“I wasn’t really sure why my dentist had referred me”
I’ve been going to the same dentist in Sheen for years and, apart from the usual fillings and hygienist appointments, I’ve never really had much trouble with my teeth.
At one of my check-ups my dentist mentioned that he was a bit concerned about my gums and some bone loss around a couple of my teeth. He said he’d like to refer me to Dr Ros O’Leary at Perio & Implants in Richmond.
I remember thinking, do I really need to see a specialist for this?
Nothing hurt. My gums bled, but my teeth weren’t giving me any particular trouble and I suppose, like most people, if something isn’t hurting you tend to assume it’s probably all right.
So I didn’t exactly rush to make the appointment.
I put it off for a bit
The referral came through and I left it sitting there for a while.
If I’m honest, there were probably two reasons.
Firstly, I wasn’t quite sure what a periodontist actually did. Secondly, I thought that if I went to see a specialist they’d find all sorts wrong and I’d end up being told I needed loads of treatment.
Eventually I went back to my dentist and he was genuinely surprised that I hadn’t been to see Dr O’Leary.
That worried me a bit.
I remember thinking, my dentist knows my teeth, he’s obviously referred me for a reason and perhaps this is more important than I’d realised.
By then it was becoming something I knew I really shouldn’t keep putting off.
Perio & Implants isn’t far from me, so I booked in to see Ros.
The appointment wasn’t really what I’d expected
Ros was very easy to talk to and immediately put me at ease.
She asked me quite a lot about my teeth and gums, but also about things like how I cleaned them at home, how often I saw the hygienist and whether I’d noticed any changes.
Then she had a proper look and took me through what she’d found.
I think that was the bit that made the difference for me.
My dentist had mentioned gum disease and bone loss, but I don’t think I’d really taken in what that meant. Ros showed me where the problems were and explained how you can actually lose some of the support around your teeth without necessarily having any pain.
The bleeding I’d more or less ignored suddenly seemed a bit more important.
For the first time, I properly understood what my dentist had been concerned about.
Nobody was trying to sell me anything
I’d half expected to come away with a huge treatment plan and be told I needed to get started immediately.
It wasn’t like that.
Ros explained what she thought needed dealing with, what the priorities were and what I could do myself to improve things.
We talked through the different options and I asked her what would happen if I just left things as they were.
She was very straightforward with me.
There was no hard sell and I wasn’t expected to make a decision sitting in the chair.
I went home, thought about it and talked it over with my wife.
Once I understood what the problem actually was, the decision felt quite different. I wasn’t agreeing to treatment because somebody had told me I should have it.
I was doing it because I understood why it was worth doing.
Now I understand why my dentist referred me
Looking back, I think the word specialist made the whole thing sound much more alarming than it actually was.
My dentist in Sheen had spotted something that he felt needed the opinion of someone who deals with gum problems like mine every day.
Ros is a Specialist in Periodontics and works closely with local dentists, so seeing her didn’t mean I stopped being a patient at my own dental practice. My dentist and Ros simply had different roles in looking after my teeth and gums.
I’m actually pleased my dentist picked it up when he did – and I’m glad he gave me that push when I hadn’t done anything about the original referral.
If you’ve been referred and you’re sitting on the letter thinking, I’ll sort that out at some point, I’d say don’t leave it as long as I did.
Go and have the conversation.
You don’t have to agree to anything just because you’ve had a consultation.
For me, understanding what was going on – and why my dentist had been concerned enough to refer me – was probably the most important part.
