WRITTEN BY: Lauren Cavagnolo
For many, a simple visit to the dentist can be stress inducing and cause anxiety.
Andrew Carletti, DDS, has always been interested in alternative ways to reduce anxiety for his patients at Carletti Dentistry & Associates.
The general dental practice has two locations, one in Sapulpa that was owned by his father and opened in 1966 and a second location in south Tulsa since 2011.
“We are a high-anxiety place,” Carletti acknowledged. “We have a lot of patients that just aren’t really thrilled to come see us sometimes. So any sort of stress reduction, we are always on board with.”
About a year ago, Carletti discussed a comfort dog for his dental practice with his veterinarian who suggested a Goldendoodle. “But we never really acted on it,” Carletti said.
As chance would have it, one of Carletti’s patients is a dog trainer who was trying to find a home for a comfort dog. Pam Cummings is a certified dog trainer with 10 years of experience. In the fall of 2019, a friend, whose Goldendoodle she had trained, contacted her for help rehoming the dog due to life circumstances.
“She felt it wasn’t fair to what his purpose should be,” Cummings explained. “She [asked] if I knew anyone who would want this dog and would work with him in therapy; she wanted him to serve a purpose.”
Shortly after, Cummings went in for a dental check-up. During the appointment, Carletti happened to mention that he wanted a comfort dog for the office, and his vet had recommended a Goldendoodle.
“And two dots connected!” Cummings exclaimed. “So I told him about Oreo, and he took him for a couple days; they just fell in love with him. It obviously was just meant to be.”
Carletti recalls the day Cummings brought Oreo by and agrees it was love at first sight.
“He was a puppy and is still a puppy,” Carletti added. “She brought him in, and we did a couple of visits in the office to see how he would react in the office. The patient response was just overwhelming.”
Oreo went back to live with Cummings to complete more working-dog training. Starting in November, Oreo began to accompany Carletti to the office full time, and the patient response was astounding.
“It’s amazing the response we get from patients,” Carletti said. “Sometimes they don’t want much to do with the dog; they are just happy to have the dog in the office, and that’s all that we do. He comes in and greets, and that’s it. And then we have some patients that are high fear and allow us to put Oreo in their lap, and they can pet him while the work is being done.”
Krystal Grizzle’s child was one such patient. Her 15-year-old daughter Natalie Grizzle had a rough dental experience at another office when she was younger that began a yearslong battle with dental anxiety, Krystal shared.
“We were surprised when we came in and learned that Oreo was in training and was in-office that day for Natalie’s appointment,” Krystal said. “Oreo put her right at ease and was truly a source of comfort and something else to take her mind off her current situation.”
Natalie said Oreo started the appointment lying down in her lap, which eased her mind.
“I personally have some fears about dentists, but having the comfort of a dog helped very much,” Natalie said. “Having something close to me which I could feel and would interact back was very nice. Being able to pet the dog and have it lay on me really calmed my nerves.”
In fact, Oreo became so popular with the patients so quickly that another associate, Dr. Cameron Craig, started bringing his 2-and-a-half-year-old
mini Labradoodle, Louie, to the office with him. Craig decided to pursue more formal training for Louie, also with Cummings.
“The first day that he worked I was doing a root canal. I asked the patient if she wanted Louie on her lap and had her just tap on her leg, and he hopped right up,” Craig said. “That was his first day, and he just sat there for 30 minutes. The patient was just happy as a clam while I was doing a root canal, which is usually not the case!”
Now that Craig brings Louie to the office, each location has a comfort dog on-site four days a week, Carletti noted. “[Oreo] goes with me to Sapulpa two days a week, and he goes with me to Tulsa two days a week. Then Louie does the same with Dr. Craig.”
Though both dogs have completed training, they are not yet certified, Carletti said.
“They still have to go through a certification test with their owners, but they have both been trained for working in the office. So that is something we are hoping to complete this year,” Carletti said. “Oreo is still a puppy; Louie is about a year older than Oreo, so he is a little more mature in that department.”
Their trainer says both dogs seem to love working with people.
“They are both very friendly with people and eager to meet people and be with people,” Cummings remarked. “A lot of dogs sometimes are standoffish; these dogs seem to know they bring pleasure.”
Both Doodles are the personal dog of each dentist, and when they go home, they are pets. They each have a harness for when it is time to go to the office.
“Oreo knows when I put that harness on him it’s time to go to work. He knows where we are going, and he can’t wait to get there,” Carletti said.
Carletti said the two dogs have very different personalities and working styles.
“Oreo loves to come in to greet people when they are first in the office whether they are in the waiting room or the chair, but then he is pretty much done at that point; he just goes and makes himself a rug in the middle of the office. He is a little bit lazy compared to Louie; he loves to greet people, and he is there for their comfort if we need it. But he really just loves to see people and be around them; that’s his role in the office,” Carletti said. “Louie is active, and he runs through the office the whole time. He never stops, he goes in every room, and he likes to jump up in people’s laps. He is much more hands-on as a working dog than Oreo, as it’s evolving.”
As for patients who may not love dogs, Carletti said it has not been a big issue.
“People have been very good at letting us know. We have a sign posted as a warning that there is a dog in the office so they can express their concerns. But it has been about a 95% approval rating,” he said. “It is a very small percentage of patients who have
opposition to having a dog, and when we ever hear anything that might be a concern, we just simply place them in our office with the door closed so that they are not interacting with the patients.”
In addition to keeping distance from people who are not interested in the dogs, the dogs know their boundaries around the office.
“The dogs are trained so that they know where to go and where not to go,” Carletti explained. “They are also both very respectful of the equipment, and they know their ‘no’ zones and where they can’t go. And they respond to commands pretty well for that.”
Having the dogs around the practice has been beneficial not only for the patients but also the staff.
“It’s just as much of a comfort dog for staff as it is for patients,” Craig pointed out. “It keeps things light.”
Carletti agrees it’s as fun for the staff to have the dogs in the office as it is for the patients.
“A lot of the [staff] will tease me that they think Oreo is more of a comfort dog for me than for the patients,” he said. “But we all enjoy having him there. It adds a different dynamic to the office. There is humor, and it is fun!”
Carletti Dentistry and Associates
www.carlettidds.com Tulsa 918-299-5399 Sapulpa 918-224-0369
