‘Love your teeth’ is our mission statement. We chose it about a year ago. It is not a very long statement. We did this so that we can include it on our letterheads under our new logo. Just in case you did not notice our new logo is a diagram of an electric toothbrush head. I was pondering the mission statement the other day and I said to Luke. “I think there is a word missing from our mission statement'. He gave me a long blank stare. Maybe he was considering the cost of reprinting all our letterheads.  I said it should say ‘We Love Your Teeth’ not just ‘Love Your Teeth’”. It makes the statement more personal - I started to imagine a huge sign in our window: 'Come to HaynesDental because “We Love Your Teeth”. 

Without a moment’s hesitation he pointed out to me that LOVE YOUR TEETH is better  because while there is truth in the statement that we love people’s teeth; after all we are dentists; we want to encourage our clients to love their own teeth and share the responsibility of maintaining their own teeth. It was then that I remembered the discussions we had when we chose the logo. Of course he is right. We are constantly pointing out that the road to a healthy mouth involves the owner of the teeth as well as the dentist and the hygienist. So the logo remains ‘LOVE YOUR TEETH’.

I make no apology for thinking about our logo though, and meditating about the value that our clients receive when they visit our premises. I think it so important for the soldier to put his head above the parapet from time to time to observe the direction of the battle. It can be very easy for the dentist to be so involved in the day to day treatment of our individual clients that we can miss the point. We can become so obsessed with what we think our client should have, and forget to provide what the client actually wants.  Our perception of value can be so different to the one we are treating.

People have preferences, likes and dislikes. And sometimes very specific wants, but these are not always the obvious ones like the dislike of needles or injections, or fear of choking when having impressions taken. For many people, the most important factor is how long they are kept sitting in the waiting room before their treatment. For others it is how well the dentist explains the treatment at each stage. Some dislike the brightness of the operating light, or the noise, or the tastes and smells associated with dental care. Some will have any amount of injections and drilling etc, but they can’t stand having their teeth scaled.

When we continue to understand our clients’ expectations, hope and fears, concerns and assumptions etc we become much better placed to provide clinical dentistry and deliver it in a way which meets these individual requirements. I believe it is our duty as professionals to provide value as well as quality of treatment.

It is my hope that when our clients leave our practice they feel that they have had value.  From the moment they call for an appointment to the time they leave they must feel satisfied with both the product itself and the way in which it was delivered in return for whatever has been paid for it. This is not only an investment of money but is also an investment of time, inconvenience, effort and energy, discomfort and so on. The money may include not only payment for the treatment itself but also lost income from time off work, fares, petrol, car parking, prescriptions etc.

In a sense it is a balance between what our client feels they have put in and what they feel they got out. It is their perception that matters here, and not ours. 

So what are we? HaynesDental at 9 Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich. One thing is for sure we are not a ‘Boots’ or a ‘Tesco’. We do not have branches all over the country. Actually we are more than that. Our position is a large brand in a small area; but not like a corner shop. Our unique factor which we cherish is the personal relationship of trust and confidence that is built between ourselves and each one of our clients. This relationship is at the heart of our dental practice. It is our goal to continue to develop this relationship along with trust and belief. We have staff who have faithfully served our clients for 10, 20, 30 and 40 years. We have seen families grow and flourish - and leave, and others take their place. And we hope we will always be here to see it.

We LOVE YOUR TEETH and encourage you to do the same. Peter Haynes