Here’s some lovely news for dentists. In its Patient Experiences report of 2022–23, the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that more than 86 per cent of people 15 years and over who saw a dentist reported that the professional always listened carefully to them, always showed them respect and always spent enough time with them. The not-so-lovely news is that in the same period, almost a third of the people with dental problems delayed or didn’t see a dental professional when needed.
It’s no fun, but it’s essential. Credit: SMH I reckon a shout-out to dentists is long overdue. They’re a much-maligned breed.
It’s not their fault they’ve chosen a profession everyone loves to hate. True, they charge through the nose (bad analogy) but so do bricklayers and plumbers – although people are happy to welcome bricklayers and plumbers into their home because it means that something’s being built or fixed and you have nothing to fear in the mouth department (unless you don’t pay the bill!). The dentist is perhaps the only professional on the planet who no one wants to see.
More insulting, some people have to be knocked unconscious before even seeing them – just look at all the ads for sleep dentistry. (I know, I know.) We all have our phobias, but put yourself in the dentist’s shoes.
Imagine waking every morning knowing that the 10 patients on today’s schedule would rather be visiting a sewage farm than stepping into your nice clean CaviCide-smelling clin.
