Slow Dentistry is a new movement looking to change the way people view their oral health.
Launched last weekend, the Slow Dentistry network is calling on dentists to slow down the way they practise.
It hopes this will improve standards of care and ensure safety, well-being, comfort and understanding.
‘Time becomes a huge factor of practising excellence,’ Dr Miguel Stanley, who co-founded the movement, said to The Telegraph.
‘The patient should come first, not just the business model.
‘Slow Dentistry reflects a cultural shift in our speed-focused pace of life.
‘It is a movement which aims to put the brakes on our fast-paced living and is the antithesis of the modern-day “I want it now” ethos.’
Slow Dentistry movement
The Slow Dentistry movement is aimed at both the dentist and the patient.
It encourages hour-long dental appointments, also enabling the highest standards of anti-infection measures.
Dr Stanley believes rushed appointments endanger patients and increase infection risks.
‘We need to be prepared to allow the time and go slower,’ Dr Stanley continued.
‘So many of us think that we can squeeze in a dental hygiene session over lunch for 20 minutes, or quickly fix a filling in half an hour.
‘The Slow Dentistry movement is promulgating the idea that we all have to adjust our pace and time expectations.
‘Speed is not good.’
Four cornerstones of Slow Dentistry
Dentists and dental practices can subscribe to become a part of the movement.
Since launching a month ago, 20 practices across the world have applied to become part of the movement.
Slow Dentistry is based on four cornerstones to improve the patient experience:
- Ensuring fully effective anaesthetics before commencing treatment
- Rubber dam use when necessary during treatments
- Thoroughly disinfecting equipment and the surgery between patients
- Ensuring people have given their informed consent before commencing with treatment.
‘This shift towards a slower pace of care not only lessens the stress for dental practitioners, it also ensures ultimate patient safety,’ Dr Stanley concluded.
