DENTAL HEALTH: ALIGNING PATIENT GOALS WITH BEST PRACTICES

When a patient and dentist meet at the appointed hour, do they have the same goals?

The individual who goes dental school has chosen a rigorous profession dealing with the health of gums and teeth, apparatus the rest of us take for granted. As a group, dentists are practical and science-oriented. But they also place high value on ethics, and genuinely care about their patients.

We patients, on the other hand, wish we never had to think beyond the tooth brush, not to mention the floss. Most of the time, there are only two things that will motivate a patient to visit the dentist: pain (or its avoidance), and the desire for an attractive smile.

As it happens, both of those things depend on good health. Although patients tend to think of their mouth as separate from other health issues, the truth is that a bad tooth can cause serious illnesses if left untreated.

Naturally patients prefer dentists who are compassionate and personable, and there is also evidence that a good relationship with the dentist encourages patients to practice better

Did you know

The more adept a dentist is in communicating with patients, the fewer questions patients tend to ask during the consultation. Conversely, patients who felt less trust ask more questions and take a more active role in their own oral health.

Trust in the Dentist-Patient Relationship – a review (Journal of Young Investigators, June 2005) By Jeremy Jacquot, UCLA (Chapple et al. 2003, and Schouten et al. 2003) treatment adherence. Since good oral care is one area where patients can have a huge influence on a successful outcome, dentists and patients both win when patients take a more proactive role.

Dr. Dena Robinson understands her patients’ concern with an attractive smile, but she says her true motivation came from her grandmother, who had oral cancer and died without teeth. “It was difficult to watch,” Dr. Robinson says. “I want to educate people and get them up to speed with what I see going on in their mouth. It might be decay, or missing teeth, or a funny lesion on the tongue.”

She says one of her pet peeves is when patients who saw their parents use dentures believe they are destined for the same fate. “That’s just not true,” says Dr. Robinson. “I want people to keep their teeth and chew their food.”

If there is more than one potential treatment plan available, many dentists will explain the pros and cons, in order to let the patient make in informed decision. This is true for traditional dentistry as well as for cosmetic procedures.

Whether you’re considering clear aligners, retainers or today’s braces, Lakewood Orthodontics is the smart choice. Dr. Patricia Simon is a specialist in straightening teeth and aligning your bite. She has three years of education beyond dental school, including a surgical fellowship. So she’s an expert at helping you get a great smile – that feels great, too.

“For me, the relationship is a partnership more than it is a dictatorial ‘doctor-says’relationship,” explains Dr. Patricia Simon of Lakewood Orthodontics. “Especially with my adult patients, it’s a partnership where we’re designing their smile.” For that to happen, the patient has to clearly communicate their goals, and to be clear on what they want to achieve. With that understanding, the doctor can assess whether the goal is realistic. Dr. Simon says, “It may involve me and their dentist, or me and another specialist to achieve that. I’m more or less the quarterback on the team, to hand off to whoever else needs to be involved and coordinate those appointments with that doctor so we all are on the same page.”

If the patient is a child, the team expands to include the parents, but the child retains much of the responsibility. Dr. Simon explains to them: “Here’s what we can achieve, if you’re willing to do all of these things. If you’re not willing to do that, here’s what we can get, does that make you happy? And so they know where our limitations are. They’re making a decision for themselves.” The patient understands they are responsible for a large part of the outcome.

Sometimes people who exercise and choose healthy diets still find reasons to put off a visit to the dentist. The reality is that if we hope to live to a healthy old age, we should all be making plans to keep our teeth. Dr. Dena Robinson puts it this way: “At the end of the day, we all want to really enjoy our food and be able to chew it. It’s the nutrition we need to sustain our lives.” HCA

Snow day smiles

New neighbor Sean Henry , owner of Austin-based Houndstooth Coffee coming soon to Lakewood, and his family enjoyed the white Christmas. From left, Ananda , 3, Sean , Melissa and Alden , 1.

Raising the bar

Five of these girls are Lakewood gymnasts — Kaylie Sheaffer, Lily Lane, Allison Williams, Kate Giebler and Miranda Farrar — whose team brought home impressive awards from the 2012 Texas USA Gymnastics level 5 state championship meet. The team won four gold medals and one silver. All of the gymnasts train under Greg Goots and Amber Neroes at Ridgewood Gymnastics in Lakewood.

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