The first thing you’ll notice about Mandy is her beaming smile and positive energy – it’s enough to fill a busy dental clinic – and it does, each and every day with each and every patient. And while she spends her day staring into the mouths of dozens of patients aged 9 to 90, her bubbly attitude never wavers.
“I want my clinics to have a happy, relaxed vibe so that our patients actually look forward to their regular check-ups and treatments!”
Having worked in dental health for the last 15 years, Mandy’s seen too many people delay important dental treatments purely out of fear and anxiety. She’s treated patients who were so anxious before a simple procedure, they needed Valium to calm their stress levels. Mandy puts this down to a negative experience during their first dental visit in childhood.
“Fear of dentists definitely starts very young. In fact, the things I’ve experienced with some of my adult patients has inspired me to start my own one-woman dental mission! I want to help people see that they don’t need to be afraid of dentists – or taking care of their teeth.”
When you walk into a Mandy Dentist clinic – whether you’re at the Bondi or Macquarie Street locations, the welcome is always warm, always friendly.
“My team and I work really hard to make sure everyone feels comfortable and at home in our clinics. It’s a fun, friendly environment – which is particularly important for our younger patients.”
Having worked in dental health for the last 15 years, Mandy’s seen too many people delay important dental treatments purely out of fear and anxiety.
Mandy believes her happy, friendly approach is the best way to create positive ‘dentist memories’ as early as possible.
“If children have a good first experience in the dentist’s chair, this will set the scene for a healthy, happy approach to their oral hygiene.”
And Mandy is just as caring and supportive with the adult patients who have ‘dentist jitters.’
“I take as much time as possible to listen to people’s stories and dental history. And once I know the background of their past treatments, what’s gone wrong or what could have been done better, I tailor my approach to suit them.”
Mandy elaborates,
“I had one patient who leapt out of the chair as soon as I opened my pack of instruments. Apparently she’d never been to the dentist without her sister present. But if I knew this I would’ve called in one of my assistants for moral support. We do what we can to raise the comfort level of everyone. I want to know what will relax my patients and make them comfortable. For instance, maybe I shouldn’t lean the chair back because for some patients this can be quite triggering if they have a genuine fear of dentists and procedures.”
Mandy describes a particularly challenging situation where one of her patients had come from an abusive family who neglected her oral health. The young woman’s only childhood dental visit was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
“My patient’s first in-chair experience was with a dentist who extracted her teeth by placing his knee on her chest. It was obviously traumatic so we had to work gently and with a lot of patience and care to help my patient trust a dentist again.”
After a few visits where Mandy talked through every treatment and procedure, the young woman has now gone on to have Invasilign, root canal, fillings and even implants – with less tears and more smiles.
“She’s just transformed. The change in her is so dramatic and very rewarding for my team and I to see.”