructions on how soon before your appointment to take your pill so it will be in full effect during your visit. Similarly to I.V., you may be groggy as the sedation wears off, so a friend should help you get home.
Lastly & probably most common is nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” sedation. This involves inhaling a scentless gas that calms & relaxes you. Unlike the more powerful options of I.V. & pill sedation, nitrous oxide sedation only lasts while you are inhaling it. That means that after your procedure is over & the inhalation device has been removed, you’ll be back to normal without any grogginess.
Once again, we have to emphasize that it’s very important for you to tell us if you have dental anxiety. The last thing we would want is to put you in an uncomfortable situation that could have been eased or avoided by having a conversation about your anxiety. We have lots of experience working with anxious patients & we encourage you to think of us as a partner in healing & alleviating your dental anxiety.
