Dr. Peter T. Harnois, a Chicago-area dentist for 27 years, knows one thing for sure about his profession: Everyone just seems to hate going to the dentist.
"It is true that so many people either hate going or don't go at all," said Harnois, 53, who was born in Rockford.
An estimated 60 million Americans don't go to a dentist out of fear, he said.
"I have spent 27 years practicing dentistry while trying to manage, control and cope with my patient's fear and anxiety on a daily basis," he said.
Take, for instance, Maribeth, one of his top 10 anxious patients. "I have had to help her to stop shaking and crying during her dental appointments on a regular basis," Harnois said. "Her trembling is so strong [ that ] it is hard to get her mouth to remain still so that I can do a good job. After she leaves, she is exhausted and has to go home to bed, and my staff and I are wiped out."
Then there's Ralph, who Harnois said, "sweats so hard during his dental appointments that he has to routinely go home and change his dress shirt before he goes to work."
The dental nightmares are about to stop, or so Harnois hopes.
The reason? NuCalm™, formerly known as Comfort Centered Care.
NuCalm™ is a new technology that allows dentists to provide their patients with a relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated dental experience. It is an easy-to-use, safe system that effectively relaxes patients without using narcotics or controlled substances. NuCalm has four components that are administered in approximately three minutes before the dental procedure begins. Patients can come and go on their own as there are no significant side effects, no recovery time needed and no impairments.
"Once I tried NuCalm™ myself, I could not wait to try it on my patients," said Harnois, who has an office in suburban Hinsdale and another in the One Magnificent Mile Building on North Michigan Avenue. "After lecturing to 600-plus dentists this past November, I first experienced NuCalm™ for 45 minutes in the hotel and what I felt afterwards shocked me even more than how relaxed I felt during the session. I woke up that morning, after my lecture with a headache and felt wiped out. After my NuCalm™ experience, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated for the rest of the day. I felt like I could go swim a mile. I was pumped for the rest of the day, almost like my mental state of fatigue and exhaustion had been wiped clean and in its place was this newly energized feeling. Also, my headache was gone. I was blown away by how good I felt right after my first session with NuCalm™."
The anxiety-relieving NuCalm™ process has been part of Harnois' practice for the last few months, thanks to numerous successful patient experiences, such as his staff and even his wife, Beatriz Chalas-Harnois.
"My wife wanted Botox for her forehead wrinkles and [ yet has a fear of ] needles; she literally has to be chased around the room," he said. "Using NuCalm™, I put her into such a relaxed state that she let me put eight Botox injections into her forehead and never even budged. She said to me afterwards that she never wants to have another medical or dental procedure done without NuCalm™."
Harnois also tried NuCalm™ on a patient named Laura who, he said, "is so anxious for every appointment that she tries to talk the whole time." Well, with NuCalm™, he performed a full crown preparation and afterwards, "she was more relaxed than I had ever seen her," he said.
"Even Ralph benefited from NuCalm™," Harnois said.
"After his first appointment with NuCalm™, he thanked me for giving him back his dignity and self-control and now he will actually look forward to his dental visits," Harnois said.
Harnois admits he was skeptical about NuCalm™ at first, mostly because, "I did not understand, or possibly fathom, how a non-narcotic procedure could even begin to control fear and anxiety in the dental office."
"And, the claims from the makers of NuCalm™ that there are no side effects and the ability to feel good after the appointment, sounded too good to be true," Harnois said.
"I am a skeptical person when it comes to new claims of some technique that is supposed to work so well," he said. "In my 27 years of practicing dentistry I have spent 100-plus hours per year on continuing education. Usually, when it comes to new techniques I have learned over the years that there is always a learning curve, and sometimes, quite a few limitations to what the new technique 'claims' to offer."
"For the first time in all of my years of practicing comprehensive general dentistry, that is no longer true. NuCalm™ goes far beyond what I thought it could be used for. It has completely changed the way I practice dentistry. The ability to control my patients' fear and anxiety, and allow them to get their dental health addressed so they can live a longer, healthier life is the most powerful thing that I have been able to offer to my patients."
Harnois is one of five dental offices in the Midwest that offers NuCalm™. It also is currently being provided by dental offices in Texas, Arizona, Washington, Nevada and Georgia.
And it's free from Harnois.
"I look at it this way," he said. "We don't charge for a local anesthetic which is part of the current standard of care for dentistry. Since NuCalm™ will quickly become recognized as a new standard of care in dentistry, I will not charge for this as well. First and foremost is my desire to take care of my patients in a kind, gentle and nurturing manner. For the first time in the history of dentistry at my office, I can do this. I would not charge for a local so patients can't say, 'I do not want to pay for that.' so why would I charge for something that is as powerful as NuCalm™. Because of NuCalm™, our patients need less anesthetic and their appointments are shorter."
NuCalm™ truly benefits both the patient and the doctor. For the patient, it is less risky than sedation and takes only three minutes to administer during the appointment. Most patients experience deep relaxation within eight minutes. Once the dental procedure is completed, the patient can leave immediately with no side effects, no recovery time needed and no impairment. Their post-treatment experience is a feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation.
"As a clinician, I value the positive experience it offers to my patients. NuCalm™ allows me to continue to provide best-in-class dental treatment to my community. I am committed to providing our patients with the best technologies the industry has to offer and am proud to introduce NuCalm™™ as the standard of care for my patients."
What about the dreaded drilling sound at the dentist?
"In just a few minutes [ with NuCalm™ ] , my patients are relaxed into the Alpha stage of sleep without any drugs or side effects," Harnois said. "They are awake and able to respond to my voice, but without any fear or anxiety. The noise from the drill may be heard a little, but it is greatly reduced by the music and the noise dampening headphones."
"NuCalm™ has been used on more than 8,000 patients in the U.S.," Harnois said, "and there has not been a single adverse event."
"Our goal at Solace Solutions, LLC is to improve the human experience," said Jim Poole, CEO and President of Solace Solutions, LLC, the makers of NuCalm™. "Unfortunately, anxiety affects millions of Americans, especially when undergoing medical procedures. NuCalm™ can reduce anxiety and create positive experiences with no side effects. Our NuCalm™ system is changing the dental experience one patient at a time. Now patients can leave their dental appointment feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, which historically has been a foreign concept. For highly anxious patients, the NuCalm™ experience is profound, and in some cases, life changing. Imagine what we can do for the overall oral health of Americans if we can change the negative perceptions people have about going to the dentist."
More about Dr. Peter T. Harnois:
—High school: Rockford Guilford, Class of 1974
—College: Ohio Wesleyan University, Class of 1978; University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, Class of 1982
—Collegiate feat: Was class president for three years and was an assistant professor of Oral Diagnosis after graduating for five years
—Children: Daughters Grace, 22, and Madeleine, 19; son Patrick, 16
—On dental anxiety: "Anxiety is part of the human condition and knows no boundary. NuCalm is revolutionizing the treatment of dental anxiety, and as a dentist, I want to share this profound new system with anyone who wants a relaxed and rejuvenated dental experience. I want everyone to know it is over; the battle against fear and anxiety is over. When I graduated from University of Chicago College of Dentistry, we took an oath—an oath to serve all our patients to the best of our abilities.
"I consider it an honor and privilege to care for my patients. We are supposed to be on this planet to take care of each other. The sooner we get that message, the better off all humankind will be. With NuCalm, I want to help anyone who wants to get the best dental care in the most relaxed and nurturing way. I want all to know it is safe at last to go to the dentist, to get your dental health in order, then go live the longest, healthiest and happiest life possible."
—On NuCalm in 10 years: "I see it as being as common as a local anesthetic which changed the face of dentistry in the 1960s and the fact that people no longer fear their dental appointments, but actually look forward to it because of the effects of NuCalm during and after dental appointments."
