“If you only have time to either floss or brush every day, then floss.”
Dr. Kevin Gee (my dentist)
I noticed a sign for a Family Dentist on my bus ride to work the other day, which got me thinking: do they treat families exclusively?
And what exactly constitutes a family? Are my husband and I a family – or are children required?
I guess it makes good business sense to target families. Get a kid in to see you when they’re young and they’ll probably stick with you for life. Get a mom to come in with one kid and she’ll probably come in with the next one.
If some dentists target children, do others outright refuse to treat them? I probably would if I were a dentist. I mean, they’re fidgety little creatures and not terribly articulate. Why would you want to get involved with that?
No, I would be the Non-Family dentist, a “Singles Dentist” if you will. Not just no children, but specifically nobody in a committed relationship either. I would ask you a series of questions about your relationship status to ascertain your viability and would need to cross check your social media to verify.
When I ask you if you’re single in our initial interview, you might say to me: “Well, it’s complicated…” and I’d say: “That’s ok; so are my billing practices!” and then we’d laugh and laugh for a full minute or more before I kicked you out of my office. Because a good sense of humor is important but so are professional standards.
But who am I kidding? I can scarcely remember to floss my teeth, much less remind you twice a year that you need to floss daily; so I’ll probably need at least a month of online courses and a couple of YouTube videos before I’m ready to put my hands in your mouth.
Be my patient; it’s worth it.