A beautiful, natural looking smile is a wonderful thing but according to recent research by Mintel that suggests that circa a third of people living in Britain are either unhappy or very unhappy with their teeth and a whopping 69% of people say that visible unsightly teeth affect their mental well being.
Despite these concerns, circa one in five people only visit the dentist when they have a problem, only a third of people will have visited the dentist in the last six months and only two thirds of people actually clean their teeth twice a day!!
Things are changing though and the global cosmetic dentistry market is now worth over £14.5 billion (and expected to grow to over £25 billion over the next five years).
Purvi Precious, FHDC’s Principal Dentist observes though that things are definitely changing. “I like most UK dentists after qualifying worked within the NHS. The priority was prevention and restoration i.e. keep teeth healthy and then fix them when something went wrong. Whilst this is still as relevant in modern dentistry, it didn’t accommodate people’s wants and needs from an aesthetic perspective. Teeth could be healthy but still be unsightly’.
FHDC has been solely private now since 2006 and whilst the basic dental priority of its clinical team is still to help keep peoples teeth healthy, there is also the recognition that people want their teeth too look good too.
Purvi continues, “My patients today expect to be given choice and that’s what we pride ourselves on at Far Headingley Dental Care. We ask people what concerns they may have about the appearance of their teeth and we proactively give recommendations on how we can improve their smile through modern dental treatment at our practice’.
Unsurprisingly client awareness is partly driven through social media. Instagram has created consumer demand for the perfect white, straight teeth smile. Whether you feel that this accelerated awareness is a good or bad thing, the reality is it has made people question the old school NHS dental approach and seek out modern cosmetic dentistry solutions.
“Trust is a massive factor when choosing a dentist”, adds Purvi. “I firmly believe that our team should understand the needs of our patients before offering dental treatment solutions”. This is why patient loyalty is high at FHDC and many people join the practice after being referred by their friends and family.
“Selling used to be considered a ‘dirty word’ in dentistry”, suggests Purvi. “Now it is a concept that all good dentists should adopt. I suppose our approach at FHDC is more of an ‘ethical selling’ approach. It’s my responsibility to find out exactly what my patients a) need to have healthy teeth and b) want to achieve their desired smile. I then present the options to them. It is always their choice though as to what course of action they take”.
“Where possible I like to start small with ‘Cosmetic Tweakments’ i.e. smaller less invasive treatments that can have a great impact. These might range from teeth whitening or using dental composites to repair or change the shape of teeth. If you have crooked teeth I would explore using one of our short-term orthodontic systems to straighten them. Invisalign is one of the most popular treatments I offer at FHDC and we currently include free teeth whitening at the end of each completed treatment plan as this helps deliver a true wow factor”.
Purvi finishes by adding, “Once of the best value options to all of our patients at FHDC is to regularly see our dental hygienist. Having your teeth cleaned and polished by our in-house expert not only helps ensure that damaging plaque is removed, the service will leave you with a fresh feeling mouth will certainly help you feel like smiling!’
