A typical day in a Dubai dentist’s life

I love my job… I really do! The joy of working with amazing technology which changes everyday, new materials using nano-technology, sights of the human body which look nothing short of amazing when zoomed 25 times under the dental microscope, precision milling machines that grind crowns down from a solid cube of ceramic to a shiny tooth with the precision of a human hair in less than 15 minutes – all of this fascinates me no end! For a young boy who always loved to work with his hands, it almost seems surreal that I can do the same thing every day that I have always loved to do and help people with their problems at the same time! It doesn’t get any better than this.

Scrupulously clean

My day starts pretty early. My team is ready well before I am. The front desk makes sure that the appointments are all confirmed the previous evening, and the assistants are rechecking that all the equipment – from the dental chair, the software, the compressors for the compressed air, the suction units for sucking away all the water, the X rays and scanning equipment – are all working correctly and are cleaned and sanitised from soaking in disinfectant solutions.

This disinfection process continues throughout the day between every patient so please bear with us if there is a delay after seeing the patient who just walked out of the clinic before you – it’s done for your own safety.

Everything that is disposable is thrown away in designated medical waste bags and everything that is reusable is cleaned using a rigorous regimen of ultrasonic cleaning, rinsing, drying, heating to 135 degrees with high pressure steam, and redrying. This happens almost constantly throughout the day with our autoclave machines and sealers which double seal these pouches with heat indicators that change colour when the adequate temperature has been reached. This lets us know that all possible germs are killed and the instruments are safe to use. Multiple sets of drills are other instruments are used so there is no delay while one instrument set is being used or sterilized. This way the entire workflow progresses in a seamless way and the clinic functions as one well-oiled machine.

Now as a dentist one of the things that we see almost every day is the surprised look of patients – surprised that they have a cavity or gum disease or both! And wondering how they got it in spite of brushing every day, in spite of keeping away from candy and so on.

Now the thing is that brushing everyday is no guarantee that you will never get a cavity. It’s a bit like saying someone who doesn’t smoke will never get a heart attack.

Plaque bacteria which are always present in the mouth will cause cavities when they get exposed to any sugars – including natural sugars which are present in honey and milk. Sometimes it’s the basics that are important: Stick to brushing twice a day, using floss or a water flosser for cleaning between the teeth everyday and limiting the amount of sugars. It’s as simple as that. No amount of brushing is going to compensate for a lack of flossing. In other words, if someone doesn’t floss the question they should be asking themselves is how they don’t have more cavities!

Regular check-ups

Lastly, please come for regular checkups. We get tired of having to tell people who come after three years that they need a root canal or extraction because a tiny cavity that has been ignored has grown so large that it has hit the nerve. Or the occasional bleeding when they brush has now progressed to full-on gum disease that has eaten into the jaw bone and there is no more support for the teeth. And yes, just because there is no pain, doesn’t mean there is no problem.

Most dental issues are painless to begin with and that is what we look for in every check up and every X-ray! We try to save teeth. No amount of technology and skills are a replacement for good hygiene and regular checks. Dentistry can be simple, straightforward and cheap like regular oil changes for your car or as expensive and complicated as needing a new engine because of neglect. A little bit of care goes a long way.

Dr Tanveer Ahmed is Medical Director, Implantologist & Dental Surgeon at New Ivory Dental & Implant Clinic in Dubai.

To know more about our practice, please go to newivory.ae.