Lumino Remuera Dental Centre is committed to ensuring all its patients receive the best possible care - and with a growing number of Chinese nationals enrolling at the practice, having a bilingual team of clinicians has never been more important.
With Mandarin-speaking dentist Dr Jeremy Jiang, and oral health therapist Quincy Gu (who understands both Mandarin and Cantonese), the practice’s Chinese-speaking patients are ideally catered for.
Says Lead Dentist Dr Jane Hayes, “We’ve noticed significant growth in the Chinese population around the Remuera district and patient pool within the practice. By having Chinese clinicians, those within the Chinese community who are not confident with English have the opportunity to take lead of their treatments and appointments.”
At Remuera Dental Centre there’s no need for Chinese patients to bring a support person to translate their clinician’s advice, eliminating the risk of crucial information getting lost in translation.
“Our Chinese-speaking patients can be confident that all their doubts will be thoroughly addressed and they’ll be given a clear outline of the pros and cons of any procedures before treatment is carried out. By having clinicians that speak their native language patients can quickly build rapport and feel cared for. It gives them peace of mind.”
Being able to educate and benefit a diverse group of patients is hugely rewarding for the practice’s Taiwanese dentist Jeremy.
“I love meeting different people and helping them to look after their oral health, and the fact that I speak Mandarin means I can remove some of the barriers for our Chinese patients. It’s a great way for me to give back to the community,” says Jeremy who trained at Otago University and has worked as a dentist in Australia, Taiwan and here in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, oral health therapist Quincy provides dental treatment for the practice’s adolescent patients and hygiene services for adults. He believes being able to talk to and understand his Mandarin and Cantonese patients brings immeasurable benefits.
“As a Chinese parent myself, I understand parents’ willingness to provide the very best care for their children,” says Quincy, who completed his medical degree overseas before moving to New Zealand from mainland China in 2002. He also has a degree in Oral Health Science from AUT and worked as an oral health therapist for the Auckland Regional Dental Service prior to joining Lumino’s Remuera Dental Centre two years ago.
Particularly passionate about helping Auckland’s older Chinese population, Quincy hopes that by being able to converse with patients in their own language, he can make a significant impact on improving their oral health.
“Many elderly Chinese have a very grave need for dental care but most have poor English. I personally have encountered quite a few Chinese seniors suffering from complex oral health problems but they do not understand oral health and are unable – or afraid – to reach out due to the language barrier.
“It’s such a sad situation which I think can be changed with more bilingual clinicians such as myself to break the boundaries.”
Want to improve your oral health but can’t find a dental practice you feel comfortable with? At Lumino Remuera Dental Centre we’ve got you covered with Chinese-speaking clinicians and a special deal for new patients – a dental check-up and X-rays for just $69.
Available for a limited time so book online today!