My next recommendation; The Best Dentist Practice and Dentist; ‘Knightsbridge Dental Care: Doctor Alan Gold’.
There is nothing more terrifying for me personally than a visit to the dentist. For me, as is the case for many, the child-hood trauma from seeing the school dentist has lingered and has evolved into a type of phobia, now, in later life. Many people in the U.K. literally have to have their teeth practically falling out or need to be in excruciating pain before they dare to step over the threshold of the dreaded Dentist surgery.
My trauma undoubtedly derived from the school dentist and I can still visualise the gas mask coming towards me. In the '60s, little empathy was shown towards a crying child.
But also, even in my adult life, my anxiety was heightened when being told by one desist "Stop moaning you’re a big guy this should be a doddle". I felt like I was being tortured by some horrendous instrument like in a scene from the movie Saw. Furthermore, I have even been punched in the face accidentally, to add further insult to injury, when the dentist attempted to pull out a support as he rushed to complete my filling.
Have you ever noticed when the dentist accidentally stabs you with their scissors or one of their many sharp implements you often get the response "Oh your sensitive in that area?" Being honest, I find myself wanting to get up and grab the tool out of their hands to stick it in their bottom as he/she squeals, simply replying "Gosh you're sensitive there!"
Having lived in the U.S. for nine years, I went to the same dentist and wonderful hygienist for the whole time, without any issues. Yes, it is true that the U.K. is now catching up with its dentistry counterparts, but we do lag behind in terms of the advancement of the technology and skills within dentistry in the U.S. It took me almost a decade to find a hygienist that matched the practice I used to attend in Los Angeles. ‘Nanny toothbrushes’ does not begin to describe some of the terrible experiences I have had in London. Naturally, the last dental disaster left me fervently searching for a new dentist, a bit like when you find a good hairdresser and do not want to lose them at any cost. The minute I hear "Do you drink coffee or tea?" from the mouth of the hygienist, I want out of there!
My poor departed friend, the brilliant journalist Lester Middlehurst, contracted Hepatitis B, apparently from a dentist in Brighton. It was ten years since he had been near a dentist at the time and he called me asking for a recommendation as he had read about ‘painless dentistry’ in a magazine. This process of being put to sleep for dental procedures had fast become popular in the U.S. and he admitted that the only way he was going to sit on a dentist chair, as if he could be put to sleep, even if it was just a cleaning his teeth required. The usually vivacious Mr. Middehurst did not even want to talk to a dentist receptionist as it gave him the shivers, but his teeth were beginning to rot and with his heavy smoking, his smile was starting to deteriorate.
Being in the world of beauty and fashion, it is easy to get recommendations for good dentists, but very few offered painless dentistry. In fact, a few seemed perplexed when I asked about this type of procedure.
Then…BINGO! I discovered Knightsbridge Dental Practice located in Beauchamp Place, one of the infamously chic streets in London. They do not advertise or have a social media presence, which inferred that they must have a very good reputation if word of mouth was what their business relied upon.
Even after finding them, it took another month to get poor Lester there and I had to tell a little lie that they put you out before they even looked at your teeth. I needn’t have worried as an imminent love affair between Roman Franks (one of the partners of the practice) and Lester started as he was put into a dream-like state, to repair the damage caused by many years of neglect.
Painless dentistry involves sedation to relieve any anxiety but it does not put you fully to sleep. It is undeniably a great benefit for those patients who suffer from anxiety in the dentist chair, though this can cost extra and regrettably, not all practices offer this service.
Up until this point, I had been waiting to make my bi-annual visits to the U.S. to go to the dentist. I was so impressed not only by the expert customer service but the wonderfully trained receptionist, at this clinic in particular, that I decided to try out the practice for myself. Senior partner, Alan Gold, fortunately, had an appointment which is rare and I have to admit, we clicked right away, particularly with him being a Geordie. He had a wicked sense of humour and appeared to genuinely listen to my own personal issues around anxiety and dentist visits.
Additionally, he was not selling me anything, whereas so many times, I have had consultations where I feel that they are simply trying to sell to me. I did need some work, however, and so he suggested attempting to do the procedure without sedation initially and seeing how I coped. Bless him, I am really not easy and having had bad experiences in the past, the slightest noise can set me off.
Alan’s clinic is beautiful and relaxing and there is a television above you to focus on, which takes your mind off what he is actually doing. It soon became clear, however, even with his immense skills, I would need to be sedated for most invasive procedures.
Now for those thinking of asking for sedation, you need to do this when you have time, as essentially you will need to go straight home and rest following the procedure and ideally you will need a friend to take you home as you may feel uninhibited and therefore need supervision.
Alan himself is a breath of fresh air, he jogs to work each day and has never had a single day off work sick, since launching the practice in 1975. He is an expert in cosmetic dentistry also, giving a running commentary on daily news issues whilst skilfully working on your teeth.
In 1970 Alan graduated from Newcastle University, training extensively in the very latest in dentistry. He took the SAAD (Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry) course and has treated many thousands of phobic dental patients using intravenous and inhalation sedation techniques.
After Roman retired, Alan’s new partner, the very glamourous Avee-Marie joined the practice, an approachable, warm and gentle clinician. She qualified from the Kings College School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2000 and has been practising for nearly 17 years. She brings an advanced holistic feel to the already welcoming and professional team. Avee-Marie specialises in phobic patients.
Much as Alan is old school and has no interest in social media, Avee-Marie has managed to get the practice to ‘dip its toes’ into social media marketing.
You cannot find a better place to go to if you have issues and anxiety around going to the dentist. It is safe to say, Alan wraps you in cotton wool.
Though he teases me when I attend the clinic “Oh god it’s you! I need sedation!” I cannot rate both the clinic and the dentistry team highly enough.
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Tel: 0207 581 1000 / 0207 584 2537
Fax: 0207 823 9408
