13 Red Flags to Watch for at the Dentist’s Clinic

Heading to the dental clinic is always nerve-racking. Moreover, if the dental service is not subpar then it would leave you with a sore set of choppers. There are certain red flags or warning signs that the patient must bear in mind while visiting a dental office.

1. Maintain Old Dental Records of the Patient:

The Dental office should be well equipped with the old dental records of all its patients as a lot of dentistry is about tracking the dental problem back to understand its etiology or the root cause. Records are also required to understand any existing changes in the mouth of the patient.
Did you know that a healthy patient needs a dental OPG every two years according to American Dental Association.

2. Technically up to date Dental Office:

Dental office should be well equipped with the Latest Technology machineries and consumables. The dentist should be well versed with the recent trends of various dental treatments. Today, in this competitive world, it is wise to walk with the trend for which the dentist should regularly upgrade.

3. Germs on the Phone:

Ping. You got a new notification on your phone. Or you need to kill time between tasks with candy crush or Words with Friends. We as dentists use our phones as much as the next person. But once I or my assistant puts on our pair of sanitised gloves. WE CANNOT TOUCH our phones or laptops without not having to replace the gloves. The gloves should be germ free before it enters the mouth of the patient.

4. Sterilised instruments:

Make sure that the instruments should be cleaned well with special detergent. Then these instruments should be cleaned in an Ultrasonic Cleaner in which the ultrasonic waves help in better cleansing of the instruments. Without any delay place these instruments in an Autoclave in which the instruments are cleaned under steam that is heat and pressure. Later, these instruments should be stored in sterilised box or in disposable pouches before its use in the patient’s mouth. Also, Cold Sterilization should be done for all those instruments that cannot be autoclaved as per the recommendations of the Dental Council. Do not choose a clinic where instruments are cleaned in a stainless steel steriliser and glass bead steriliser and various chemicals. Sterilisers and glass bead steriliser use is obsolete. Cleaning by Autoclave is mandatory.

5. Tubings and Basin of the Dental chair:

Ask your dentist whether they put efforts in cleaning the internal surfaces of the tubings of the dental chair setup. The tubings are cleaned with its specific chemical and water as prescribed. This is done specifically to clear off any particulate matter lodgement and avoid blockage in the tubings or pipelines, thus avoiding any kind of bad smell coming from the tubings of the dental chair. Also, do check for the clean basin attached to the dental chair. The basin should be cleaned on daily basis with specific chemicals and water. There should not be traces of any kind of stains on the Basin.

6. Use of disposables:

Ask your dentist whether the complete dental setup is wrapped in cling sheets to avoid its staining and control infection. These sheets should be changed at regular intervals. Also, these sheets should be changed after every dental surgery. Also various dental chair disposables available that cover various parts of the dental chair for better infection control. Also, disposable covers are available for dental hand-pieces. Check for disposable glasses for rinsing mouth.

7. Oral Cancer Screening:

Ask for your Oral Cancer Screening every six months if your dentist has diagnosed you with any kind of precancerous lesions or tumours. The risk of oral cancer has increased three-fold over past two decades. Allow your dentist to check for any abnormal white or grey or red patches, lymphnodes of neck, lift your tongue and check its base from both sides, tongue surface, skin in the mouth or mucous membrane, inner aspects of cheek and lips and gums.

8. Hall of Fame in the Clinic:

The dental office should be designed in such a way that it has room for the display of the certificates and achievements of the dentist and the photos of the dental treatment performed by the dentist. It is the right of the patient to know that such work is performed by the dentist before successfully.

9. Restoration of Tooth Conservatively:

With the advent of the technologies in the dental fraternity, it is possible to restore even a hopeless tooth in the mouth. Always prefer to save the natural tooth over its extraction and replacement. There are many clinics which focuses more on the cheaper tooth removal procedure followed by its expensive replacement. If an option to save tooth is not given to the patient then it means that the dental clinic lacks a technosavy set up and the dentist has not upgraded to the recent advancements. Also, there are likely chances for the existence of malpractice in order to get big tickets of expensive teeth replacement from the patient. Opt for the most minimalistic conservative approach first and then extensive approach.

10. Dental Laboratory:

Know that the dental office is tied up to a good dental laboratory for the dental prosthesis work. The quality of the work should be good with precise fit and good colour aesthetics by the dental laboratory. This dictates about the quality of the dentistry practised by the dentist. Always inquire for the dental prosthesis fabricated by the CAD/CAM technology. It will be an expensive choice but it is worth the cost. Do not think before you invest for yourself.

11. Cautious on the Up-Sell:

Be aware that your dentist does not sell any extra medications like vitamins, dietary supplements, botox, derma fillers or any other medications without any reason to you. It is an unethical practise to make more from the patient.

12. A Good Listener:

A dentist should be a good listener, talk gracefully and politely, calm and comforts the patient, listens with patience the details of the dental and related medical discomforts. Such dentist separates themselves from the rest of the dentists for whom every patient is nothing more than a set of teeth. The later type of dentists are quite commercial in their approach. They fail to have a customised dental treatment approach for their patients. Make sure that your dentist designs a customised, unique and competent dental treatment plan for you as every patient is different, with different needs, different priorities, different ability to pay and the roadblocks to the treatment are different. No patient should be treated as a guinea pig. Patient deserves respect for their decision to get the dental treatment done from us.

Be aware that with the Increase in number of Dentists around there is Decrease in the number of the Good Dentists. Today, the world is quite competitive as a result a lot of dental clinics have entered into unethical or mal-practise in order to survive to be the fittest. Be wise before you choose!

For any kind of queries or detailed information, be free to consult us at Belle 32 Family Dental Clinic or you can call us at 9819188371.