What's your opinion of Salon Dentistry?


Walk in dentistry performed in a beautiful environment. No waiting for a dentist to have free time in their schedule because you don't have to even see a dentist. I am sure the staff are attractive and the ambiance is very nice. Sound familiar? This is a possibly a new trend I've noticed around NYC. Probably it is true for dentistry in the rest of the country as well. What's not to like?

Possibly plenty... The performance of actual "high end" dentistry requires a high skill level, one that often takes years of training to attain. Attractiveness of the staff and facility have no bearing and truth be told, there are more than a few dentists that are just not into maintaining their skills at a high level. Probably that is to be expected, since the trend among the public and dental insurance companies is to judge dentistry as a commodity. There seems to be a growing emphasis on getting the best price point in order to achieve the most "affordable dentistry". If dentists are aiming to satisfy this trend, they may have less incentive to improve their skills, since they are not getting paid a fee that would support spending the greater effort required in order to fabricate  restorations that last a long time. They may  reason that  fillings and crowns that last five years before failing are probably good enough. After all, if a tooth is lost due to this failure, it's not the end of the world, and at the end of the day there is  the possibility of an implant restoration being utilized to replace any lost teeth.

The problem is that this is not truly "affordable dentistry" since doing things over and over is not cheaper and certainly not better. There is no free lunch in life and most bargains come with strings attached. We should not  kid ourselves... While paying "a lot for your dentistry" doesn't actually ensure quality, going to a "low bidder" makes long lasting results that preserve teeth even less likely. Usually good work takes extra time that costs dental offices more to provide. Dentistry is not automated yet and the work that we do requires careful attention to achieve quality results.


from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-your-opinion-of-salon-dentistry.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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