When it comes to her teeth, Susan Scovell knows exactly
what makes her happy. “I like to have a perfect smile,” she shares.
Though she took the time to have cosmetic work done 15 or
20 years ago, including bridges, crowns and veneers, recently she says she had
started to notice some wear and tear. And, because she lived in several
different places throughout her life, much of that work was completed by
different dentists, resulting in an inconsistent look.
After her mother decided not long ago to undergo a smile
restoration with wonderful results, Susan opted to do the same for herself.
“Dr. Patel did my mother’s mouth,” she explains, “and it looked beautiful. I
decided to go see him to get everything uniform, to get new veneers and get rid
of all the metal. I wanted a perfect smile again.”
Exceeding expectations
A board-certified general dentist specializing in implant
dentistry and conscious sedation, Rajiv Patel, BDS, MDS, believes in taking the
time to talk to his patients and informing them about every aspect of the
process before any work begins. And that philosophy, according to Susan, is
just one of the things that sets Dr. Patel apart from any other dentist she has
ever seen.
“He is just so friendly and sincere and honest,” she says.
“He is a solo provider, so you get right in to see him, and he is not running
about seeing different patients. When you are there, you’re it. You are the
patient.”
Once that one-on-one time with the doctor begins, Susan
adds, the consultation proceeds in a very open, upbeat, and positive manner.
“He doesn’t promise miracles, but he does come up with a comprehensive plan
that shows all of your problems, how many visits you should expect, what the
visits are for, and what it is going to cost. There are no surprises.”
And when the time comes to do those procedures, she
stresses, the doctor’s conscientious approach continues. “I have a very small
oral cavity, and it’s hard for me to open my mouth very far. Recognizing that,
Dr. Patel was very, very gentle. He didn’t yank on my mouth, he used
small-sized trays to make impressions, and he tried his very best to keep it
from being painful.
“Other dentists have been rough with me because I have
such a small mouth and they get frustrated. I think they couldn’t get my mouth
open wide enough to do what they wanted to do,” she says. “But Dr. Patel was
very patient and very, very concerned with my comfort.”
Additionally, because of the level of trust she has been
able to build with him, Susan says that she really appreciates the doctor’s
level of expertise in every area. “I did not have to go all over town. He
didn’t have to refer me out to see an oral surgeon or an endodontist. Dr. Patel
does it all right there in his office, including sedation, and he’s an expert
at all of it.”
Advanced dental training
From the doctor’s perspective, his extensive training in
several specialties – training that extends to his staff as well as himself –
allows him to better serve his patients and prevents them from delaying
treatment because of the inconvenience of going from specialist to specialist
for various procedures. Most recently, Dr. Patel became a diplomate of the
American Board of Oral Implantologists, making him a professional in the entire
dental implant process.
“That way,” he informs, “we can provide a wide range of
dental treatment including routine restorative work like fillings and crowns;
prosthetic work, meaning dentures and partials; periodontal treatment, gum
grafting treatment, and root canal treatment, as well as all the cosmetic
procedures like bonding, veneers, and comprehensive reconstructive oral surgery
procedures, both surgical and restorative components related to dental implants
or even wisdom teeth. We stand behind our work without reservation because we
utilize advance diagnostic technology, make a thorough evaluation of the
patient’s oral health, and undertake the treatment option which is safe, simple
and predictable.”
As a result, Dr. Patel stresses, patients feel much more
comfortable and treatment can be sequenced more efficiently to account for
individual scheduling needs. “We respect patients’ time,” he adds. “We are not
a fast-paced or high-volume dental office. Patients are usually seen at the
time they are scheduled, and if we are running late, we let them know that
ahead of time so they can plan to come a little later or reschedule.
“Most of the time,” he notes, “our office is ahead of
schedule. When patients come into the office, we take them straight back to the
room and I can spend a lot more time with them, educating them, listening to
their concerns, and guiding them toward the proper dental care.”
A unique approach
Her treatment plan completed, Susan could not be more
certain she made the right choice in Deland Implant Dentistry and Dr. Patel.
“I’m thrilled,” she reveals. “My mouth has never looked better. It’s absolutely
gorgeous. He has a real artistic eye, and he’s very careful about matching
colors.
“I have an implant in the front, where my veneers are, and
it matches the veneers exactly. He’s a perfectionist.”
That level of perfectionism, she says, even extends to
regular teeth cleanings. “Dr. Patel does his own cleanings. Honestly, it’s been
forty years since a dentist has cleaned my teeth himself. But he believes that
is the best way to look at the mouth and see what’s going on, and I appreciate
that.”
Like so many of Dr. Patel’s patients, Susan wouldn’t dream
of going anywhere else. “He runs rings around any dentist I’ve ever been to,”
she marvels. “People look at my teeth and go,
Wow!
because they don’t look fake. They look like really gorgeous,
natural teeth.
“He just has the right idea about how to practice
dentistry. If more dentists did it that way, we would all be in a lot better
shape.” FHCN - Brenda Klettke