What is a “dental home?”

People use the dentist is two main ways. First, some people use their dentist as a “dental emergency room.” This tends to be people who wait for something to break or become painful, then come in to have it fixed. There’s nothing wrong with this model, however, it usually leads to increased costs and unpredictability for the patient. When we wait for the teeth to tell us something is wrong, it’s usually REALLY wrong. We are usually talking big, expensive dental work that needs to be done ASAP. Another option is to come in proactively, BEFORE you suspect problems. We like to call this coming to a “dental home.” A home is a place you go regularly, a place you trust and know will care and support you. That’s what your dentist should be. The two main benefits of having a dental home and being proactive with your dentistry are costs and predictability. Cost wise – it’s much less expensive to fix things if we can catch them early. Predictability wise – because we catch things earlier, usually we have the luxury of time on our side – we can fix teeth around your schedule. However you choose to visit the dentist is ok with us. Just remember if you wait until something hurts or is broken – you’ve probably already missed the window to fix it easily and on your schedule.