Doing what we love…the wait is over

The last week has been full of mixed emotions. We started the week a little apprehensive of how our clinic, our staff and our patients will cope with dental care so soon after the covid lockdown period. We have worked tirelessly throughout the lockdown period to be as prepared as we could for this comeback however, it is normal to still feel some apprehension.

As soon as the first morning of the week started, the apprehensive feelings were replaced with happiness and relief. Our patients were all so grateful to be at the clinic, we were still able to talk about many things and thankfully, the negativity around covid-19 wasn’t the topic of our conversations. Instead we discussed dental care, dental problems and dental solutions. We had friendly conversations with our patients without having to worry about anything else. Our clinics are all very spacious and it is very easy for us to discuss dental care with our patients whilst enforcing a high level of social distancing throughout. This is a huge benefit to our team and our patients as we are able to communicate with our patients to enable them to fully understand their dental care options and make an informed decision.

During clinical procedures our team wore their usual high level of PPE with a few additions as per current guidance. It was as ‘normal’ as it could be and didn’t restrict us or our team in providing the full level of care we all pride ourselves with.

One of the standout cases from the week was the treatment for our patient who had been waiting since March to have her dental implant treatment. She had been struggling with a very loose and uncomfortable bridge on the left side and was due to have this treated in March. This treatment had been one of many treatments that was postponed due to the lockdown. Unfortunatly for our patient, this was a very big problem that made eating, smiling and even talking difficult. We communicated via phonecalls and emails throughout the lockdown and I did my best to give dental advice over the phone to help her get through the lockdown period. It was a struggle for her!

As soon as the news and media reported that dentists can open again, can you guess who emailed me on that evening of Thursday 28th May? So we did the treatment, finally, last week. It went really well and I enjoyed every second of the procedure as it had been the longest I had ever gone without being able to do implant surgery since I had started many years ago. However, seeing the relief and joy in our patient after the treatment was even more satisfying. I understand the struggles that she went through during the lockdown period and I am so grateful that we were able to help her move on from that big dental problem. She can look forward to eating and talking again with ease! This is why we do our job – to help our patients overcome the dental problems that are affecting their quality of life. This is more relevant now than ever before!

I feel blessed to be able to do a job that has a positive influence on our patient’s lives. I know that our whole team feel the same way and I will savour every single patient interaction I am fortunate enough to have in the future. 

Thank you to all of our patients who have continued to support us and trust us with their dental care.

Mohsin Patel