The team at Bridgeways Dental in Southampton has seen a massive and disruptive evolution within dentistry over the last 20 years, although not every dentist has adopted the fruits of this evolution (yes, there are still dental practices out there that do not use computers and rely on paper records… you can extrapolate from this to understand how well they keep up to date with their dental knowledge and skills).
Developments in the dental profession include new technology – such as Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), which significantly increased safety in oral surgery, and Intra-Oral Digital Scanning, which has opened new horizons in restorative dentistry – and also new research that has given us a better understanding on how to perform treatments with increased predictability and better outcomes.
Nevertheless, clinical dentistry at its core has not changed at all, in the sense that there are still some very basic dentistry principles without which good dental practice is not possible. So, this is what you should expect as a minimum from your dentist and in fact from any health professional, such as your GP or medical specialist:
A robust examination and taking of previous history, both medical and dental
The dental examination should be based on good, thorough, and sometimes what may seem somewhat intrusive questions to ascertain not only what your current problem and situation is, but also to set in stone what your health aspirations and desires (both dental and medical), are. Other than asking good questions, carrying out traditional tests and modern diagnostic procedures are also necessary.
A diagnosis and prognosis
All clinical examination procedures should provide a diagnosis, describing the current situation and pathology. Without this no dental treatment plan can be provided – you cannot treat a disease you do not know about. A prognosis of the current condition/disease is also important, as this will describe what are the possible outcomes of leaving the situation as it is and of providing no dental treatment. For diseases, this is practically the natural course of the specific disease, which of course may not always be that dramatic. The most common diseases in dentistry, (and for that matter in medicine as well), are caries (tooth decay) and periodontitis (gum disease).
Dental treatment planning with treatment options
The clinician should provide options for the treatment of disease and possible restoration of the destruction that it has created. The dental treatment should not only aim at arresting the disease but also preventing it in the future. This obviously includes educating and training the patient so they can better understand how to prevent further disease and increase the outcomes of dental treatment. For almost every dental problem there is what we call the advisable treatment or treatment of choice, i.e., the one that it has been shown to give the best long-term outcomes for a specific condition in a specific patient. This, however, may not be what a patient will choose, for many different reasons, including financial ones.
The risks and benefits of all dental treatment options must also be discussed to allow the patient to make an informed choice. Dental treatment planning may also include referral to other health providers if it is in the best interests of the patient (such as being beyond the skill or expertise of the examining clinician to successfully treat).
Delivery of care
This should be as comfortable as possible, and painless, although pragmatically dentistry can be sometimes uncomfortable since it is not practiced under general anaesthesia. Attention to detail and clinical dedication to achieve excellence is paramount. Perfection may not be always possible to reach but should always be aspired. Following well established guidelines does help with this, which means that the clinician should devote a lot of non-clinical time to study and keep up to date.
Follow-up
At completion of a dental treatment, a well-planned follow-up regime should be established which will aim to maintain the treatment outcome, deal with possible complications, either immediate or delayed, and support the patient on their journey to better health.
These are the five pillars of good clinical dentistry, and it is rather obvious that it is impossible to practice this in 10 minute appointments that are determined by managers working under health systems that primarily look at financial targets.
If you think you are not being treated based on the above principles, do call Bridgeways Dental in Southampton on 020 8086 8833 or send a message via our contact page.
The team at Bridgeways Dental treat everyone the way we would like to be treated.
