#dentistsofinstagram … I am still not entirely sure how I feel about this movement. The one thing I do know for sure is that, the longer I sit and think about it, the further I fall behind!

Instagram dentists have had a positive effect on the profession in so many ways. There is a ridiculous amount of content out there to help educate patients and there is no doubt it has increased the world-wide interest in cosmetic dental procedures such as Invisalign teeth straightening, teeth whitening, cosmetic veneers and facial rejuvenation treatments.

On the flip side, many dentists are unfortunately helping create a culture where it looks like it’s a ‘one size fits all’ approach to dentistry. To the professional eye, there seems to have been an 80’s revival of the “BIG white teeth” approach which we thought we had ditched decades earlier.

Patient expectations have changed and dentists are being constantly challenged! If a person follows a particular dentist who favours cosmetic bonding, they will attend wanting cosmetic bonding. If a different person follows a different dentist who showcases veneers, they will attend demanding veneers.

I recall on one occasion having a heated debate with a patient who was telling me how to do the dentistry and couldn’t understand why a particular approach would not work in her specific case when she had ‘seen hundreds of videos’ and it was ‘soooo easy’. You breathe, you educate, they leave happy.

I truly believe it takes great bravery for anyone to leave themselves exposed to public and professional opinion on any social platform. If you’re not on the stage, perhaps you have no right to judge those that are. At the same time though, if you are a private person and choose not to “share”, I doubt that means you have nothing worthwhile to say – just means you have a smaller audience!

In summary, we are awesome at what we do at Chelsea and Fulham Dentist. If we go a little quiet on the social media front, it’s probably because we have been too busy actually  treating our lovely patients and find ourselves a bit cringe on camera, rather than because we have nothing to say about teeth.

You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Call on 02030801000 or email mail@cfdentist.co.uk if you want to hear what we have to say