Whenever my wife and I leave town to travel, we take our Golden Retriever, Cayman, to the “Daisy Hill Puppy Farm” (a throwback reference to Snoopy and Charlie Brown in the “Peanuts” comic strips from days gone by). Actually he goes to Lakeview Kennels in Roswell GA. When we drop him off we are given a choice or two about his care options during his stay. For a flat base rate, he is placed in a cage next to all of his friends, where he remains while we are gone. For slightly more money, the Lakeview Kennel folks offer to walk him two to three times a day. And, for a bit more cash, he is allowed in the play yard to freely visit and play with the other “guests”.
Now, like so many other things in life, such as automobile upkeep, home improvement and maintenance and haircuts and styling, a visit to the dog kennel by our pets is not covered by insurance. So what does all of this have to do with choosing your dentist? It has everything to do with it, because it has to do with the choices offered, an analysis of the cost, and the choices made.
Like so many pet owners today, my wife and I do spoil our dog. We choose the “daily walks” and “play with your friends” options for Cayman at the kennel. Perhaps it makes us feel less guilty about leaving him, or perhaps it is how we would like to be treated by our masters should we come back in our next lives as Golden Retrievers. Either way, we spend a little more money for peace of mind knowing our Golden is in good hands while we are away.
At Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta, we have hundreds of patients who choose to go “out of network” as they choose our team of kind, caring, family-centered, compassionate dental care providers for their dental health needs. We are not on any managed care lists because we want to be free to provide our patients, insured, uninsured, and managed care alike, the same gentle dental care with an emphasis on quality that meets the highest standards in the industry. We want to treat every patient as an individual. And we want to be able to use the best, longest-lasting, most pain-free and comfortable products, techniques and technologies for your care.
And, finally, we want to be the dental office that you choose because you believe in us. We have one goal and one goal only for all of our patients. We want to help you figure out how long you want to keep your teeth. And, then we want to create the best plan for you to get you to your goal.
Most of our patients want healthy gums and beautiful smiles for a lifetime. To achieve this goal, it takes effort on both ends, yours and ours. It takes a dental practice committed to your individual needs. And it requires us to keep our fees reasonable and competitive even as we deliver the best care possible.
We do these things, all of these things, for our patients. Like Cayman’s kennel owners, we offer a choice. And we hope that all of our patients continue to feel that we push the envelope on patient comfort, concern, and care.
We always welcome your feedback and ideas on how to continue on our journey to being the best at what we do for you, our valued patients.
