Up Close & Personal With Dr. Suprriya B Bhatia

My philosophy in treating patients is, “I will recommend those treatments to my patients, which I would do for my own family members, in terms of quality, longevity and ease of maintenance.”- Dr Suprriya B Bhatia

What Inspired you to be a Dentist?

I would like to share my story with you; about why I chose to be a dentist out of all the professions available, and why I feel it has been one of the best decisions of my life.

After living as an unhappy teenager with low self-esteem, due to my teeth and despising their shape, size, color, as well as the spaces in-between them, along with suffering from embarrassment, being overweight and almost no social life because of them ; my life suddenly changed, when my 71 year old aunt visited our family with beautiful new fixed teeth on implants. She looked younger, healthier, and happier than ever before. When we asked her the secret behind her new energetic self, she started singing the praises about a dentist she had been visiting. From her previously broken, decayed, diseased, painful teeth, she now had new, fixed teeth on implants. At 71, she was enjoying eating like she did in her twenties.

The very next day, I made an appointment with that Dentist.

When I met the dentist and explained to him how unhappy I was with my smile, he reassured me that I would have the smile that I desired and deserved. He offered to give me a step-by-step treatment plan to sort out my teeth which we did together. And voila! I had my new smile. The smile I had always dreamt of. I was so thrilled, and soon became motivated to lose weight. I got into a disciplined eating and exercising routine and soon reached my target weight. My confidence levels grew and I started enjoying life. Everyone around me began complimenting me, not only on my smile makeover, but also my slimmer self as well as my livelier personality. I became a happy, positive person spreading happiness and embracing life. I realized how much value a new smile added to my life. That’s when it became clear to me; what I wanted to do with my life. I would become a dentist and add similar value to other people’s lives!

It has been 18 years, since I began contributing to people’s lives and their health, with my team of specialist dentists. We have changed many people’s smiles and lives, including people from 69 countries in addition to India. Smile makeovers and oral rehabilitations through dental implants are the two most popular procedures in our clinic.

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in Dentistry over the last 5 or 10 years?

The biggest change in Dentistry has been a shift from “A Need-Based Dentistry To Want Based Dentistry”. A good smile adds hugely to a person’s confidence and leverages their personal and professional life. Patients realize this and come specifically for smile makeovers and corrections. As a result of getting this, patients have gone from being depressed and under confident to happy and confident individuals. Some patients have found jobs, got promotions, found partners in their lives. Thus cosmetic dentistry goes beyond restoring an individual’s teeth, to adding value and improving their overall personality. Cosmetic dental procedures like veneers, tooth colored restorations, teeth whitening, invisalign are getting more popular both with patients across the globe and in India.

Which the most Common Misconception about Dentistry?

The most common misconception in dentistry is “if there is no pain, then there is no need to visit the dentist”. However it is important to know that the basic difference between a dental and medical problem is; “ in a medical problem symptoms comes first and damage happens later, however in a dental problem the damage happens first and symptoms comes later.” For example when a cavity starts or is even midway into the tooth, there is no pain or sensitivity. Its only when the cavity progresses deep into the tooth and infects the nerve, symptoms like pain and sensitivity appear. Now the cavity is beyond the filling stage and needs a root canal treatment. This means more an advanced treatment and spending more time and money on this tooth.

Hence a six monthy check up of the teeth is very important as any dental problem which is just starting can be treated there and then. When it comes to dental care, the best way to prevent a problem from occurring in the first place is to visit your dentist at least twice a year. In addition to the six monthly check ups, basic home care for teeth which includes brushing twice a day( post breakfast and post dinner), rinsing your mouth every time one eats or snacks and flossing at night can maintain your natural teeth for a life time.

What are the Treatments that you offer?

We offer comprehensive dental treatments from the basic to the latest viz… tooth colored fillings, extractions, veneers, crowns, single sitting root canals, , braces treatment, Invisalign, teeth whitening, smile makeovers, dental implants, laser treatments etc.

Our signature treatments are: –

• “Complete Smile Makeovers in just 4 days.”
• “Oral Rehabilitation with Dental Implants.”

How do you deal with the Patients who are Nervous/Anxious about their Dental Appointment/Treatment?

We follow a friendly and relaxed approach to treat our patients. Soothing music in the back ground and fragrance of lemon grass oil helps calm the patients. What helps us most is, we follow an appointment schedule keeping enough time for every patient so we can do active listening. When we hear them patiently, without interrupting and let them voice all their fears and concerns and do active listening they feel cared for and relaxed. Explaining them the procedure to be done step by step helps them get relieved from “the fear of the unknown”. Pain is one of the primary reasons for anxiety in dental patients. When we give local anaesthesia we first apply a local anesthetic gel(nice tasting flavor) on the surface to numb it. This is followed by using the thinnest and finest needles available worldwide. This helps in reducing the pain of the local anesthetic agent to a large extent. With technology backing dentistry, the dental procedures have become very quick and easy for the patients. The improved equipment results in the procedures being done faster, precisely and with less pain. In very anxious patients, for surgical procedures oral sedatives and conscious sedation is administered. Having a holistic approach to treat the patients and taking care that we are not just treating teeth but a person with feelings and emotions has helped our patients especially the anxious ones to sail through procedures and have a pleasant overall experience.

What do you enjoy doing outside of Dentistry?

Besides dentistry, I find my Zen in travel, Vipassana meditation, nature and adventure.

Your advice to Patients?

As the famous Proverb goes” Prevention is better than cure”, prevention of the dental problems by regular Check-ups and cleaning every 6 months and maintaining a good oral hygiene through basic home regime methods is Prime. As I have said earlier, do not wait for a pain symptom to set and then going to the dentist.

How can Patients book their appointments with you?

Patients can call on, “Smile Delhi- The Dental Clinic”- 011 4051 8978/ 9811106871 or whatsapp Dr. Suprriya Bhatia on +91-981106377 to book an appointment.

Posted By – Dr. Sonam