Why do people put off getting this done for so long?

We asked

We know why our patients came in. We wanted to know why other people don't.

So we ran a poll, of people who've had treatment and people still thinking about it. Six answers came back.

Embarrassment

This was the biggest one. People ask whether they have to turn the camera on for a video consultation. Many open with some version of I know you've seen bad cases, but mine are worse.

They never are. Nobody here thinks less of anyone. We're replacing everything, so we never have to judge how you looked after the teeth you have now.

If a dental office once made you feel small, you're far from alone, and it's a common reason people stop going. Think of taking an old bike into a shop and having them sneer at it. You didn't stop liking to ride. You stopped going to that shop. We're the shop that sells new bikes, and nobody is inspecting what you rode in on.

Not having time

Plan on a week and a day here, then 90 days of soft food. One week is most people's experience. Depending on your needs and circumstances, you may need fewer try-ins.

Recovery is often shorter than people plan for. Some patients are back at desk work in two or three days, and what lasts longest is the soft diet.

A bad tooth also won't wait for a good week. Picking a week that suits you is usually easier than waiting for an emergency to pick one for you.

Fear of pain

It's surgery, and it's uncomfortable. We won't pretend otherwise. But the discomfort is managed, and it passes.

What patients tell us again and again is that it was nothing like what they'd braced for. Many say the teeth they'd been living with hurt far more.

We also try never to tell anyone they're the hardest to numb or the worst case we've seen. Those words stick, and they keep people away for years.

Fear of the procedure

This surprises most people. Full-arch surgery usually needs less numbing than a filling or a root canal.

With a filling, a drill works right next to a living nerve, so the numbing has to be perfect. Taking a tooth out doesn't bother the nerve the same way. That often means less anesthetic and gentler injections, and we can often skip the deep shot at the back of the lower jaw that most people remember as their worst.

Money

This is the one we work hardest around.

If you have teeth that need to come out and you plan to be treated here later, tell us. We'll usually take them out for a small fee and credit it toward your treatment. We'd rather do that than have you lose more nights of sleep.

Some people do one arch first and the other later. Sometimes an antibiotic can buy time until your date. And if a few lower teeth plainly need to go while we're doing your upper, we're unlikely to charge you for it.

It's still a lot of money, and we'll talk it through with you plainly.

Losing your own teeth

Patients often ask to keep their extracted teeth, and we understand why. Those teeth carry years of chair time, root canals, crowns and money someone worked hard for. Being told they have to go can feel like being told it was all for nothing.

It wasn't. It kept you going, sometimes for decades.

Some people take a little while to recognize themselves afterward, even when they love the result. That's normal, and it fades.

We'll get as close to your own smile as you'd like. One patient had a gap between their front teeth all their life and wanted to keep it, so we kept it.

What it comes down to

All six reasons come back to the same thing. The problem you have is familiar, even when it's awful, and the fix is unknown.

That's why we made these pages and the podcast, so you can get your questions answered at home, in private, before you talk to anyone. If you're still not ready after that, that's fine. When you are, a conversation with us is an easy place to start.