Ten years is a long time to be doing anything. But the Richmond dental clinic has done something more like the marketing you would do with a sign in the window than in the newspaper. They come to stay. They’re here to stay. In fact, some people have been coming here for years, something you don’t see on many websites. Click here for more information!

It’s nice to go to a place that hasn’t made too many changes in the past five years. The chairs are new, the equipment is shiny, but it feels stable. Familiar. There’s someone trying to remember your name. It’s more important than being polite.

Dentistry is ordinary and horrific. Despite insisting “I’m not afraid” of the dentist, there is still a slight clenching when the chair reclines. Apparently the clinic knows it’s not just about the skill of a dentist. They don’t want to be rushed. Conversations happen. Questions aren’t intrusions.

Some clinics push treatments hard. Whiten, straighten, reshape, it’s a pitch. In this case, the approach is more sensible. They talk about treatments, but not pitch. It’s about doing it well, not flogging it.

It certainly helps that experience shows. Procedures run smoothly. Appointments are as short as possible. And there’s no panic when something happens that shouldn’t happen (and it always does).

And the experience of having been there for so long. It takes 50 years to live 50 years. It’s different, but it’s the same. People don’t miss that. They discuss it, sometimes casually, sometimes with great interest in something as everyday as a trip to the dentist.

And they feel better afterwards. Not just because their teeth feel better or are fixed, but because it’s not a horrible experience. That’s not necessarily true.