For me, each day at the office brings opportunities to visit with a wide variety of patients who find themselves at different stages of life. At one moment I might be helping a senior in high school who is preparing for college. In the other room my assistant may be preparing a 93 year old for an extraction. We certainly enjoy the variety in the patients we treat.
One thing never changes though…. no matter our life circumstances, we all want prompt and modern care so that we can move on with our busy schedules. Let’s face a reality: we are all very busy and want immediate attention and care from anyone who has a service in which we find ourselves in need of. I certainly can understand this reality. I desire the same prompt care from my medical providers as well.
A few weeks ago I added a statement to some of our office advertising. The addition read as follows: “Same day root canals and crowns in most cases.” I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to publicize this reality in our care for patients. Why was I excited? Let me explain. In the past, when a patient required major work on a tooth like a root canal, most patients and even dentists would expect that the entire treatment would require several visits, involving both the dentist and at least one other specialist. The first appointment would be an emergency consult with the dentist so that the need for root canal therapy could be established. The dentist would then refer the patient to a specialist who might practice 30 minutes away from the office. The patient would drive the 30 minutes to the specialist office, allow the specialist to examine the tooth and confirm the original diagnosis of the referring dentist. The specialist then would ask the patient to come back at a more convenient time so that treatment could be performed. The patient then returns a week later to the specialist’s office, receives care and then is instructed to go back to the original dentist so that the tooth can be prepared for a crown. The patient goes back to the dentist and has the tooth prepared for a crown and has a temporary made. The patient thinks they are left with one more visit but a few days later the temporary comes off and the patient makes a return visit to get the temporary glued back on. Finally, the patient then goes back to the office and gets the final crown glued on.
Wow! Did you lose track of how many visits it took to repair just one tooth? I even had to go back and count. From start to finish, it took the patient five visits for the care of just one tooth. I didn’t even count the falling off of the temporary. Now, after reading my long story of a patient who needed a root canal, maybe you can understand why I think that it is so amazing that we can provide “same day root canals and crowns in most cases.” Please understand that it is not always possible to complete care in one visit. Sometimes the complexity of the root still requires a referral to a specialist. Occasionally the existing infection does not allow single visit care either.
At this point you might be asking how it is possible that Cowan Family Dentistry could offer in one visit what might take five visits at other offices? The answer is continuing education and improved technology. My team and I employ such techniques as single file root canal therapy and 3 D printed all ceramic crowns in order to combine what once took five visits into one. This is a great use of my patients’ time. I know that my patients appreciate prompt service in a busy world.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please call or email my staff at your convenience.
Dr. C
Please call us at (254) 582-9555 or fill out the form below to request an appointment.