Abstract
If you’re reading this right now, there is a very high probability that you hate going to the dentist. Many people dislike the smell of the dentist’s office, the sound of the dental instruments, the taste of the dental materials, and the pain of the dental procedures. However, going to the dentist regularly to maintain oral health is essential; insufficient oral health can lead to periodontal disease and oral cancer. After a recent experience with some unpleasant tasting sealants, I decided to focus on the ‘taste’ part of dentistry in order to attempt to better a patient’s experience at the dentist. My essential question was, “Do better tasting dental substances exist that could be used to initiate a higher quality patient experience at the dentist's office?” I hypothesized that yes, better tasting dental substances do exist, but are maybe too expensive to use on a regular basis. I surveyed the patients at my mentorship, Weber Family Dental, to find out if improving taste would really improve patient experience—their answer was yes. I discovered through research that dental supply manufacturers make dental supply flavorings that can be added to horrible tasting materials to lessen their rancid flavor, but these flavorings don’t work for every kind of dental material. After discussing with my mentor, Dr. Weber, I realized that some dental materials taste bad because of the ingredients in them, but those ingredients are what allow for the dental material to do the unique job it is made to do such as take impressions or seal a molar. By the end of my project, I came to the conclusion that using the flavorings to make some materials taste better could improve a patient’s experience, but what is most important is that the dental material accomplishes the job it is made to do and the patient maintains good oral health.