Circle Jan2018 low

HEALTH
How to decide on
dental treatment
Patients head to dental clinics to fix their
teeth or to get advice on their teeth. more
often than not, they have specific thoughts
in mind. to us practitioners, some of these
thoughts make sense, while others not so
much. in close communities such as ours,
word travels fast. Patients hear of different
kinds of treatments carried out, what went
wrong, timeframes, costs etc. they quote
how this and that was done and how well it
worked out for them, but not so much for
others.
Patients approach their dentist quoting
and demanding specific treatment regimes.
the dentist then examines and proposes
different treatments. often, patients seek a
second opinion either because the dentist
disagrees with their proposal or because the
patient wishes to verify the new proposal
with another dentist. Proposals often vary
from one dentist to another. Patients often
insist and quote how well a treatment
worked for her/his friend/family member and
wish that for themselves.
in maltese we have a saying; ‘mitt ragel
mitt fehma’, meaning that a hundred people
will give a hundred different opinions. this
also applies to dentists but, luckily, most
dentists should agree on at least two to
three lines of treatment for that specific
patient. obviously, patients cannot be seen
by so many dentists to decide on what is
best for them. General dental practitioners
should be in a position to recognise whether
the patient in their chair can and should be
treated by them, or whether they should be
referred to their more experienced and
qualified colleagues.
at times, general dental practitioners
may also perform procedures done by
specialists. ongoing dental education and
professional development courses help
expand our skills and experience allowing us
to take on and offer more treatment
modalities.
all this is very confusing! to top it up,
prices for the same treatment also vary. this
is due to a number of factors; experience,
qualifications, materials used, set-up,
guarantee given and most of all service
offered. For example, patients often say: “but
the other dentist said it can be done for this
amount, and now you are saying it will cost
more and must be done differently”. Believe
it or not, this is often done by email or
telephone. Patients call the clinic or send
radiographs by email and say: “i need this
and that, how much will it cost?”. they
expect to get a concrete figure without even
getting to the clinic, or even without taking a
radiograph. this is very frustrating for a
dentist who wishes to offer the best advice
and perform the right book-standard
treatment, assuring the patient that their
treatment will last.
Sometimes old-fashioned ways of
treating patients, not referring to techniques
but to good chair-side manners, are the
better way to advise patients; to be honest
to patients, to have peace of mind that the
patient will walk out happy and would have
received what was best for them not for the
dentist or practice. it’s a fine line. don’t rush
into things, get the information and make
rational decisions with the help of a
trustworthy dentist. ask your dentist!
Dr Jean Paul
Demajo,
Dental and
Implant
Surgeon.
48Sunday Circle ∫ JANUARY 2018