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Survey Feedback Results
Since our last newsletter, we have
decided to regularly contact you, our patients, for feedback on
your recent dental visit with us. We have found the
results very illuminating, and some trends are certainly
becoming apparent.
Most of all, we are pleased that you feel
you receive excellent customer service from all of us here.
The overwhelming response has been positive, and we promise to
continue to meet your expectations. We are happy to let
you know that over 80% of the responses from the last five
months Strongly Agree that we are trustworthy and take the time
to understand your needs. We are also happy that the
remaining 20% also Agree with these statements.
Additionally, over 90% of respondants are
Very Satisfied with our level of care, understanding, knowledge
and delivery of our services. We are all humbled by such
positive responses, and thank you for your continued trust in
our practice.
However, we have identified a small
weakness in our care. On occasions we have not been
effective in communicating the costs of your appointment before
we commence, and both Bryan and Steven are going to make a
concerted effort to outline your fees at the start of your
appointment.
We also acknowledge that the price of our
services is important to you. Dental services are
expensive to provide, and we have written about this previously.
As a business we must cover rent, equipment and legislative
compliance costs, just to open our doors. During your
visit, there are the costs of dental materials and consumables,
and not forgetting that there are wages for all of us that must
also be met. We attempt to keep our fees as low as
practical, and we believe that given your feedback, we continue
to offer great value dental services.
We strive to be the best we can be, and
your feedback, even if negative, is valuable to us. Please
let us know if there is anything we can do to improve your
visit, as your oral health is important to us.
Dental X-rays
Dental radiographs have been an important diagnostic tool to the
profession since their invention. At Orion Dental Centre
your dentists may take both intra-oral (inside the mouth) and
extra-oral (panoramic) radiographs depending on the clinical
need.
The predominant use of intra-oral bite-wing radiographs is to
screen for early tooth decay. As you may have heard Bryan
or Steven talk about at your previous appointments, early tooth
decay cannot often be detected from a pure clinical exam.
This is the insidious nature of dental disease, it is not often
painful until it has been left too late.
Also, as your dental health is not a static position, new
bite-wing radiographs are required periodically to assess for
change. Your dentist interprets the images, and then lets
you know what is going on in your mouth. Because we
use digital radiography, we can clearly show and explain to you
what the images demonstrate to us as clinicians on the monitor
attached to your chair.
A set of Bitewing Radiographs
The other predominant intra-oral radiograph is known as the
periapical, or PA. We use these images to assess the tooth
below the gum line. This image is essential if we are going
to remove a tooth to assess the tooth's root structure. It
is used to assist in root canal treatment to assist in the
length of the tooth, as well as the adequacy of the root
filling.
A front tooth with a
large abscess |
A lower molar during
root
canal treatment. |
Our practice also is home to an OPG machine. This
radiograph will be used to assess your wisdom teeth, and can be
forwarded to an oral surgeon if needed. It is also of
benefit for our younger patients when assessing dental
development and assists in orthodontic assessment.
As our radiography uses digital sensors and not plain film, we
can reduce the dose needed tp 'develop' a diagnostic image.
Also it takes less time to view the image, and we feel this
improves your dental experience. If you have any questions
about dental x-ray during your visit, please do not hesitate to
ask your dentists.
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