Dental Sky shares the approach of Middle St George Dental Care in marketing its comfortable, pain-free approach to cosmetic dentistry.
Cosmetic dentistry is booming, but rising demand means more competition. To stand out, practices must balance ethical care with innovation, managing patient expectations while delivering lasting results.
A safe, tech-integrated environment paired with strong communication – both in-person and online – builds trust. Informed, comfortable patients are much more likely to continue treatment and become loyal advocates who are happy to share their positive experiences.
Chris Burton leads the Middleton St George Dental Care team, a private practice in Darlington, County Durham. The clinic offers a full complement of cosmetic dental treatments and facial aesthetic procedures. Central to the practice is a patient-first ethos. While smile makeovers drive business, Chris and his team take a comprehensive approach to their dentistry with an emphasis on protecting their patients’ smiles from preventable short-term issues.
The practice’s website reflects this philosophy, offering in-depth insights into treatments, step-by-step patient guidance and expert tips to ensure a seamless experience both in the chair and at home. Chris and the team pen the informative blogs themselves, covering everything from the best at-home water flossers to debunking myths about dental implants, explaining the risks of lemon water to showcasing their intraoral scanners. They share this essential knowledge so patients arriving in their chairs are well-informed about the difference their skills and investment make to any patient journey.
The practice’s Instagram presence is equally comprehensive. Patient testimonials also feature prominently – backed by 400-plus five-star Google reviews. This marketing strategy speaks volumes about the clinic’s success.
Marketing patient comfort
This commitment to patient-focused communication extends beyond general dentistry and cosmetic procedures; it also plays a key role in introducing innovative technology like The Wand. Just as the practice aims to educate patients through informative blogs, engaging social media, and transparent consultations, it adopts a similarly strategic approach to raising awareness about how cosmetic dentistry can be made more comfortable.
By highlighting the ability to eliminate the discomfort associated with conventional syringes, Chris and his team ensure that patients recognise how this technology enhances their experience. The practice’s emphasis on patient testimonials and real-world benefits aligns perfectly with The Wand’s key selling points – comfort, precision, and minimal downtime – making it an ideal addition to their patient-first ethos.
Chris has used The Wand for many years, with one now in each surgery. Here, he addresses some key treatment-related questions, explaining how The Wand enhances every patient experience…
How does The Wand enhance the patient experience during cosmetic dental procedures, especially when several teeth require anaesthesia?
Using a topical anaesthetic and The Wand makes the procedure very comfortable for the patient. Often, they don’t even feel the injections and believe that the topical gel has numbed their teeth.
The Wand requires less anaesthetic and fewer injection sites. Its advanced palatal blocks can replace six to seven separate infiltrations with a single injection using just one local anaesthetic cartridge. It also eliminates collateral numbness.
How does the absence of lip numbness enhance cosmetic evaluations, particularly smile line assessment?
The Wand allows far more comfortable palatal infiltrations and nasopalatine blocks, enabling you to evaluate smile dynamics with the provisionals in situ immediately after preparation and temporisation. Since we are not injecting an anaesthetic into the buccal aspect of the teeth, the muscles of expression will remain unaffected, allowing the patient to smile naturally.
How does The Wand compare to traditional techniques for palatal block injections?
I no longer fear the patient’s reaction when administering palatal injections. The Wand delivers the anaesthetic solution at a precise and consistent flow rate and pressure, staying below a patient’s pain threshold, which is nearly impossible to replicate with a traditional hand syringe.
My technique involves entering with the needle’s bevel parallel to the tissue, using the ‘cruise’ setting and initially keeping the needle as superficial as possible. I let it remain there for 10-30 seconds before gradually advancing deeper and administering the desired amount of anaesthetic.
Many patients lead busy lives and often need to return to work promptly after a procedure. How does The Wand help reduce collateral numbness, enabling patients to resume daily activities?
There are two key benefits to this. Firstly, according to the manufacturer, The Wand administers a smaller dose of anaesthetic than a full 2.2ml or 1.8ml cartridge – only 1.4ml. As a result, it wears off more quickly. Secondly, the single tooth anaesthesia (STA) setting has been a game-changer for me, drastically reducing the number of ID blocks I perform.
Honestly, it’s less than one per month. I am confident using the STA setting even for lower second and third molars, including extractions. It’s especially useful for teeth that won’t fully anaesthetise after infiltrations. Best of all, no more numb lips!
What has been the long-term impact of using The Wand on patient feedback and clinical outcomes?
I don’t say this lightly, but The Wand has profoundly impacted the patient experience at our practice and has undoubtedly worked wonders for our reputation. The Wand STA enables us to perform all traditional dental injections with excellent patient comfort, compliance and satisfaction.
I’ve been using it for many years and continue to be amazed by how many patients provide positive feedback on the comfort of the injections – even those who have experienced them multiple times before. It’s wonderful when they tell you how much better you are at giving injections!
I now have The Wand in each of the four surgeries at the practice; it’s our standard of care, and all the hygienists, therapists and associates have become converts.
PS: You can also get extra help marketing The Wand in your practice!
The team at Dental Sky recommends a marketing strategy that positions The Wand not just as a solution for needle-phobic patients but as a modern and practical local anaesthesia option for all patients. Using personalised communication, similar to Chris’s approach, practices can authentically engage patients. This could include custom videos in the waiting room and targeted social media campaigns designed to raise awareness and encourage referrals. Dental Sky offers waiting room posters and patient flyers on its website to support any marketing.
Find out more about The Wand or to book a free demonstration in your practice.
This article is sponsored by Dental Sky.
