About Us
Welcome
You are invited to visit one of the most comprehensive, state-of-the-art
dental practices in Tuscarawas County. We strive to provide you
with the most comprehensive treatment planning and modern dental
care available in hopes of making certain that your smile gives
you comfort that total oral health demands. Through an ongoing relationship
with you and your family, we will do the very best that is within
our means to ensure a lifetime of healthy smiles for you and yours.
Learn more about Dr. Huff. Dr. Huff has
authored many articles that have been published in both peer reviewed
and non-peer reviewed literature. Click here
to view these interesting and informative articles written by Dr.
Huff.
Mission
| It is our goal to provide you with the highest
quality of dental care, taking into account all aspects of dental
science. Our dental team, under the direction of the dentist,
intertwines knowledge of oral diseases and abnormal conditions,
surgery, art, biological engineering, nutrition, counseling,
economics, and "common sense" in order to provide sound advice
and care for you, as they pertain to dental treatment. Your
safety and well-being must always be at the top of our priority
list as we endeavor to meet your dental needs, taking into account
your chief concern, perceptions, and overall health. Furthermore,
we play a key role in your education so that you may learn how
to better manage home oral hygiene and maintenance. Hopefully,
through adhering to our mission, we will significantly improve
the quality of life for those who entrust us to care for their
oral health while upholding honesty, integrity, and professionalism
as fundamental components of our practice. Our goal is to provide
the best care possible for our patients with a comprehensive
treatment philosophy. |
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Our Staff
Our Office
Our office décor reflects the serenity of the underwater world.
Since Dr. Huff and his wife are both avid SCUBA divers, they selected
this motif to lighten the stigma of a dental office. After passing
through the beach-like setting of our front door, entering the reception
area, one feels the feeling of descending below the water's surface
as skylights reflect sunlight much like the surface of the ocean
appears as a diver looks upward. A bronze sculpture of a diver meandering
through lava rock, hand-crafted by Dr. Huff's brother, is the focal
point of the room. Throughout the office, the walls are alive with
marine life, from crabs to dolphins; an octopus can even be found
lurking in the hallway.
Once
inside the clinical area, one's mind is occupied by cable television
in each operatory with an attached DVD player for patient entertainment
and education. Our patients often enjoy watching their favorite
cartoon or soap opera during their dental appointment. State-of-the-art
digital photography is used to assist our patients in diagnosing
their own oral health.
Our facility is equipped with a dedicated sterilization
center to provide quality infection control in compliance with
state law and Department of Health standards. Our steam autoclave
is tested weekly by the Ohio State University Sterilization Monitoring
Service to ensure that our instruments are being effectively sterilized.
Although we want marine life to be alive in our office, we do not
want germs to be!
What's Different About Us
No two dental practices are alike. Each takes on the characteristics
of the practitioner who owns it. The personality of the owner is
probably the key to how that office "feels" when you walk
in the door. Some practices may feel "clinical and efficient",
while others feel somewhat more comfortable. The dentist's personality
is reflected in his or her treatment preferences as well. The fact
that different dentists will suggest different plans to treat your
condition does not necessarily mean that one plan is better than
another. Most dentists will suggest what they feel to be the very
best plan for any given patient. The differences between the treatment
suggested by one dentist and that of another reflects that dentist's
preferences based on his or her skill level, training, and experience.
It is important to remember that there are numerous ways to treat
the same situation, and it is important for the dentist to develop
a customized treatment plan for each patient's specific situation,
taking into account the severity and presence of disease and the
expectations of the patient. A major part of the decision-making
process may be financial, but the dentist has an ethical responsibility
to present all reasonable treatment options to the patient without
pre-judging their ability to pay for treatment. The dentist should
provide adequate information to the patient for them to make a decision
about his or her own care. It is the patient's responsibility to
decide which treatment best suits his or her budget and make an
educated decision about the choice selected, understanding the risks
and benefits of selecting one treatment over another.
Think of treatment plans like various models of cars offered by
different dealers. All of the models are new and will work reasonably
well out of the lot. The higher end models, however, have some advantages
not found in the less expensive models. Some options add years to
the life of the car. Some add to the appearance and enjoyment of
driving it. Dental treatment plans are like that too. Saving a badly
damaged tooth with a root canal and
a crown may preserve it for a long time,
but there is a greater financial investment up front than what may
appear at the onset to be less expensive options, like a large filling
or extraction. In the long run, however,
"less expensive" alternative treatments may end up costing
a great deal more than ideal treatment at the onset. For instance,
replacing a missing tooth to stop problems with the bite and TMJ
may require a fixed bridge, an implant,
or a removable partial denture.
All dentists who have graduated from an accredited dental school
should be technically competent to perform any procedure that they
personally feel comfortable performing. But it is important to remember
that each one is an individual, and no two dentists can perform
exactly the same technical procedure in exactly the same way. As
a result, fees vary greatly for the same procedures between dentists.
Most dental practices roughly fall into one of four categories.
Type I dental practices are usually geared toward providing short-term
and "emergency" treatment; treatment plans are usually
geared toward providing a basic prognosis of 1-5 years and often
are usually insurance-company driven, providing very little if any
"high-end" dental procedures like crowns and implants.
Type II practices are usually family-based practices that serve
a high-number of people and may also be insurance-company driven;
treatment plans are usually geared toward an outcome of 1-5 years,
but usually encompass some higher end procedures like single crowns.
It would not be uncommon for a Type I or II dentist to be a "provider"
dentist in a managed healthcare program, like an HMO or PPO; these
practices are often very busy because they have to be for a dentist
to profit from lower-fee services. Type III practices are usually
not insurance-based and focus on providing lifetime dental care
for families and adults; these practices usually provide multiple
treatment options for their patients and depend on their patients
to help their practices grow through direct referrals. Type IV practices
are high-end, elite, spa-like practices that provide advance cosmetic
and reconstructive care designed to last as long as technology will
allow; these practices are all exclusively fee-for-service and require
extreme commitment to professional achievement by the dentist.
Dr. Huff's practice is unique in that it is between a Type III
and IV. Complete, customized treatment plans are presented to each
new patient. Our job is to educate our patients so that they can
make their own decisions about care. We are willing to assist our
patients with their insurance issues, but we do not allow insurance
companies to dictate care for our patients. Through honesty and
continuing development of our professional competency through continuing
education, we strive to provide the very best care possible to a
wide range of people of all ages.
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