Hear how dentist Barry Rimmer introduced digital solutions within his practice to increase patient comfort and improve outcomes.
Traditional analogue dentistry, with its manual tools and techniques, is increasingly being replaced by digital solutions to offer greater precision and efficiency. This transformation allows for more accurate diagnostics, customised treatments and streamlined workflows, ultimately improving patient comfort and outcomes and reducing the time and complexity involved in dental procedures.
Early adopters are pivotal to this revolution, actively engaging with and testing new products, technologies and clinical approaches. These trailblazers shape the future of dental care by helping to develop high-quality and evidence-based procedures.
While the dental profession is renowned for its slow adoption, pioneering clinicians continue to lead the way. More open to embracing change, they stay informed about innovations and help drive trends. This momentum makes for an exciting future.
For dentist Barry Rimmer, the opportunity to embrace the role of early adopter presented itself in the 1990s during a trip to New York, but more on this later.
Inherent curiosity
Barry has owned five practices, including Lonsdale Dental Practice in Kirkby Lonsdale, Carnforth, where he now practises. Over the years, he has honed his clinical care to ensure a compassionate and patient-centric approach. And thanks to his inherent curiosity about new and better ways to deliver dentistry, he has always been a keen investor in new technologies. As a result, he has created a reassuring environment for the most apprehensive patients. This investment is what has set his practices apart.
‘All patients tend to feel nervous – nobody wants to visit the dentist, do they? So, I always offer everyone a safe and comfortable experience in the chair. This requires optimum communication and the best tools to ensure minimally invasive care. Digital dental treatments are a key part of our USP.
‘Word of mouth accounts for well over 70% of our new patients, which is testimony to this approach. We show care and empathy and go the extra mile to offer painless dentistry.’
Advanced techniques
He has also been at the forefront of incorporating advanced sedation techniques. These ensure patient comfort, embracing inhalation and intravenous (IV) sedation early on. After completing a diploma in clinical hypnosis, Barry integrated hypnotherapy into his treatment protocols.
He holds a postgraduate diploma in sedation and pain management, a master’s degree in dental hypnosis from the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield and a master’s degree in oral implantology from UniCamillus International Medical University in Rome, Italy, underscoring his commitment to staying at the cutting edge of dental science.
Pain-free dentistry is, therefore, his personal USP. Dental anxiety can manifest in various ways, and Barry tailors his care to address individual needs. By fostering a calm and supportive environment, he is driven to transform the dental experience, making it accessible and stress-free. This also makes the appointment more manageable for all the dental team.
The Wand
To this end, a standout part of his armoury is The Wand, a computer-assisted system for administering local anaesthesia. It resembles a pen and delivers anaesthetic slowly and painlessly. It also allows for targeted delivery, numbing only the required area.
He first happened upon The Wand when it debuted in the US at a dental conference in New York. Barry was in attendance and keen to see more.
‘It promised painless injections, so I asked the salesperson to inject into the palatal area of my mouth. I was impressed and immediately bought four units and returned to the UK with them in my suitcase.’
Prioritising patient comfort and using The Wand in NHS treatments, he found it especially effective with children. If offered a hybrid solution with adult NHS patients who were happy to supplement the cost of its use while the NHS covered their treatment. This worked well for a while, but technically, administering anaesthetic wasn’t covered under NHS fees, which led to the decision to stop covering the anaesthetic fee, prompting Barry to leave the NHS shortly after that.
Several years later, at the BDA conference, it was clear that The Wand was proving a transformative investment for other UK dental practitioners, too.
‘I overheard a sales pitch at the stand at a BDA event, told the dentist involved it was a brilliant practice-builder, and suggested he invest in one. The salesperson asked me where I had sourced mine as they were the sole distributors and hadn’t dealt with me. When I told them my name, they knew who I was from the US sales team: “The mad British dentist who asked to be injected!”
‘If I was asked to list my top five pieces of dental equipment, The Wand is up there!’
Communication
Open communication is another essential component of Barry’s dentistry, and he tailors this mindfully, assessing body language the moment patients step into the practice.
He also uses distraction techniques. For paediatric patients, he asks them to count the number of beeps emitted from The Wand, and when they reach 20, they have often forgotten about the anaesthetic. With adults, he explains how The Wand works as he administers LA, describing how the computerised injection is designed to give him more control and them a more comfortable experience.
‘Communication is crucial to successful dentistry, and being open and honest with patients is a part of this. Patients often ask, “When are you going to numb me?” because they expect to see a syringe – and why wouldn’t they? I rarely use topical anaesthetic except occasionally with a challenging child.
‘I even use The Wand when the patient is sedated to minimise reactions. It’s not the needle that matters but the speed of administration. We are encouraged to embrace slow dentistry, and The Wand is an extension of this, making anaesthesia so much more comfortable for the person in the chair. I only ever use a short needle – and use it for ID blocks, facial aesthetic procedures and biopsies.’
Unmatched efficacy
And, although he admits he has trialled competitor units in the past, none have matched The Wand’s efficacy.
Barry’s patients now expect computerised, painless injections.
‘If I didn’t use The Wand, they’d now ask why,’ he says. ‘There is an initial one-off capital expense, but it has been an invaluable practice builder. The Wand might also require more training for dental nurses, but it reduces clinician stress despite the steeper learning curve. Trying to improve ourselves and do dentistry differently is ultimately what sets us apart.’
If you’d like to try The Wand, please click here to arrange for a member of the team to visit your practice with a demo unit.
This article is sponsored by Dental Sky.
