The trend in modern dentistry, as in much of modern medicine, is towards increasing the volume of patients seen. Having a high-volume practice helps dentists remain profitable despite the constantly shrinking compensation rates provided by dental insurance.
Unfortunately, when dentists spend less time with patients, the care they deliver can suffer. At Doolin Haddad Advanced Dentistry, we are part of a counter-trend with personalized dentistry. Instead of spending less time with our patients, our Rochester, MI dentists spend more time with them in order to deliver the best care we possibly can. Personalized dentistry can offer many potential benefits to patients, and we encourage you to seek it out.
What Is Personalized Dentistry?
You can think of personalized dentistry as the opposite of industrialized dentistry. In industrialized dentistry, the goal is to create an assembly-line approach. Every patient gets seen for a short time and gets identical care. In practice, this means minimum care: a cleaning and a quick checkup, which is supposedly adequate.
The problem is that people aren’t identical, and they don’t all benefit from identical care. To try to treat patients properly, personalized dentistry involves listening to each patient and giving patients the time necessary to give them options and the treatment they are seeking.
Benefits of Personalized Dentistry
Personalized dentistry can help you get many benefits from your dental visit that might lead to better care. These include:
- Time to get comfortable
- Care Beyond the Minimum
- Diagnosis of frequently missed conditions
- Anticipation of future problems
These benefits might lead not only to better care but to a better experience, too.
Get Comfortable at the Dentist
Many people have dental anxiety. This is not surprising given the nature of dental treatment. You are reclined while a person stands over you, shining a bright light in your face and putting their hands and tools in your mouth. You’re justified in being a little nervous at this, especially when the entire thing is rushed and the person is someone you barely know.
For many people with dental anxiety, an important first step is just taking time: taking time to get to know you and time to help you feel comfortable. It often takes more than that, but it’s an important place to start.
Get Exceptional Care
When a dentist has to see a large number of patients every day, they don’t have the time to deliver anything beyond minimum care. This means that anything that can be seen as “extra” is likely to be neglected.
One thing that gets neglected is the compassion we talked about above. Another thing that dentists neglect is ensuring you feel good about your smile. Being attractive is one of your smile’s central functions. Neglecting the appearance of your smile is almost as bad as neglecting your ability to chew. That’s why a personalized dentist will incorporate cosmetic dentistry into regular practice. Every treatment they give will help you have a healthy, attractive smile.
Get a Diagnosis for Other Conditions
When everyone gets minimum care, many health conditions get missed. Anything that’s outside the ordinary spectrum of gum disease and tooth decay might be neglected. Conditions like temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ or TMD) and sleep apnea are particularly susceptible to being missed.
These are also prone to be missed by your regular doctor, too. Since your doctor doesn’t see you when you’re sleeping and doesn’t know much about TMJ, these conditions are either completely neglected or misdiagnosed. If your dentist isn’t taking the time to consider these conditions, you might spend years suffering without a clear diagnosis. We’ve seen that happen with many of our patients, who had these conditions for years but had their symptoms dismissed or misdiagnosed by doctors.
Anticipate Future Problems
Industrialized dentistry is very reactive. Most dentists wait for a problem to arise, then they respond with treatment. They don’t have time to look ahead and anticipate how your tooth condition is likely to change so they can head off problems.
However, with personalized dentistry, your dentist will take the time to get to know you and your oral health in great detail. This helps them understand your current health and your likely future condition. You can then take proactive steps to avoid dental problems before they arise.
Offering Personalized Dentistry in the Detroit Area
If you are looking for personalized dentistry in the Detroit area, Doolin Haddad Advanced Dentistry is the right choice for you. Please call (248) 656-2020 or use our online contact form today to request an appointment with one of the dentists at our office in Rochester, MI.
