We’re pretty good at complex casework
About 67% of our business is standard cleanings, exams, and x-rays. We’re mostly in the business of preventative care (i.e., keeping people’s mouths clean and healthy).
But sometimes, things go wrong. Some of our patients need fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures, or some combination of all four. A smaller percentage of our patients need to see specialists to get more complex casework done (e.g., root canals at the endodontist, implants at the periodontist, extractions at the oral surgeon). And amongst an even smaller cohort, we need to closely collaborate across a number of different parties to make sure that our patients receive the care they need in order to achieve the best outcome.
In these complex cases, dental work is a puzzle that needs to be solved. We need to figure out what’s going on in the mouth, understand what the patient wants, understand what the patient is willing/able to spend, and course out a plan of action. Sometimes that plan can be solved in a month. And in some rare cases, it can progress over the course of a year (or years).
Where I think we differentiate ourselves is as follows:
Building trust with our patients such that they believe the prescribed treatment plan is the right thing to do.
Coordinating with insurance to make sure we know exactly how much the treatment is going to cost.
Collaborating with specialists to make sure they understand the treatment plan and patient’s goals.
Communicating closely with specialists over time to make sure things are progressing as expected.
Sharing updates with the patient to make sure any questions they have are answered as quickly as possible.
Some recent case studies include:
Restoring an implant that was placed ~20 years ago despite the original rendering provider having passed away and all record of the specifications pertaining to the implant having been lost. We partnered with multiple implant vendors to assess the implant (through visual evaluation and x-ray diagnostics) to determine the brand and dimensions of the implant to understand what abutment and tools would be needed to restore the tooth. We collaborated with a periodontist to assess the health of the implant to ensure restoration was viable. We worked with the patient’s insurance to determine the level of reimbursement. And we communicated with the patient the entire way to answer any questions they may have.
Triaging a patient issue in which they complained of swelling in the lower jaw for the past couple of weeks. We immediately confirmed a firm expanded area on the buccal bone adjacent to the 3rd molar on the lower left jaw. We partnered with an oral surgeon to have the patient seen the same day for CBCT and biopsy (which later confirmed a central giant cell granuloma). We coordinated next-step treatment with the University of Illinois-Chicago Dental School. The patient is scheduled for resection and is on the path to recovery (a long and difficult recovery - but recovery).
Transitioning a patient from removable dentures to an all-on-four fixed hybrid denture. We originally had this work scheduled for early 2024 but due to some complicating health factors (including coordinating with the patient’s GI doctor), we had to delay services until the Summer/Fall 2024. We partnered with a periodontist to place the implants. We brought in Ottawa Dental Lab to do in-person digital scanning using their state-of-the-art equipment. We coordinated denture delivery the day after implant placement and delivered the prosthetic to the patient’s satisfaction.
These complex scenarios are the exception in our business. But we know (and our patients trust us) that we can deliver in the most difficult conditions.