Everyone has to visit the dentist, so why shouldn’t it be a pleasant experience? At San Diego Dentist Association member offices, the dental professionals are always seeking ways to make dental visits better: simpler, more enjoyable, less stressful, and hassle-free. Our dentists believe that their offices should be like spas where you get specialized services that help you look and feel great – not like institutions that look and smell like an old-fashioned hospital.
Today’s dental spas provide a range of services that will have you rethinking your impressions about dental offices. For a spa-like atmosphere, turn to an SDDA dentist, where you’ll find everything from relaxing aromatherapy and acupuncture to appearance enhancing services like teeth whitening, veneers, and other cosmetic dentistry, and more. Of course, you’ll find preventative and restorative dentistry that San Diego residents can trust too.
A Less Stressful Dental Experience
Some dentists around the nation offer spa services along with dental treatment and some don’t. You never know what might be offered at a dentist you’re considering unless you contact them to ask about specific services that may interest you. Some offer only the simplest spa-like experiences, perhaps music through headphones during your procedures or TVs in exam rooms to offer you a distraction from services being performed. Some may even offer free wifi to help any waiting time pass quickly.
The conscious shift toward less stressful dental office experiences is encouraged by top dental associations, including the American Dental Association. Less stress can be a lifesaver for those with heart concerns and other life-threatening ailments and can help those who suffer from dental anxiety get needed treatment as easy as possible. A little pampering while at a dental office can also help make treatment and preventative services more appealing to those who are resistant to going to a dentist.
There has long been a connection between spa services and dental offices that you may not immediately realize. While you may not think of a dental office as a spa-like place, some dental services are offered at traditional spas. Consider teeth whitening, for example. It’s a service that makes you look and feel better, so it fits within what a spa offers. At the same time, dentists are concerned with your looks, so it’s no surprise that they would expand to offer other cosmetic services. The goal at each of these types of establishments is to make you feel better in one way or another.
Supporting Dentistry With Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of integrative Chinese medicine used traditionally for a range of physical, mental, and emotional ailments. This practice dates from thousands of years ago and originally used needles of bone or even stone. Today, it uses thin steel needles. Acupuncture is believed to have been discovered accidentally as people found that certain improvements in illnesses happened after certain injuries.
The earliest reference to acupuncture in written literature came in 200 BCE. By then, this practice had spread from China and was already being practiced in other Asian nations, including Japan and Korea. Variants developed, but all work in essentially the same way. All Eastern medicine revolves around the flow of life force energy, called chi, through the body along pathways called meridians. Each meridian has a connection with an organ and certain parts of the body.
Meridians can be thought of as rivers of energy that run deep in some places and are shallow in others. Acupuncture is used where the chi energy runs close to the surface. Chinese medicine tells us that chi can become stagnant, causing pain, illness, and other concerns. Properly trained people can stimulate specific points in specific ways to encourage chi to get moving again in a healthy way, restoring balance and overall health to the system.
A significant amount of research has been conducted that is aimed at proving the effectiveness of acupuncture. The Western world has only come to this technique in recent decades and only has a very limited number of trained practitioners. Therefore, the research and proof are limited at the moment. Participants can tell many stories of how well it works, however, giving evidence that it has a place in modern medicine and dentistry.
In dentistry, acupuncture is sometimes used as a pain management program. Acupuncture not only eases pain, but it increases overall pain tolerance in many who have tried it. Pain management is particularly useful to patients who have jaw joint pain from TMD or other causes or who require surgery. Anything that can effectively reduce pain is worth trying for those who suffer chronically.
Additionally, acupuncture is used to reduce anxiety for those with dental office fears. Statistics show that at least 5 percent of Americans experience dental anxiety that is so severe that they take extreme actions to avoid dental visits. Anxiety is also a big factor that keeps people from visiting a dental office. For about a third of Americans, it’s the reason they don’t go to the dentist.
Further, as many as a third of people in the United States have dental anxiety of one degree or another. They may not go to extremes to avoid dentist office visits, but they delay all the same. Indeed, there are perhaps as many reasons for dental anxiety as people who experience it, and acupuncture can help many of them, regardless of their reasons, to overcome this anxiety so that they can get the dental help they need without fear or concern.
When you contact an SDDA dentist, ask about acupuncture services. In America, dentists can hire a licensed acupuncturist to work in their office or refer a patient to an acupuncturist for follow-up visits, depending on the need. While some may not immediately like the idea of this ancient Chinese way of resolving issues and relieving pain, it has been proven in research and proven to American patients as useful, relevant, and effective – just as it has been in Asia for centuries.
Dental Spa Service Pricing
Often, dental offices provide some degree of dental spa services at no extra charge as amenities for their patients. If there is a charge, keep in mind that it probably won’t be covered by insurance. Before accepting any service, ask about pricing and whether it’s covered by insurance.
Your dental office can suggest which services can make the office and follow-up experience most pleasant. The goal is always to help you feel better about your treatment and to feel better after it.
When you check around, you will likely find that spa-like services are becoming so common that they’re available in hospitals, at doctor’s offices, and in a variety of medical settings. Choosing a dental clinic that offers them isn’t radical, weird, or difficult. Dental clinics are more patient-friendly than ever before and are often pleased to add spa-like services to their growing lists of amenities.
Upgrade To A Spa-Like Dental Office
If your dental services are coming from an old-fashioned dentist’s office, it’s time for you to upgrade your dentist. A few years ago, dentists began offering spa-like services to get an advantage over their competition, but today they’re making it part of their regular offerings because it is a successful strategy for helping patients. The dental industry, in general, is moving toward more spa-like experiences and less traditional, clinical settings.
Most important in selecting a dental office or dental spa is choosing one that has the services you need along with benefits that can make your experience better. Great dentists with great dental office professionals are happy to help you feel at ease and comfortable in whatever ways are possible and necessary.
Select a San Diego Dentist Association member now for spa-like dental services in a caring and gentle environment you’ll enjoy visiting. It’s the right decision for the quality dental care you can live with and the smile you’ll be pleased to show off.