As a general rule, it’s always a wonderful idea to support local businesses. But this applies to more than just retail or coffee shops! Today, Straight Smiles Orthodontics will explain the importance of seeing a local orthodontist in the community.
A One-on-One Approach
We may be a bit biased, but the list of reasons for choosing a local practice like ours in Oakland & Macomb County is quite long! Let’s take a look:
- Consistency: With local doctors like Dr. Tom and Dr. Nicholas Rafail overseeing your treatment, you’ll experience consistent communication, approach, and decision-making throughout your entire treatment journey.
- Personalized Care: Seeing the same orthodontist at each visit helps build a strong patient-doctor relationship, ensuring your individualized needs and preferences are well understood.
- Continuity of Care: From start to finish, our doctors will maintain a comprehensive understanding of each patient’s treatment progress, history, and goals. This can also be a great asset if someone needs to refer a friend or family member within our community.
- Streamlined Communication: Working with our doctors at Straight Smiles Orthodontics allows for direct communication, simplifies the process, and ensures clear, efficient exchanges regarding treatment plans, progress updates, and any other concerns.
- Comprehensive Expertise: Our doctors oversee all aspects of treatment planning, execution and follow-up, ensuring that patients can rely on their range of expertise during their orthodontic process.
- Enhanced Accountability: Patients and their families have a clear point of contact for accountability, ensuring any issues or adjustments are promptly addressed by a doctor who is fully familiar with their case.
- Flexibility: Scheduling appointments and accommodating busy schedules is often easier when working with a single orthodontist, who can offer more flexibility in appointment times and treatment options.
- Community: We cherish the areas we serve and have a deep respect and understanding of their residents. We are grateful to nurture relationships with local families and contribute to the community’s enrichment. Part of this effort is having three locations for your convenience.
A Corporate Disadvantage
The main alternative to supporting a local practice is the corporate route. A corporate orthodontic practice is controlled by DMOs (dental management organizations) or other large corporations. Here is why we don’t recommend these practices:
- Lack of Personalized Care: In corporate orthodontic settings, patients often feel like just another number in a system rather than being treated as individuals. A dedicated orthodontist can provide the individualized care and attention you deserve.
- High Turnover of Staff: Corporate orthodontic practices often experience frequent turnover among both orthodontists and support personnel, leading to inconsistency and lack of continuity for patients. In contrast, we have an incredible, time-tested team of colleagues who enjoy seeing new and returning patients.
- Limited Treatment Options: No one wants to hear they can’t be helped after an examination. Corporate practices may prioritize certain treatment methods or products based on financial incentives or agreements, limiting the range of treatment options available to patients.
- Focus on Profit over Patient Care: Corporate offices can prioritize profitability over patient care, leading to pressure to upsell treatments or procedures that may not be necessary for a patient’s oral health. This can result in unethical practices.
- Less Flexibility in Scheduling: Due to high patient volumes and standardized operating procedures, corporate orthodontic practices often offer less flexibility in appointment scheduling, making it challenging for patients to find convenient appointment times.
- Reduced Sense of Community: Patients often feel less connected to both the practice and practitioner in corporate orthodontic settings, as these practices often lack the intimate, community-oriented atmosphere of smaller independent businesses like ours.
- Higher Costs: Up front, corporate practices may seem like a deal. However, when treatments aren’t executed correctly, the long-term financial and emotional costs of trying to get things fixed can outweigh any initial savings.
- Bad Ratings: Patients should always research before choosing a practice. Generally, corporate orthodontic offices have a wide range of reviews, many of which relate to patient care and treatment quality. We encourage you to compare these with our own glowing patient testimonials.
Love Your Local Orthodontics!
So, we hope this has shed some light on the various positive aspects of choosing a practice like Straight Smiles Orthodontics. We genuinely care for our patients of all ages and are so proud of what we’ve accomplished so far! We have three amazing offices in Shelby Township, Novi, and Rochester Hill.