WHAT DOES YOUR DENTIST CRY ABOUT?

CITADELE is one of the oldest private dentist practices in the Latvian capital. Situated in the centre of the Old Riga, opposite the Presidents Palace, it is well known to a lot of people living in Riga as a medical practice of high class led by hereditary dentist and a dedicated individual – doctor Ludmila Voicehovska.

Today the successful specialist and a talented doctor seems upset. The reason at first seems quite natural. What horror! – exclaims doctor Voicehovska. I now have a lot of free time. I am not loaded with work! But this is a paradox! This is not because there are fewer clients. No. My circle of clients that has been created through out nearly 20 years of the clinics existence has remained with me. Moreover, the second and third generations of someone who came here for the first time have now too become my patients.

-What does the dentist cry about then?
- This, probably, may sound a little bit strange, but I fell into my own trap. By following from the very beginning selected principles in work and these are, above all, aspiration to consider each tooth separately. As an integral part of a human body, the clinic has done a lot so that the patients don’t come only to get a filling, but for routine check up and... just talk. In regards to latest toothpastes, medicaments and methods for cleaning teeth, and prevention of oral diseases. A recent event has made me look differently at the endeavour of a dentists practice. A patient from a long time ago came for a visit now from a different city. She told me that she has come to my practice for more than ten years and that she was perplexed as to why in those ten years I have never attempted to drill even one of her teeth. The truth was that indeed there was no reason for my intervention – her teeth were healthy. That was the moment when I realised that I should change the principles of dentists work and apply it to other patients, so that they too would have the same results.

- Are you trying to say that you have come up with a hook that could lead to them buying services that are more expensive?
- That’s not a question to ask me, as I am sure that all the hooks have already been invented! I am preoccupied with a different matter – how meaningful in general is my work that I do. It will be 20 years soon that our dentists have been working with the leatest materials, newest technologies using high class equipment. But has the state of people’s teeth become better? Has our need in oral medical care decreased? Dentists can offer you a choice of different and latest methods of treating your teeth, however, it does not solve the main problem – majority of the people have their teeth deteriorating with the same consistency as 20 years ago. And an idea came to me, why not start at the sourse of the disease.

-In this case, probably, you will need to convert your clinic?
-Not necessarily! It is possible to harmonically integrate our care for preserving teeth and teaching patients to adapt a healthy lifestyle. Did you know that almost 80% of our illnesses we receive through water, in most cases of low quality if looking from a body’s health point of view? Teeth are deteriorated by impurities that we find in the water (often seen at the bottom of your kettle). Why not let people know about the poison they voluntarily take in? This can be any fizzy drink, juices, instant coffee… We ruin ourselves and our children by using stock cubes, eating burgers and other fast food, drinking synthetic beverages that destroy our blood. Producers in their intent to keep the food looking “fresh” for as long as possible use such chemicals as preservatives, stabilizers, food coloring… It seems to me that it’s time for humans to learn to take responsibility for their own health. And treat themselves wisely. When I tell my patients that their teeth are a reflection of their lifestyle most of them are left surprised. While I understand that it’s time to show the patient how not to get ill, and for that he need to change his lifestyle – to eat healthy and to move. Statistically, a taught person is 8-10 times less likely to become ill…

-So what will be the first step on this path of doctor Voicehovska?
-In the future the work of our clinic will be in some sort medical pedagogy. We have invited to work at the clinic a specialist in healthy nutrition, who will explain to the patients why we shouldn’t eat instant soup, what acidification of the body could lead to, and what to do to stay healthy. In this case, if the cooperation will bring results, I as a dentist will only be happy to be left without work.