Article presented by Sandra Martin
As one of the oldest medical professions, dentistry has changed significantly since its earliest days. People have been trying to fight tooth decay and the pain and loss of function it causes for as long as we can look back in history. While our aversion to pain and the need to avoid it hasn’t changed much in the last nine or ten thousand years, what we can do about it thankfully has.
And the changes show no signs of stopping. When Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin, a renowned cosmetic dentist based in London, UK, communicates with patients about their cosmetic procedures and what they can expect, she doesn’t have to rely on words. Instead, she can show them high-quality images.
“It’s called Digital Smile Design, and it lets me show a patient what their smile could look like before I even do anything on them,” Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin explains. “It can be a very powerful tool because some of the methods require a significant investment of time, money, or both, and people want to know if it will be worth it in the end. It helps if you can show them what’s in store if they go through the procedures.”
Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin uses Digital Smile Design as a part of her protocol when working with new patients. The tool lets her try out a smile in a patient’s mouth without doing any interventions. It also allows patients to voice their wishes, opinions, and concerns before starting any procedures. Thanks to DSD, qualifying dentists can better plan and map out procedures, helping patients manage their resources and expectations.
Even though Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin is, first and foremost, a cosmetic dentist who designs beautiful smiles, she’s often found herself advocating for her patients and the profession. Her belief that the mouth should be a key area when discussing health and wellness is a great example.
“It all starts in the mouth and the way you feed your body, but there’s a kind of disconnection between the mouth and the rest of us when it comes to how it’s treated,” she says. “And it shouldn’t be because we’re all one body. Everything is connected. A new understanding of how oral health and our diet affect us shows us that the mouth as the entry point into our bodies needs more attention.”
As a dentist, Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin has often witnessed oral health being left out of the equation regarding general health. The most drastic example of this is issuing immunosuppressive treatments to patients with serious oral health issues. With more and more data showing that infections that start in the mouth have a way of traveling and affecting vital organs, these practices can have profound implications for patients’ well-being.
Still, it’s important to note that dentists, too, need to do more work to provide a better service to their patients. One way to do it is to use safer materials in their work.
“Amalgams that are used for fillings have mercury in them, which is toxic and generally not biocompatible with our bodies,” Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin says. “So, these materials we’re chewing into sometimes for decades are slowly releasing toxins that might cause inflammation, if nothing worse, and possibly contribute to issues such as depression.”
Materials aside, skill development is another aspect of dentistry that can be improved. As someone who’s been through countless courses, Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin has a special appreciation for when her colleagues share the knowledge. She also sees some faults in the way it’s often done.
“People sometimes have to fly out to go to a really good course, and it can get costly and disruptive,” Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin says. “And what I know from experience is that their number of courses that are convenient in the sense that people can watch them from their homes, and well produced so that they can see and understand how to do things, is just zero. There aren’t any.”
That’s how she decided to create a veneer course. The rules she set for herself were simple. It had to be shot well, including the whole process with a patient, from consultations to the procedures, and it had to be completely transparent in terms of possible mistakes.
“I hate it when people put beautiful before and after photos, and they don’t talk about mistakes,” says Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin. “You want people to know about the mistakes, to see them so that they don’t have to make them. It’s incredibly important to be that vulnerable with your profession.”
With her online advocacy for better dental health practices, her charity work with people who have more difficult access to dental health care services, and her work with her colleagues to raise the standards in her profession, Dr. Sandra Garcia Martin is determined to leave dentistry in a better state than she found it. And her patients can always count on her to be their ally in the quest for a healthier, prettier smile.
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