The Perils of Private Practice
My teeth and I have always had a tumultuous relationship. It’s not so much an issue of dental decay but the result of one unfortunate fainting episode that spawned this ongoing love/hate affair. From the re-placing of my displaced tooth; to the inevitable death of said tooth; to its extraction; to bridgework; to the death of an adjacent tooth; to a year on antibiotics; to an apisectomy – it’s a seemingly endless catalogue of misery. However, what could have been an even-more painful affair financially turned out to be relatively affordable, thanks to the NHS. This was truly a blessing as the majority of the aforementioned work was carried out during my university years. As a student, maintaining sufficient funds for the day-to-day is tricky enough without the prospect of costly dental treatment threatening the ability to pay rent. As an adult I continued to benefit from this sterling service. That is until two factors influenced my perspective: a) I became a qualified Naturopath and nutrition lecturer, b) I encountered complications with a tooth for which my trusty dentist could offer no solution.
I must stress that I’d never been unhappy with my NHS dentist. He’s incredibly skilled and experienced, and a thoroughly decent chap to boot. However he himself admitted to having limited resources and now, having exhausted all possibilities regarding ‘that tooth’, could provide no further help. In desperation, I felt I had no choice but to seek the advice of a specialist in the private sector. This wasn’t the first time I’d ‘gone private’ though. I’d briefly sought the advice of a holistic dentist during the peak of my Chronic Fatigue diagnosis, a condition I strongly suspect was a result of my antibiotic ‘year of hell’. At the time amalgam removal seemed to be the answer to my problems, a service my NHS dentist simply didn’t offer. The entire experience was quite the learning curve. Although I returned to my trusty NHS dentist, in the back of my mind I knew that it made no sense that my dental health care no longer matched my new, holistic lifestyle. My problem tooth now presented the opportunity to ‘go private’ again and, this time, give my teeth the much-needed overhaul that I’d been promising myself. So began my search to find the best, holistic dentist in London.
Are you deeply concerned about the finances required to return your mouth to excellent dental health?’ (a red flag, if ever there was one)…
First I Googled an up-to-date list of practitioners. Unlike my old, hard-copy list, this latest research offered the benefit of online ratings and reviews. Far from being of use, this simply added to my confusion. For every 5-star dentist that I Googled, there seemed to be at least one negative review. In the face of this conflicting information, I spent many weeks trying to make a decision. Finally, after much deliberation, I settled on one candidate on the basis of a friend’s enthusiastic recommendation. Inspired by his website’s boast of being ‘the leading provider of integrated dentistry and holistic health in England’, I ignored the odd negative online comment (after all, everyone seemed to have one of those), I ignored the scatty response by his receptionist (perhaps she was having a bad day), I even ignored the dubiously incongruous question on his wonkily photocopied Medical History questionnaire: ‘Are you deeply concerned about the finances required to return your mouth to excellent dental health?’ (a red flag, if ever there was one) unexpectedly sandwiched between two other health-related questions…
The dentist was based in Harley Street, a street so renowned for excellence in healthcare that I put aside my apprehensions and prepared to kiss goodbye to a significant chunk of my savings. After all, I reasoned, you can’t put a price on good health. On the day of my appointment the dentist was over-running. No problem. My NHS dentist frequently overran so I was used to a wait. Some 15 minutes into my appointment time I was greeted by a young man, dressed casually in a tee-shirt. I wasn’t expecting a lab coat but I must admit that this surprised me. His attire was matched by an equally casual attitude. A discussion on the replacement of my amalgam fillings was a brief affair which was surprising as it was a service that the practice promoted enthusiastically on their website. Disappointingly, he was unable to identify the cause of my problem, although he did suggest the removal of my tooth, which I was completely in favour of. He went on to recommend an implant not only for that tooth, but also for another. Given my traumatic dental history I wasn’t keen on going through yet another invasive process, and I explained this to him. That was when the casual attitude seemed to give way to a total loss of interest. Nevertheless he recommended a costly 3-D scan, stating that he’d assemble a treatment plan after he’d assessed this. I left, £400 lighter of pocket but confident that the scan would yield some resolution to my problem, and optimistic about this plan that would overhaul my old dental work. And then I waited.
Now, having spent £400 on a consultation and x-ray, one would expect to receive a prompt follow-up. After all, the friend who had recommended the dentist had received their plan within days of their consultation. (Incidentally, she’d consented willingly to two implants.) I waited a week and when nothing arrived I called the clinic. When I was finally able to get through, the receptionist seemed to have trouble locating my files. After a lengthy ‘on hold’ period I was informed that the dentist had been ‘away’ so had been unable to assess my x-rays, but that he would do so soon. I was also informed that any subsequent treatment would be carried out by a colleague. Assured that all staff were highly trained in the practice’s state-of-the-art equipment, I had no problem with this. Once again, I waited.
I might well have the wrong end of the stick on this but I guess I will never know. All I have is an expensive x-ray and a sense of wonder at how anyone can sustain a business through such a casual approach.
Another week passed with no sign of my plan, so I called again. The response was similar. More fumbling and waiting on hold. At that point the receptionist apologised for the situation. She also said that she wouldn’t be surprised, given the length of my wait, if I took my business elsewhere! I was flabbergasted. Compared to this Harley Street practice my NHS dental reception provided gold standard customer service! That afternoon however, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from the clinic’s dental assistant who explained the results of my x-ray. She said I’d be receiving my dental plan (which I did, finally, after a 3 week wait) and that someone would contact me to discuss my treatment. I’m still waiting for that call.
The moral of the story? Well I think there are probably a few, the first being: ‘A postcode is not a guarantee of good service’ closely followed by ‘trust your instincts’. Truth be told I’d had my suspicions from the moment that I encountered ‘that question’ on their Medical History form. Being the sceptic that I am, I had visions of the reader skipping through the 8-page document and making an assessment on the basis of the patient’s answer. ‘Are you willing to splash the cash?’ I might well have the wrong end of the stick on this but I guess I will never know. All I have is an expensive x-ray and a sense of wonder at how anyone can sustain a business through such a casual approach. It’s disappointing to think that anyone involved in my field (holistic health) could be doing the job from a purely financially-motivated perspective. Make no mistake; we all have to make a living. But, as holistic practitioners, I firmly believe that the care and regard we have for our clients is of paramount importance. To quote the clinic’s own somewhat ironic ethos, we should “be committed to helping people regain balance in their life”. The image we present, the manner in which we choose to conduct ourselves, the respect we show each client, not to mention to ourselves – these are all a reflection of our Practice. In an age of social media, to behave in any other way is, to my mind, a pretty fatal career move.
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