To Be a Top Cosmetic Dentist Requires Not Only Great Skills, but Listening to the Patient
I had no plans to become a dentist when I was young. In fact, I hated dentists because I had dental anxiety, like most people, and no money to pay for treatment. I wanted to be a medical physician instead and never even considered dentistry.
Very young, I earned a B.S. in biology and graduated Magna Cum Laude on my way to being a future doctor. However, my life took off in a completely new direction after graduation. I spent the next decade making a living as a professional D.J. and traveling all over the U.S.!
As I got older, I thought I should find a profession where my love of biology and medicine would be helpful. I loved solving puzzles and began to think of dentistry as a way to achieve my goals. I applied to the Medical College of Georgia, College of Dental Medicine, at Augusta, received an academic scholarship, and ultimately graduated in 2014.
Alas, the first practice I joined as an associate was primarily focused on the bottom line rather than the needs of the patients. We all have to manage the business side of dentistry, but when I started my practice iHeart Dental in Rincon, Ga., in 2019, I made sure that each of my associates, staff, and interns shared my dedication to making a genuinely positive difference in our patient’s lives by delivering personalized and passionate care.
We offer not only the full range of services of a traditional dental practice but emphasize full mouth reconstruction and cosmetic dentistry. Along with being a member of the American Dental Association, I am now a member of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics.
I have benefited enormously from my relationships with colleagues from dental school and work closely with other dentists and specialists on the most challenging cases, including full-mouth reconstructions, to create beautiful results. Even the most experienced and skilled restorative dentists should know when they need the help of specialists.
Modern Dental Laboratory USA plays a key role in delivering the results our most demanding cosmetic dental patients expect. They are a full-service lab that delivers great results. The best labs have someone who oversees quality control to ensure every detail is perfect and Modern Dental is reliably consistent. They are always my first choice when I have a high-end esthetic case. They convinced me to start using a type of Modern Dental zirconia crown that combines the strength of zirconia and the transparency of lithium.
Our amazing dental team and great partnerships have made us the choice for complex cosmetic and reconstruction cases not only in the entire Southeast but from as far away as New York and California.
But don’t expect that the right patients will come to you just because you have great lab and technical skills. Marketing and branding are vital to building a great practice. When I decided to focus on cosmetic dentistry, I hired a marketing agency to do search engine optimization for our website to attract the demographic most interested in becoming our patients. We also post humorous videos and have billboards throughout the region to keep things fun and informative.
Succeeding by Prioritizing Thorough Communication
Every case is customized based on the patient’s individual needs and the concerns they express during consultation. Once I know the chief complaint and see the x-rays and photos, I can usually devise a treatment plan and present them to the patient on a 42” T.V. in every room so they can see the details.
I document everything in writing and with photos and have consent forms for each aspect of the smile design or reconstruction.
My new patients often say, “I’ve never had such thorough discussions about what I wanted and what I should have.”
I don’t oversell; I educate patients and plant the seeds. If they decide to go elsewhere, that’s okay as long as they are in good hands. I never say anything bad about another dental practice because every mouth and situation differs. Patients have to be accountable for their own mouths for progress to happen.
With dentistry, not only do things have to look good, but it has to fit and feel good, function well, and last a long time. Our jaw muscles put a lot of pressure on teeth which can wear them down over time. Also, the mouth can be challenging because the environment in our mouths changes throughout the day. Depending on the situation, it can go from wet to extremely dry and acidic. At night while we sleep, our mouths dry up, so we don’t choke on saliva during sleep. Saliva is important in neutralizing acids, and without it can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. Our dental restorations need to accommodate for those excessive jaw forces and continual environmental changes in the mouth.
Ultimately, to be a great cosmetic dentist means developing high-level skills, building relationships with both your specialist and labs, listening to your patients, and loving what you do.
About the Author
Dr. Misty Seale graduated from the Medical College of Georgia, College of Dental Medicine in Augusta, GA, with a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 2014. She has extensive experience working as a general dentist and performing a wide range of procedures, including preventative, restorative, and cosmetic dentistry. She is thrilled to own and manage iHeart Dental, a practice that genuinely makes a positive difference in her patients’ lives.
