Standing Out from the Crowd
Patients seek out Alpha Dental Excellence for its award-winning care in an environment focused on safety, comfort, and overall health.
“We do dentistry differently,” says Arpan Patel, D.M.D., owner of Alpha Dental Excellence in Langhorne.
Dr. Patel has vivid memories of last March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first made its presence felt in the United States. While most businesses and care providers were closing their doors, he and his team at Alpha Dental Excellence were largely going about business as usual.
“We were the front line,” he says. “We have been one of the only dental facilities in the Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, and New Jersey area open throughout the COVID crisis. While 98 percent of other facilities were shut down, we have not closed our doors even for an hour beyond what our normal hours of operation dictated. No one should suffer, because emergencies can be debilitating to people.”
Alpha Dental Excellence had the technology, equipment, and safety protocols needed to protect staff and treat patients with the utmost care. As a result, the Langhorne-based practice became a beacon of light in an otherwise dark and disconcerting time.
“I’ve probably pulled more teeth in the last eight months than I have in the last three years,” Dr. Patel says. “Patients were coming from New Jersey, from western Pennsylvania, in some cases driving four or five hours to see me because everyone else was closed. It was an uphill climb at certain times, but the leadership of our management team and their ability to motivate staff helped us get through it.”
‘The Best,’ Four Years in a Row
Dr. Patel credits his staff for Alpha Dental Excellence’s ability to thrive amid the uncertainty. Likewise, he believes his staff’s devotion and willingness to fight past fear of the unknown helped the practice toward an unprecedented showing in the Bucks County Courier Times’ 2020 Best of the Best Awards.
While Alpha Dental Excellence has earned Best of the Best awards for four years running, the practice outdid itself in 2020 by taking home seven awards: Best Dental Office, Best Dentist, Best Walk-in Urgent Care, Best Boss, Best Leadership, Best Overall Company to Work for, and Best Workplace Culture.
“I believe close to 2 million people voted, so we’re very proud of the recognition,” Dr. Patel says. “It means a lot to be recognized by so many people for the things that set us apart.”
Dental Health = Overall Health
Alpha Dental Excellence has been a pillar of the community since 2005. In the years since, the practice has become a destination for patients seeking a comfortable, capable, and reassuring dental experience. Alpha Dental Excellence provides a full menu of general and cosmetic dentistry services, including root canal therapy, oral extractions, and dental implants, as well as veneers, bridges, and periodontal treatments.
To Dr. Patel, though, Alpha Dental Excellence’s signature brand of care far exceeds the beauty and functionality of a patient’s smile.
“What COVID-19 has taught us is that the most important thing in the world is our health,” he says. “We continue to put an emphasis on the health of the mouth and how that affects the overall health of the body. By taking care of the mouth, we can eliminate so many health issues: heart disease, diabetes, acid reflux, Alzheimer’s, obesity. These conditions are greatly influenced by the unhealthiness of the mouth, which is why we focus on overall health first before we start talking about cosmetic dentistry.”
Alpha Dental Excellence treats each patient as an individual with unique needs, deserving of a customized treatment plan. Dr. Patel has a practice-wide rule that pertains to all staff interactions with patients: In addition to understanding the patient’s dental needs, get to know the things each patient holds most dear.
“From the moment you arrive at our office to the moment you walk out, patients are treated as individuals and provided with individualized care,” he adds. “Patients expect a sense of comfortability and humanity when they come here, and we pride ourselves on being very good at providing that.”
For example, Dr. Patel understands that many patients have longstanding fears of going to the dentist, ranging from how much treatment will cost, to how long it will take, to how much it will hurt. At Alpha Dental Excellence, he and his staff have removed all three obstacles. To keep patients’ fear at bay and provide a more comfortable experience from start to finish, the practice offers conveniences such as digital impressions and sedation dentistry.
At a time when the rising cost of daily life means that regular dentistry (meaning non-emergent treatment) can become an extravagance, Dr. Patel believes he has done everything in his power to eliminate the obstacle of cost. Aside from accepting most dental insurance and arranging payment plans, Alpha Dental Excellence is one of the few dental practices nationwide that take medical insurance, making dental care ever more accessible. Patients can treat their teeth regularly, not as a luxury.
Convenience and Comfort for All
The practice’s hours serve as another point of differentiation. Alpha Dental Excellence is open until 8 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, and can also accommodate lunchtime appointments. If a patient has free time only on weekends, the practice maintains hours every other Saturday. If a true emergency arises, the practice has a doctor on call around the clock, 24/7.
While the practice has gone to great lengths to eliminate all unnecessary patient-to-patient interactions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Patel aims for a relaxed pace of treatment. He makes sure the patient truly receives the care he or she needs and all questions are answered.
Likewise, Dr. Patel’s staff is devoted to constant improvement. Individual departments meet regularly to address concerns or requests, whether they come from an employee or a patient. The reason behind these meetings: Patients are considered part of the family, a philosophy that extends far beyond the luxurious office setting and attentive treatment. For example, Dr. Patel and his staff support various philanthropic causes, including offering free dental care to those in need.
When it comes to simplifying patients’ lives and keeping their mouths—and bodies—healthy, there’s no such thing as “off-hours.” As Dr. Patel puts it, “Our patients are like family. We keep all eyes on them at all times, and stick with them until we are all satisfied”
Alpha Dental Excellence
240 Middletown Blvd., Suite 100
Langhorne, PA 19047
(215) 750-2222
Photography by Gabriela Barrantes
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, January 2021
