A practice, not a clinic.
Cymru Dental opened on Cathedral Road to do general dentistry the way it was always meant to be done - calmly, in plain English, and without selling anyone anything they did not come in for.
A Victorian terrace on Cathedral Road, a minute from the park.
The practice sits in a small terrace just off Pontcanna fields. Step-free entrance from the street, two parking bays on site, and a coffee machine in the waiting room. Most patients walk or cycle.
We kept the front room as a sitting room, not a queue. Armchairs, plants, daylight, and magazines that are not from 2014. The reception desk is at the back, not a counter you arrive at.
Inside the surgeries the equipment is new and the lights are soft. The chairs recline gently. There are blankets if you want one. None of it is luxury, just the cost of making an hour at the dentist feel survivable.
Six things we've decided about, in advance.
Most of what makes a dental practice good or bad is decided before the patient walks in. These are ours.
- 01
We answer the phone.
In working hours, a person picks up. Out of hours, we call back the same day. No call centres, no menus, no holding.
- 02
We say what something costs.
Every plan is written down before it begins. Itemised, in plain English, with timings.
- 03
We make time, then use it.
New-patient appointments are an hour. We don't run two surgeries off one dentist.
- 04
We narrate as we go.
Photos on a screen you can see. We point at things, say what we're looking at, and answer questions as they come.
- 05
We never sell.
Whitening, alignment, cosmetic work, only ever if you ask. We won't suggest extras you didn't come in for.
- 06
We listen first.
About past dentists, about what hurts, about what you'd like to be different. We start there.
Most of our new patients are.
Anxiety about the dentist is the most common reason people give for putting it off, and the most common reason they finally come in. You are not unusual. You are most of the diary.
There is no telling-off, no commentary on how long it has been, and no assumption that you remember what was discussed or what was found. The point of a first appointment is that nothing happens you have not agreed to.
- Stop signals are agreed before anything begins.
- We pause as often as you need, for as long as you need.
- Numbing gel is standard for anyone who would like it before an injection.
- If you would rather not see the instruments, we keep them out of view.
- If you would rather come back another day, we rebook with no charge.