Dental consultations are the very first step to any form of dental treatment. It is also often a barrier to dental care as many patients avoid dental consultation for various reasons, which I will explore in this Article. DentistConsultationHub is the first technology platform that has revolutionized the way of dental consultations by allowing patients to consult with a local or an overseas dentist online, get a quotation for their specific dental problem, and hire them all from the comfort of their home.
What is a Dental Consultation?
A dental consultation is a communication session between a patient and a dentist. Patients begin by providing a history of their oral health, the challenges they face with their teeth, gums, jaws, or dental joints, and seeking a solution to their problem.
During this session, the dentist gathers necessary information from a patient, discusses various treatment options, including advantages, disadvantages, risks, and discusses treatment time and the budget for each option.
Why Patients Avoid Dental Consultation Appointments?
There are different reasons why patients refuse a dental consultation appointment. The following list is a summary of those reasons:
- Worried about the COST of Treatment
- Don’t know what to EXPECT?
- EMBARRASSED to show their teeth or discuss fees
- Have FEAR or ANXIETY or a BAD MEMORY
- Cannot easily ACCESS a Dentist or don’t have TIME
- They DON’T KNOW they have a problem
How is DentistConsultationHub is changing Dental Consultation forever?
Cost of a Dental Consultation
Consulting a dentist requires the dentist to spend time with the patient and share his knowledge and experience. Dentists study very hard to become a doctor of oral health and they sell their time and professional expertise to help patients. However, dental consultation appointments are not as lucrative as most patients think. Dental clinics have a very high overhead to keep, the lights on, the rent, staff, and equipment paid. A small dental clinic can cost on average $150,000-$200,000 to set up and there are monthly expenses just like any business.
The consultation fee is hardly enough for a dentist to stay profitable, yet, it is a fee that requires billing to a patient to cover the minimal overhead.
During a dental consultation session, the dentist needs to have a clear picture of the patient’s problem. A thorough assessment is not always possible because teeth problems are often inside of the jaw bone. To fully understand the problem, the dentist will require a set of dental x-rays that add to the consultation session cost. In addition, the dentist may need additional dental records such as a physical or a digital dental impression and a series of intraoral photos. Even with these additional fees, dental consultation appointments are often a money loser appointment for most dentists. However, they must offer consultation appointments if they want to provide other treatments.
At DentistConsultationHub, through technology, we can bring dentists and patients together in a virtual room. Patients can share photos of their teeth using their smartphone or any x-rays or documents they may have in their possession. Dentists on our site can evaluate dental conditions remotely without interruptions from other patients and treatments and without the typical overhead they face during a dental consultation.
Because we can use technology, patients can request a consultation and price quotation for Free, and dentists can offer their expertise as well as a treatment quote to patients free of charge.
Patients Don’t Know What to Expect During a Dental Consultation
When patients have never visited a dentist before, they often are worried about the unknown, the steps involved, and meeting a new person.
DentistConsultationHub makes it easy to allow patients to sign up anonymously, getting a free consultation without physically going to the clinic just for a consultation. They can do this from their home’s comfort and build a professional relationship with a dentist they like.
Patients Can Become Embarrassed to Show Their Teeth
Many patients avoid dentists because they feel embarrassed about the condition of their teeth, don’t know what questions to ask, or are shy about their finances. Being embarrassed is one of the top reasons for patients avoiding dental consultations.
DentistConsultationHub platform helps patients who are embarrassed for any reason to access dentists remotely, so they feel more confident to share information in our secured HIPAA Compliant AWS Cloud servers.
Patients May Have Fear, Anxiety or a Bad Memory For Visiting a Dentist
Dental phobias are real, and many patients avoid seeing a dentist because they are anxious. In my book, ” Smart Spending On Your Teeth: The Blueprint From Consultation to Treatment Success,” I dedicated an entire chapter to this subject.
During my years of practicing as a dentist, I met so many wonderful patients who had taken them the courage for several months before visiting my practice or patients who could not even sit in my dental chair for a simple chat.
At DentistConsultationHub, we wanted to overcome the initial fear of patients who avoid even talking to a dentist to find out what problems they may be facing and what solutions could be available to ease and comfort.
Again, through the power of technology, fearful and anxious patients can consult a dentist and find a solution as their first step to improving their oral health.
Not All Patients Can Access a Dentist or Have Time to Visit One
If living in a major city, finding and accessing a dentist does not seem to be a big problem. However, billions of people across the globe cannot see or access a dentist without traveling for hours.
Many people who can easily access a dentist in larger cities and a hectic life schedule prevent them from finding the time to visit a dentist. This is especially true when patients face a major dental problem or a bill and travel to multiple dentists to get a second opinion for a dental consultation.
At DentistConsultationHub, we have been able to offer greater access to those patients who either live too far away from a dentist or cannot find the time to attend dental consultation appointments. Through our unique dental technology platform, patients are able to post their treatment requests once and get multiple consultations and quotations.
Many Patients They Don’t Know They Have a Problem
Another reason people avoid consulting a dentist is that they are not aware of having a dental problem. Dentists often see this when a family member complains of someone’s bad breath, grinding teeth at night, or snoring. After persuading them to consult a dentist, they often find out suffering from more dental problems such as advanced gum disease, deep cavities, or chronic infection.
Many dental problems can lack symptoms such as pain or swelling, so patients can assume they have no dental problem.
At DentistConsultationHub, we can detect problems early, even without any available Dental x-rays, and only through photographs uploaded by patients from their smartphones. Problems including gum disease, dental cavities, worn down teeth, deep bites, enlarged tongue, and oral sores can easily be detected, often indicating underlying issues.
What Does an Ideal Dental Consultation Look Like?
As mentioned before, a dental consultation is a communication session between a dentist and a patient. Patients are responsible for sharing as much information as possible, and dentists must ask deep and probing questions to understand better and evaluate dental problems.
An Ideal Dental Consultation will Include:
- A thorough medical and dental history on the patient
- Visual inspection through the use of intra-oral photography
- Radiographic evaluation when available
- Physical or Digital Impression of teeth when available
- Open discussion about patient’s functional and esthetic goals
- Discussion about patients treatment budget
- Presenting treatment options, advantages, risks, and alternatives
- Helping patients to find a way to pay for the ideal treatment
- Assisting patients to schedule an appointment time
As you can see, an ideal dental consultation takes a lot of time for both patients and dentists. More extensive and complex dental problems require even more time. This is one of the reasons we developed DentistConsultationHub as a platform to help patients save time and money during a consultation without feeling rushed. Patients can chat with one or more dentists through our dedicated and secured private chats, have a secure video call if necessary, and develop a solution on their schedule.
In conclusion, a Dental Consultation is the first step to improving oral health and is necessary for every person to get an evaluation. Oral health problems have been linked to many systemic problems such as heart disease, malnutrition, lung, cancer, diabetes, snoring, sleep apnea, pregnancy complications, and premature birth.
DentistConsultationHub is a Free dental consultation service where patients can post-treatment requests once and received multiple consultations and quotations from both local or overseas dentists. In addition, patients get their cases monitored by an internal dentist team to improve communication between patients and providers as well as ensure high-quality level of care is met.
Learn more about the dental records you need for best dental consultation experience. Click Here
