Doctors

Improving the Dental Care Customer Experience

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Everyone knows that the vast majority of patients do not like going to the dentist. In fact many people are afraid of the dentist and won’t even go when there is a problem. Therefore, it is important that dentists focus on the customer experience to create customer success and have patients keep coming back. Having positive outcomes for patients can lead them to refer their friends and family to the practice. Dentist should consider questions such as “are our customers happy?” and “do we provide quality care?”. Below are some ways to improve the customer experience for dentists that will lead to better outcomes for patients and for dentists: 1. Stay in Touch Even though you may have a dental patient, it is important to continue to cultivate that relationship. After they leave the dental office you may consider calling … Read more

Why You Need Tooth Extractions before Orthodontic Treatment

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Orthodontic treatment for each patient needs to be planned differently based on the individual patient’s, needs and requirements. Therefore, before placing teeth braces, your orthodontist checks for any severe crowding or other factor that helps decide if tooth extraction is required or not. When tooth extraction will be needed: Orthodontists generally avoid tooth extractions unless a critical factor encourages them to recommend it. However, some major factors that may convince your orthodontist to extract your tooth are: Crowded teeth Extra teeth must be removed as they affect the position of other teeth too.  It also helps create space for necessary tooth movement. Besides, lack of space for all teeth can cause a crooked smile or lead to a bad bite. Expansion of arches can help treat mild to moderate crowding of teeth, but it is limited to facial aesthetics and … Read more

Is it Safe for Children to Receive Sedation/Anesthesia from an Oral Surgeon or Dentist using a Single Provider/Operator Model?

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Recently on this site there has been much discussion on updated guidelines put out by various groups that argue that children having deep sedation and anesthesia are not safely being served by dentists and oral surgeons using a single provider/operator model. Instead these guidelines call for a multi-provider model where the person doing the dental work or oral surgery and the person administering and monitoring the sedation/anesthesia are two separate individuals. See the posts AAOMS Pushes Back on Anesthesia Guidelines for Pediatric Patients and Updated Sedation Guidelines in Dentistry for Children for additional details. Some of the individuals leading the charge against the current anesthesia delivery model for children have published a new opinion piece titled “The Single-Clinician–Operator/Anesthetist Model for Dental Deep Sedation/Anesthesia: A Major Safety Issue for Children” published online in JAMA Pediatrics on Oct. 28, 2019 (written by … Read more

AAOMS Pushes Back on Anesthesia Guidelines for Pediatric Patients

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Earlier this year in 2019, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA), the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists (ASDA), the Society for Pediatric Sedation (SPS), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) put out updated guidelines regarding the use of deep sedation and general anesthesia for children at a dental facility. The ASA, SPA, ASDA, and SPS put out a separate distinct set of guidelines from the AAPD/AAP. These guidelines are available from https://www.asahq.org/advocacy-and-asapac/advocacy-topics/office-based-anesthesia-and-dental-anesthesia/joint-statement-pediatric-dental-sedation and the June 2019 edition of Pediatrics in an article titled “Guidelines for Monitoring and Management of Pediatric Patients Before, During, and After Sedation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures” written by Coté and Wilson, which was previously discussed in the blog post Updated Sedation Guidelines in Dentistry for Children. The guidelines are slightly different but the … Read more

Does the U.S. Need Universal Healthcare? Thoughts on Universal Healthcare from Democratic Presidential Candidates and Twitter

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Many Americans are not satisfied with the current health care system. Before on this site it has been argued how the U.S. is in need of a single-payer health care system, see the post The Cost of Health Care in the U.S. compared to Other Countries. Many democratic presidential candidates in 2020 have come out in favor of universal healthcare. Also looking through tweets on Twitter one can see that many in the U.S. are also in favor of universal healthcare. However, a single-payer health care system does not go far enough and should also include dental care. As has been discussed in the post ADA Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: Repairing the Tattered Safety Net Americans are increasingly finding it difficult to pay for dental care. Dental care is also intimately tied to health care. … Read more