Alexandra is the furthest of the Central Otago towns we see patients from - a bit over an hour each way. We won't pretend to be your local dentist, but here's what the trip is usually for.
Worth the drive, or not
For a check-up and clean, it isn't. Central Otago has good dentists and there's no sense in two hours of driving for a routine appointment.
What people do travel for is treatment that needs particular equipment, particular time, or a dentist they've already built trust with - most often sedation, implants, or cosmetic work they want done carefully.
Sedation is the most common reason
Dental anxiety is the single most common thing that brings people here from further afield. We offer relative analgesia, oral sedation and IV sedation, and we plan the appointment around it rather than treating it as an add-on.
If you've been avoiding treatment for years, that's the conversation to start with - book a consultation rather than treatment, and nothing has to happen on the day.
Planning the visit
Tell us where you're coming from and we'll group treatment into fewer, longer appointments wherever it's clinically sound, and try to give you a time that works with a two-hour round trip.