Seef Dental Clinic Bahrain - Dr. Sameh Shaheen

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Seef Dental — Servicing Your Smile For many, going to the dentist is an unbearable ordeal. Just the though of that cold, clinical waiting room with its halogen lighting and disinfectant smell is enough to give them the shivers. Add to that the sound of the drill and moans of pain emanating from the dentist’s treatment room, and you have many people’s deepest phobia! As a result, many people neglect their dental hygiene, putting off and avoiding making an appointment for a check-up at the dentist until, before they know it, they have a problem with their teeth that needs urgent attention, often involving a costly and painful process, like a root canal, for example. Dr. Sameh Shaheen, founder of Seef Dental Centre, feels that this is an unfortunate and totally unnecessary situation. At Seef Dental, their entire focus is on making a visit to the dentist as pleasant and comfortable as possible. You realise this as soon as you walk into the clinic. Clinic is a misleading word, really, because at first glance you feel you have walked into a well-appointed living room — At the centre, they like to think of it more as a dental ‘spa’! The friendly and polite receptionists will take your details, before gesturing you towards one of the most comfortable waiting rooms you will have ever seen, anywhere! Plush leather couches face a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall to keep you occupied while you wait. Water features create a soothing and tranquil background noise, and you instantly feel at ease. In the waiting room, there is also a window into the clinic’s very own sterilisation room — what they like to call their ‘open kitchen’!

Plush waiting room

10 February 2008 BTM

Dr. Sameh, with one of the clinic's state-of-the-art dentist's chairs It is on display because at the clinic they are particularly proud of it. At Seef Dental Centre, stringent international regulations of sterilization are strictly followed, for obvious reasons, and they are the only clinic in Bahrain to have this facility. “We have our own water distillery, to obtain the purest water possible,” explains Dr. Sameh. “The equipment is then boiled, sterilised, vacuum-packed and then super heated to ensure that all bacteria is killed. The best dental practices are only as good as their hygiene. They could have the latest techniques, equipment and procedures, but if a patient catches hepatitis, then it is all pointless.” The clinic also has its own surgery, which makes things much more convenient for patients. “Surgery usually means a stay in hospital, because they are the only places to have suitable facilities, but this is costly and time consuming. Here, we can carry out dental surgery, which saves the patient time and inconvenience.” Using the very latest technology in equipment, your usual check-up becomes an intriguing, rather than terrifying process. Each chair is furnished with a flat-screen monitor, all of which are linked to a central computer system. If you have an X-ray, by the time that you’ve walked to the treatment room, your ‘jawbones’ are up on the monitor, in stunning clarity for you to see and discuss with the dentist.

Friendly receptionists In the old days, you lay back in the chair, mouth stretched in a frozen yawn for what seems like an eternity while the dentist rummaged around in your mouth with a mirror, while you were none the wiser as to what was going on. At Seef Dental, they have ultra-thin pen-like cameras that go in, and you can look up at the monitor and see your own teeth in stunning clarity, while the dentist gently moves it around and points out each detail to you. For once, getting to see exactly what the dentist is seeing makes for a much more interesting process. Any dental practice that can take away the terror of visiting the dentist has achieved something. Seef Dental has certainly achieved this, and then gone further to make the experience as pleasant as possible. For information, call 17 587-991.