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Last week I saw a person that was my patient for 30 years and recently transferred to another dentist because she didn't want to travel to my office in Saratoga. This patient had fabulous teeth and I believe that in all the time that I treated her, I had only restored 2 or 3 teeth. I would have bet my life that she would keep every tooth for her entire life.
The patient was in my office because the mercury filling that I placed 30 YEARS ago had leaked and fallen out. When I walked into the treatment room the patient immediately explained why she had left my office and that she had such a bad experience with her new dentist that she NEEDED to return to my office. She explained that she called the new dental office which she had been to previously and explained that she was having discomfort on her lower right molar. The secretary informed her that she would have to wait a week because the dentist was very busy. At her appointment, the dentist told her that she needed to have her very small filling replaced and that she would have to wait another 3 weeks because that was the soonest that they could fit her into their schedule. (Aside: Doesn't the patient's pain matter?) My patient then explained that the dentist took out the filling and stated that the tooth was fractured and need to be extracted which accounted for the missing tooth that I saw when I quickly surveyed her mouth.
OH MY GOD!!!!! A missing tooth in the mouth of a patient who (in my opinion) should never had lost a tooth.
Anyone who knows my office will know that any of my patients who call our office with pain or some other emergency will be seen on the day that they call and I will do everything that I can to resolve the emergency as SOON AS POSSIBLE. Obviously, not all dentists have the same philosophy.
I am thrilled that my long time patient returned to my practice. Unfortunately, her short departure from our office meant that she suffered for a month and it eventually cost her a tooth.
My practice is totally dedicated to taking care of my patients even if comes at sacrificing some income. I stand by my office motto which, as you know is:
"DO THE RIGHT THING."
(Aside: I still hate when a patient that I have treated for years leaves my practice.)
