The number one thing a dentist hears (and dreads) when they meet a new patient for the first time is “Sorry doc, but I just need to tell you that I hate the dentist. No offense.” No one wants to hear that strangers hate them all day, and some dentists take it personally. But after hearing this a few times, I decided to dig deeper. The dentist chair isn’t my favorite place to be either. In fact, dentists tend to be the worst patients and ironically tend to avoid the dentist themselves.
But I wouldn’t say I hate it—I did become a dentist after all.
After helping numerous patients work through this feeling, I now know most of this dislike stems from bad experiences in the past. My goal is to change this mindset with new, positive experiences. A large part of why I decided to risk everything and open a practice of my own is because I wanted control over the patient experience.
I try to treat every patient as if they are me, my mother, or my child sitting in the chair. What would I want? How would I feel? How can I make this visit better? At Holy City Dentistry, the patient is our focus, because it’s your mouth and you’re in control of it. And we know you don’t have to be here, but we’re happy you are.
Obviously no dentist can promise to be 100% pain-free, because every person’s pain threshold is different. But there are techniques that can absolutely minimize pain and anxiety, while focusing on making the patient as comfortable as possible. It takes some extra time, patience, empathy and communication, which is why so many dentists get a bad reputation if they don’t focus and deliver on those things. We do.
I created my dentist office on James Island to help people achieve optimal oral health, be confident in their smiles, and live a long, happy life being able to eat, drink, and say whatever they want. Our goal is to form a lifelong partnership with our patients.
Do we need teeth to live? No. But it sure makes life more enjoyable to be able to smile big for that wedding photograph, or eat a beautifully cooked steak. We’re here to help get you there, or to help you do all the right things to stay there. No one is perfect, including ourselves, so we get it. Ours is a judgement and lecture-free office. We’re ecstatic when you walk through our door, and we will do everything in our power to ensure you are happy to be there.
