A trip to the dentist doesn’t necessarily have to be a daunting experience but for most of us, just the thought of having to walk into a clinical environment will put you at unease.

So when I was shown the stunning and luxurious treatment room interior pictures for Elleven, an award-winning dental surgery on London’s Devonshire Place co-founded by three internationally renowned practitioners in their field, Dr Anthony Lam, Dr Shivani Patel and Dr Sameer Patel, I was surprisingly quickly convinced to book in an appoinment with a dentist to experience the practice first-hand.

I arrived at the stately period building on London’s Devonshire Place to be warmly welcomed into a well-dressed waiting area that looks and feels more like a luxury living room lounge than what you would usually expect from a medical practice.

On the mirror that hangs above the mantel piece reads an inspirational quote from an Indian yogi, Swami Rama that says: ‘We cannot change the world but we can definitely change ourselves. Self-transformation is essential, not the transformation of the world.’

As I mulled over this insightful thought for the day, I was greeted by Dr. Peta Leigh; a general dentist with a friendly smile, bags of charisma and genuine warmth to her persona. We walked up the elegant staircase and into the hugely spacious treatment room that almost makes you forget you are in a dental practice altogether, with its extremely high ceilings, decorative coving and designs and classic period taupe shade of paint against fresh white wood panels on the walls, as well as a sofa area with coffee table.

Dr Leigh sat me down and held a thorough consultation before starting my hygiene treatment. With her high level of professionalism and experience, she explained that Elleven offers both both general dental and orthodontic treatments, so that patients who visit here can have the entire 360 degree offering from start to finish from their pool of professional dental talent they have between them. Using the very latest state-of-the-art technology, Elleven also offers ‘face-driven dentistry’, which means that each smile is tailored to the individual patient. She explained that Elleven believes that a beautiful new smile should not only be rejuvenated in relation to itself but that it must also work in perfect balance with the rest of the face. They ensure a treatment plan is made up to look at the whole of the patient’s face from their profile, to their lips and facial muscles, to their bone structure.

It was now my time to sit in the dental chair. By this point, I could put my complete trust in Dr Leigh to feel properly relaxed, safe and settled. She started on my hygiene clean using Air-Flow, a polishing technique using high pressure air and water and a specially-formulated powder, to help restore my teeth to their natural colour by removing external stains such as those caused by coffee, tea, red wine and daily living. Under her expert care, there was practically no feeling of pain, or sensitivity and my treatment was over before I felt it had even begun (always a good thing in this type of situation). I was given post-treatment advice, along with options to try teeth straightening treatments should I wish to consider it – all without being pushy.

The practice at Elleven really does make perfect.

www.ellevendental.com