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Prioritizing Quality Dental Care for Your Family

A few months ago, our community was shocked to hear that a Woodbury dentist’s license was suspended due to substandard dental care, and his office shut down abruptly. Patients were left feeling stranded and helpless. This story underscores a dilemma facing the dental community. How does a consumer ensure that they are receiving high-quality dental treatment? How do I gauge a dentist’s track record of success? What questions should I ask? You can feel empowered to choose the right care for your family by learning what to look for.

Understanding quality care begins with a greater understanding of the “death cycle” of the tooth. Work that does not restore teeth to their original strength, appearance, and function simply delays future issues. This progression has been called the “death cycle” of the tooth. A dentist’s goal should be to reliably monitor and ultimately halt this cycle.

Too often, slowing the cycle (rather than stopping it) is more convenient for the dentist and can be done in less time, with less effort, and occasionally at less cost. At first, this may seem great to the patient. Looking back to the dentist mentioned at the beginning of the article, some patients mentioned going to him because he was the cheapest. But without a measure of quality, only knowing cost can be problematic, low-quality work can end up being very expensive as well as costing you your health. Dental techniques matter, and some dentists document and share their outcomes. But is it reasonable to ask a dentist for quality metrics that might help to assess the quality of their work?

Before you begin treatment with a dentist you have every right to understand all of your options, your cost of care, and your providers history of procedural success so you can make informed decisions. And informed consumers push dentists to do our best for you! On the Aurora Dentistry website, you can see our quality metrics: www.auroradentistrymn.com/quality-metrics/. Dr. Erik expects excellence with each tooth he works on and his quality metrics bear this out; Dr. Davis has a 99.00% success rate for fillings and a 99.45% success rate for crowns measured over the last two years at stopping the death cycle after treatment is completed. If success metrics are not available on your dentist’s website, consider a couple of key factors: Does the tooth that was worked on feel like all of your other teeth when you are biting down or chewing or does it feel foreign or unnatural? Does the repaired tooth visually blend in with the teeth around it or does it have a different shape? You might not be used to taking a close look at your teeth, but you are the best judge and you should trust your intuition. Be assured, if the feel and the appearance of the tooth that was worked on matches your natural teeth and the teeth around it you’re likely receiving reliable work. Perhaps your dentist tracks the percentage of patients who return with discomfort after work is completed? Perhaps they utilize photography to evaluate their completed work? Ask your dentist about how they feel most comfortable keeping track of their quality of care and how they would like you to evaluate them.

Take control of your dental care. By prioritizing dentists who provide reliable work and a high level of transparency, you can ensure better long-term dental outcomes for yourself and your family. At Aurora Dentistry I welcome your questions and your search for the best care. I invite you to schedule a free consultation and to ask the “hard questions”. I am confident that if you visit our office you will experience how our commitment to treating you like family, combined with our understanding of advanced techniques and technology, will result in a level of excellence that will benefit you and your family. Give us a call!

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