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A Practice for Dental Phobics
Phobic patients in South Carolina and surrounding states are getting the dental care that fits their needs, thanks to Royal Crest Centre for Advanced Dentistry. Founded by Ryan Marcello, DMD, Royal Crest offers one-appointment intravenous (IV) and general anesthesia sedation, which allows anxious patients to sleep through much-needed dental procedures.

Fear of the dentist is not uncommon. In fact, Dr. Marcello says that more than 50 percent of the population has some fear of going to the dentist – a fear that stems from past dental experiences that were either painful or traumatic. Phobic patients often delay treatment for years and sometimes decades, until the pain is just too great to bear.

That’s when they turn to Royal Crest.



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The Sedation Solution

Dr. Marcello realized his desire to practice sedation dentistry long before opening his own practice. “Back when I was in dental school, I started to get familiar with the phobias associated with dentistry,” he said. “I thought ‘How can you motivate people with such a severe fear of the dentist to come in?’ and sedation seemed to be the answer.”

With Patterson’s help, Dr. Marcello established a six-operatory solo practice in Greer, S.C., in 2001. The practice had one sedation suite, which attracted not only phobic patients, but also children and people with special needs. Many of those patients came from the Anderson, S.C., area, located approximately 40 miles from Greer.

The practice was highly successful, but Dr. Marcello couldn’t keep up with the demand for his services with such limited space. His Anderson-area patients suggested that he open an office closer to them. He analyzed the practice’s numbers and determined that he routinely saw 1,500 patients from that area of the state, so it made sense to open a satellite office in that area.

When a three-operatory practice became available in Anderson, Dr. Marcello purchased the practice and equipped it through Patterson. He varied his schedule so he could spend equal amounts of time at the Greer and Anderson offices. He also hired an associate to help him keep up with the ever-growing patient load. Just months later, he was accumulating so many patients in Anderson that he had no choice but to expand that office. He tore down the wall to the adjoining suite and the Anderson practice grew to seven operatories and two sedation suites.


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A Practice for Dental Phobics

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