The Unicorn of Dental Offices AKA Village Smile Care

 The Unicorn of Dental Practices AKA Village Smile Care Dr. Angela Cotey and Staff

If you are terrified of going to the dentist—traumatized by childhood experiences with dentists —and afraid of being scolded by judgmental dental staff, then you will cry in relief after a visit to Village Smile Care in Mt. Horeb, WI.

Dentist barbarism be gone.

From the moment you talk to Amanda about scheduling an appointment, you will know this trip to the dentist is going to be different. Amanda calmly discussed my needs. In this case, I needed a replacement filling for my front tooth. I spent a week researching local dentists before calling Village Smile Care. (BTW they have over 180 positive reviews—mostly 5 stars.) While Amanda was able to fit me in the same week, she also told me I could complete the paperwork online or in person the day of the appointment.

The paperwork is thorough and you should give yourself time to complete it. I finished it at 2:30AM because I was unable to sleep the night before my appointment due to abject fear.

From the outside, Village Smile Care is a graceful and well-maintained building with what appears to be natural stonework. The inside opens to an immaculate interior. I am not using hyperbole in this description. The waiting room features muted coastal colors with exceptionally comfortable furniture. The kind of furniture necessary to keep the kind of patients who are ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.

Smiling and welcoming at the front desk is Amanda.

Remember that dental receptionist who barely looked at you while demanding your driver’s license and insurance card?

Well, that’s not Amanda.

Amanda stood up and greeted me with a firm handshake, then she thanked me for completing the forms online. Like I mattered. Amanda understands Maya Angelou’s lesson that people remember how you make them feel.

Amanda makes you feel like this time at the dentist’s office will be different.

So far, so good. If nothing else, the first person I met was nice.

After a few minutes in the waiting room (with no irritating TV blaring), I was called by Ali. And when called, I do mean called by the name I had been asked for in the paperwork. Because, obviously, Village Smile Care has read Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People. As Carnegie writes and I paraphrase—the sweetest sound a person is be called by his/her own name. They asked how I would liked to be addressed, and then they did just that.

Ali took me back and told me where I could place my things. She got me seated and, then, referring to my paperwork again (like they actually read it) discussed step-by-step how the visit would proceed.

As an educator, this is important to me. For those not in the dental profession, it takes skill to educate a patient while not talking down to her. As someone with dentophobia (fear of the dentist), Ali’s calm demeanor in laying out what happened next was critical to allaying my fears.

Because Ali had read the paperwork, she provided me with earplugs to block out the sound that would disturb me. The same sounds from childhood that are the equivalent of sanding concrete.

Ali cared enough to pay attention. She cares.

When she completed the X-rays—and I should note here if your last dental visit was back in the stone ages where they used early torture devices to break open your face with an implement that made you gag—this is not that horror of the past.

She used a device the size of a stamp to get the images. No pain. No jaw-wrenching. It’s a brand new world of dentistry.

At that point, Dr. Angela Cotey came in and introduced herself. She shook my hand with a reassuring and comforting handshake. Dr. Cotey is most likely aware of research that shows “78.1% of patients want the physician to shake their hand, 50.4% want their first name used, and 56.4% want physicians to introduce themselves using their first and last names,” (JAMA— “An Evidence-Based Perspective on Greetings in Medical Encounters” by Gregory Makoul, PhD.; Amanda Zick, MA; Marianne Green, MD— Arch Intern Med. 2007;167 (11) 1172-1176.doi.10.1001/arch-inte.167.11.1172) I am including it here in the hopes that other practitioners can learn from Dr. Angela Cotey.

Dr. Cotey asked if I was comfortable and gave me the run through of how she would like to proceed. Then, she asked if I had any further questions before she started.

Throughout the work, she stopped several times to ask how I was doing and/or explain what was next. Because she knew the sounds bothered me, she made sure to let me know what kinds of sounds were about to occur.

Before she finished her work on my front tooth, she asked Ali to check the work to make sure it looked symmetrical. This may seem like a small detail. In fact, it is a major insight into Dr. Cotey’s personal character.

She treated Ali as a professional peer. By asking Ali’s opinion, Dr. Cotey showed that she valued Ali’s expertise. Collaborating with others and asking for input shows a high level of emotional intelligence.

Dr. Cotey went so far as doing extra work to smooth a bottom tooth could be affected by my wonky bite. She took the time to align it as best she could within the visit.

And let’s be fair. She knows that dentophobic patients may not be repeat customers. She has the foresight to care for what she can during that visit.

In far less time than it took to write this lengthy review, Dr. Cotey was finished.

She explained what we could do next. Thanked me for coming in and off she went.

Ali finished up by giving me a mirror, and I was relieved I no longer had a snaggletooth. The addition to my tooth looked seamlessly like the rest of my smile.

 I was able to pay right there with a detailed printout and the amount matched with Ali quoted before they started the work.

She scheduled my next visit right there. Yes, I made a follow up visit for a comprehensive exam. With great courtesy, she escorted me back to the front desk.

Seated at the front desk were Amanda and Dr. Cotey. Dr. Cotey stood up again and warmly grasped my hand.

I told them what a great experience it had been from start to finish. I told them how grateful I was by their treatment. I told them they were my heroes.

Call them heroes—or Unicorns—because Amanda, Ali, and Dr. Angela Cotey of Village Smile Care in Mt. Horeb, WI are legendary in the field of dentistry.