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Glasgow - Philip Friel

T

takingflight

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Messages
933
Location
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Often recommendations are sent to our moderators. Here is a very positive review we recently received from a long standing forum member:


I’d like to recommend Philip Friel in Glasgow:


154 Hyndland Road
Glasgow
G12 9HZ
Tel: 0141 339 7579


I’ve been going to this clinic for nearly 5 years now, so have got to know them quite well - Philip Friel is my dentist, but I can confidently recommend anybody at all in this practise. It’s a place where anxious and phobic patients will be very well looked after, and can find a lot of help and support.


It’s a long story and they’ve done so much to help that it’s hard to make this short! If you’ve got time, here are the details:





I have quite a deep-seated and complex dental phobia, following a long history of local anaesthetic failure and a very bad experience with a previous dentist. It has been a long and often very difficult journey, but over the last few years, Phil and his colleagues have totally transformed how I see dentists, and helped me through the process of facing up to my fears and tackling my phobia.


Phil's technical skills are excellent. The first thing he ever did was find the answer to my long-standing problem with local anaesthetic failure - something nobody had ever managed before - and recently he fitted a new crown for me that looks fantastic and fits perfectly, feels lovely. He has a very calm & confident manner when he is working on your teeth, something that I find really helps when I'm anxious.


But for me it's the 'soft' skills where Phil has really stood out - his approach has been totally different to any other dentist I have met. He will always put an enormous amount of effort into doing what is best for you, going out of his way to figure out what it is that you need and then providing that to the best of his ability. He will always give you the time you need - sometimes that can mean he runs late and you have to wait a wee while, but that will always be because he’s been giving somebody else the time and care they need, and he will do the same for you!


He also knows when it’s time to call in extra help, and where to find it - as soon as it became clear that I was struggling with the emotional fallout from my phobia and dealing with a past traumatic dental experience, Phil referred me to Mike Gow, a colleague & friend of his who is a dental phobia expert - more about that over in Mike’s thread!


With Mike’s help and guidance, together Phil and I worked through a process of desensitisation, gradually building trust and helping me to get more confident. The drill is a major trigger for me, so we started by just looking at the drill at a safe distance, then gradually worked up to putting it in my mouth, until eventually I was ready to have treatment. Phil tells me exactly what he's doing and explains everything as he goes along, which I find very helpful. He has been very patient and totally supportive throughout - there’s a real sense that this is something we have built together. All these things have made dentists and treatments much less mysterious and threatening for me, and helped me to feel much more involved and in control of what's going on. It’s been a long and sometimes very challenging process, but it has really paid off, and I have now reached the stage where I’m quite comfortable having checkups, and am able to cope much better with treatment. I’ve come a very long way and learned an enormous amount about what I’m capable of.


Note that all this was what was right for me - you don’t have to do anything like this if you don’t want to! Phil will treat you as an individual, and won't make you do anything you aren’t happy with - he'll try to find the right thing for you.





The other big thing that's different about this practice is the way everybody works together - there's a real sense that it's very 'joined up' and the whole staff are pulling together to help, not just Phil. Once I had to see one of the other dentists in an emergency, and by the time I arrived she had already been briefed about my phobia and how best to work with me. It's things like that that can make all the difference.


If you’re reading this forum, then you probably already understand just how high-maintenance those of us dealing with a dental phobia can be! Every single person I’ve met at the clinic has been very understanding, and totally professional - nobody ever judges me, and I’ve always been treated with kindness and total respect, no matter how difficult things have been.


The receptionists - Siobhan & Karyn - are both very friendly, discrete and professional and will go out of their way to help with things like arranging appointments that suit your needs. All the nurses are very helpful and very involved in your treatment - especially Phil’s regular nurse, Kasia, who has been supporting me right from the start.


I've read a few hygienist horror stories on here and I know some people really struggle with that, so it's worth noting that both the hygienists are fab too. I usually see Jen, who is lovely, really gentle and patient - but also very down to earth, we always have a bit of a blether and I find that really helps calm me down before I go in to see the dentist.


…and finally, yes, I do know nearly everybody by name! That says a lot about the place - I’ve got to the stage where I can go in for a cleaning and a checkup without feeling anxious about the dentistry at all - instead, it's just nice to go in and see everybody, which is not something I thought I’d ever say about a dental clinic! It helps me enormously to know that, if it came down to it, I could see anybody there and I would be in good hands and totally safe with them.
 
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