Libertyville Dentist Has Always Valued Building Relationships

Dr. David Potts has been practicing dentistry since 1974. In that time, he has seen a lot of things change in the field - anything from technology used in diagnosis and treatment, to chemistry that makes dental replacements and repairs stronger and more long-lasting. He said one of the biggest changes, though, has nothing to do with those two things at all.

“Nowadays, there isn’t any excuse for dentists to hurt people,” Dr. Potts explained. “A lot of people have had bad experiences with dentistry.”

“I don’t take it personally.”

For more than 20 years, Dr. Potts, whose office is in Libertyville, has been offering oral-conscious sedation.

“Making it comfortable and (being) kind to people is something that was always important to me,” Dr.Potts emphasized.

Dr. Potts has been in his current location, 908 S Milwaukee Ave., since 1974. His practice, Lake County Dental Care, is in the same place, but it has grown and changed in that time. It began at 750 square feet and is now 2,500.

“I started the practice with just me, three days a week,” Dr. Potts said.

He added 1,000 square feet only four years later - in 1978.

In the more than three decades he has been a dentist, Dr. Potts says he has seen how other dentists approach patients hugely change. It has shifted to value forming relationships and to put comfort at a higher priority. Building and maintaining relationships with patients and making their comfort a priority is something Dr. Potts has always prioritized.

In addition to the shift in prioritizing relationships and comfort, the technological and chemical changes in the industry have also been meaningful.

“Clinically and technology-wise, there’s a myriad of changes,” Dr. Potts observed.

Specifically, dental implants have been the most changed in the industry. The traditional approach - a fixed bridge - is no longer the only option.

Dr. Potts explained that when a person loses a tooth, an implant will help to keep the bone structure underneath where the tooth was lost.

“Dental implants maintain bone,” he said. “The bone that holds the tooth needs something to stimulate it.”

Most implants use a titanium rod that looks like a screw and that rod is put into the bone. This rod, sunk into the bone, stimulates the natural structure, preserving the bone.

Less permanent than an implant, Dr. Potts said crowns also have advanced a great deal in the decades he has been a dentist.

“We can make crown-type restorations the same day someone is here if that works for their schedule,” he said.

Dr. Potts said good dentistry is not just about repair and restoration, but also education. Dr. Potts has been educating his patients since he began his practice and some of the basics of oral care have not changed.

“If you can brush two times a day, that’s great,” Dr. Potts said.

In between dental visits though, patients can gain greater oral health by adding air flossers or water pics to daily brushing practices. Dr. Potts believes these additions to traditional brushing and flossing also have improved greatly over the years.

“We are constantly educating our patients,” he said. “We want them to have healthy mouths.”

“We want them to keep their own teeth for a lifetime if they can.”