For most people, sitting on a dentist’s chair is a nightmare. More often than not they ignore their dental issues opting for home remedies or over the counter drugs, just to avoid a visit that they think will be more painful than their current situation.
However, such an attitude can aggravate a simple pain to some serious issues if not taken care of at the right time. Dispelling this fear of the chair is Soulful Dental Care’s main objective. The dental care clinic offers painless, effective and long-lasting dental treatment in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere creating a setup where patients are taken care of as a family.
Soulful Dental Care offer services related to pediatric dentistry including preventive dental treatment like fluoride application and pit and fissure sealants, painless root canal treatment, metal-free white composite fillings, colorful twinky star fillings for kids, steel as well as ceramic caps for milk teeth and permanent teeth, painless tooth removal and space maintainers & orthodontic treatment all offered in a child-friendly environment.
The core team of the clinic includes Dr Swapnil Rachha (MDS-Pediatric & Preventive Dentist), Dr Mrs Sneha Rachha (BDS-Dental Surgeon & Implantologist) Dr Shruti Athalye (Dental Surgeon & Cosmetologist) and three well trained dental assistants skillful in handling patients gently.
Here’s Dr Swapnil Rachha, sharing how he followed his passion and established the dental care clinic.
Kindly brief us about your journey as a dental practitioner and your clinic.
I cannot be more grateful in the way in which my journey has been shaped. Inspite of being the son of a banker, I had an interest in biology and the human body from an early age which led me to opt for dental science which is a speciality itself in medical science. Since my early days in dentistry, I was always intrigued by kids and their dental treatment. My inclination towards pedodontics increased as I received immense love and affection from the kids and felt responsible to throw myself in dedication for working towards preserving and maintaining kids’ dental health and well-being which subsequently led me to start an exclusive dental clinic for kids in Pune by the name of Soulful Dental Care.
Since the establishment of the clinic, I have been blessed with wonderful child patients from all strata of society and the clinical practice went on to settle pretty fast, serving several patients every year. Recently we have completed 4 years of service and the amazing response from our patients only seems to motivate us to work harder.
What is your opinion on the adaptation of novel technologies in dental science?
Technology and the latest innovations have changed the face of dental science. In the earlier days, many sensitive patients had to be forcefully held during tooth removal, with the advent of advanced techniques & sensitive equipment saving the natural tooth in a painless way and maintaining the right form has become the norm of dentists all over the world. Different types of anaesthesia for painless dental surgeries, use of nitrous oxide sedation in anxious child/ adult patients, use of lasers in dental procedures, highly efficient endomotors and apex locators are some of many novel technologies routinely used in a dental practice today. Even preventive dentistry has so many advancements so that dental surgeons can prevent many dental diseases from occurring via non-invasive dental procedures and saving a lot of future costs and trouble. Hence, I have a firm opinion that the dental field has evolved in a way that all patients have immensely benefited from it and patients are no more horrified for a dental visit and dentists are no longer considered as monsters!
Share with our readers the measures that have to be taken to maintain good oral hygiene. How would you suggest we should spread awareness for the same?
Maintaining good oral hygiene is an important daily routine which all must follow meticulously. The most common questions that patients have are how often to brush, in what way and which toothpaste to use etc. I personally suggest using a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoridated paste with 950 to 1000 ppm fluoride of any good company to brush teeth twice daily once in the morning and once at bedtime. Toothbrushing should be done with moderate forces applied on teeth and giving horizontal as well as vertical strokes till approx 3-4 minutes, covering all surfaces followed by thorough rinsing with water. Use of dental floss and medicated mouth wash are also very good adjuvants in maintaining good oral hygiene and preventing dental diseases. Best way to spread awareness in patients is visiting your dentist regularly and magazines like Insight which reach a lot of people and provide vital information to readers.
What is your opinion on the shortage of healthcare facilities and workers to cater to the growing number of Corona Virus Cases?
Reducing mortality is the highest priority that should be given in the current situation so increasing resources in the form of beds with oxygen supply and ventilators are the way to go. Doctors from all fields should be recruited in the service of COVID care centres to reduce the existing burden on the team of doctors serving the purpose. Jumbo COVID centres are already in place which needs efficient staff to manage patients appropriately which will lessen the burden of cases on hospitals.
What difficulties has the pandemic brought about for your clinic and the dental industry in general? How are you equipping yourself/your clinic to manage the same?
The COVID pandemic was unprecedented and has hit all sectors equally. The dental field had a major hit since patients initially were hesitant to come in close contact where they had to remove masks for treatment. But dental pain and dental disease is a thing one cannot neglect for a long time hence the need for emergency and then routine dental care emerged. Soulful Dental Care was fully prepared to handle the adversity since the time the crisis hit and we geared up with all safety procedures and equipment according to government guidelines.
We provided patients with timely tele and video consultations. We started scheduling patients by appointment basis only and hence avoided crowding in the clinic. Every patient and the accompanying person were screened for body temperature and oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter. Maintaining clean and sterilised air in the clinic was possible due to the installation of top-class Japanese AIR purification system and negative ion generators. Nanotechnology is being used to thoroughly sanitise the entire clinic operatory at regular intervals after each patient visit. I can proudly say that thorough sterilisation of every instrument going into the patient’s mouth along with the use of advanced disinfection methods has helped all our patients get effective and safe dental treatment in this testing phase.
What have you planned for yourself/your clinic (in terms of expansion or new equipment) in the coming years?
Soulful Dental Care has completed 4 successful years in 2020 and after providing treatment for thousands of patients and helping them gain a better smile we are upcoming with a second branch in Kothrud considering the demand and need for good dental services around. The second branch will be an advanced centre for multispeciality dental treatment and dental implants with all the latest technology and equipment in a comfortable environment for patients.
