Ask most dentists what they wish their patients understood, and the answer is usually clinical: floss more, come in sooner, do not ignore a small ache. Matt Cottam, one of the dentists at Atrium Dental in Camberley, has a different answer. His starts with a feeling, not a piece of advice.

“I would love patients to know that I’m on their side.” — Matt Cottam

It sounds simple, but in the current climate around UK dentistry it is anything but. Matt has noticed a growing sense among patients that going to the dentist is somehow an adversarial experience — and he is keen, in his quiet way, to put that right.

The “us versus them” feeling

The national conversation about UK dentistry has been a difficult one. Stories about the NHS-to-private shift, headlines about cost and access, and a general sense of strain on the system have left some patients walking into appointments already on the defensive. Matt understands why.

“With what’s going on in the UK in terms of dentistry — the NHS to private thing — it seems a bit like it’s us versus them, and that’s really not the case. Most dentists go into the field because we want to help people.” — Matt Cottam

That gap between how dentists see themselves and how patients sometimes perceive them is the thing Matt would most like to close. The picture in his head, formed from years of training and now several years of practice, is of a profession populated by people who chose it specifically because they wanted to help.

Why he chose dentistry in the first place

Matt’s own route into the profession is a useful illustration. He liked the scientific side, he liked working with his hands, and he liked the idea of doing a job that actually changed how somebody felt by the end of the appointment.

“I like interacting with people, I enjoy helping people as well, getting people out of pain — which is partly why I went down the root canal route as well.” — Matt Cottam

That motivation has stayed with him. His clinical focus on endodontics — the field covering root canal treatment — is, at its heart, about saving teeth and ending toothache. He is currently working through a master’s in the subject, not because he wants the letters after his name, but because he finds the work satisfying and the outcomes deeply worthwhile.

Honest dentistry, conservative first

One of the patient suspicions Matt would gently like to lay to rest is the idea that dentists are looking for reasons to recommend treatment. In his day-to-day experience, the opposite is true. A good dentist is conservative first — recommending only what the tooth actually needs, and offering options where they exist.

At Atrium that conservative-first instinct runs through the whole team. Where a tooth can be left alone, it is left alone. Where it needs only a simple intervention, that is what gets recommended. Where a root canal can save a natural tooth, Matt would rather do that than extract and replace it.

“If we can save people’s natural teeth, there’s no good replacement. Even implants are fantastic, and they are a brilliant replacement for a tooth, but they’re not the same as having your natural tooth.” — Matt Cottam

For Camberley patients trying to work out whether a recommendation is fair, that bias towards keeping what you already have is a useful signal.

Honesty about your fear actually helps

The other thing Matt wishes more patients knew is that telling the dentist you are scared is one of the most useful things you can do at the start of an appointment. It is not awkward, it is not unusual, and it changes how the visit will run.

Once Matt knows that a patient is anxious — and especially once he knows why — he can plan around it. He can take more time on numbing. He can pause more often. He can stop and have a conversation rather than push through. None of that is possible if the patient sits quietly trying to hide their nerves.

“I won’t sort of rush into what the issues are. I’ll kind of introduce myself, have a little chat with them, find out what their history’s like, and discuss a little bit about where their fears or where their anxiety stems from.” — Matt Cottam

Patients in Camberley and Surrey Heath who book in with Matt often say afterwards that this opening conversation was the thing that changed the appointment. Honesty in, calm out.

The everyday reality of a dental check-up

A routine check-up at Atrium is, for most patients, an unremarkable thing — and that is the point. The visit usually involves a chat about anything that has changed since the last appointment, a careful look at the teeth and gums, an examination of the soft tissues for anything that needs watching, and a short discussion at the end about what comes next.

Where everything looks healthy, that is what Matt will say. Where something needs attention, he will explain what the options are and what the trade-offs look like. There is no pressure to make decisions in the chair.

For patients returning after a long gap, Matt is happy to ease in gently — sometimes spreading the first proper exam across two visits, sometimes starting with a hygiene appointment to get the mouth feeling fresh before any clinical work. The pace is the patient’s, not the diary’s.

What patients usually say afterwards

The most common reaction Matt gets after a first appointment is some version of “that wasn’t what I was expecting”. Patients who have been putting off treatment for years often realise, within a single visit, that the experience they were dreading does not really exist in modern dentistry. Anaesthetic technique, materials, instruments and the whole rhythm of an appointment have moved on so much that the picture in their head is essentially out of date.

That is the change Matt is quietly making, one appointment at a time. Not by lecturing, but by treating each patient as a person first and a clinical case second.

Book a first appointment

If something has brought you to this page — a niggle that will not settle, nerves about coming back to the dentist, or simply the sense that it is time for a fresh start — Matt would be happy to see you. You can read more about the Atrium team, browse our approach to nervous patients in Camberley, or contact the practice to book a check-up with Matt or one of his colleagues.

MEET

Matt Cottam

Dentist · BDS Birm 2020 · GDC 290331

Matt Cottam qualified from the University of Birmingham in 2020 and has since developed a special interest in endodontics, currently working toward his Master's in the field. He joined Atrium having known the practice principal, Matt Golightly, since he was a teenager — Matt G was his own dentist, first encouraged him into the profession, and has mentored him through training and into clinical life.

Known for his calm and caring manner, Matt is especially popular with nervous patients. He takes the time to get to know each person before treatment begins and uses modern numbing techniques that make procedures genuinely comfortable — many of his patients fall asleep during longer appointments. He is a strong advocate for saving natural teeth wherever possible, a philosophy that runs through his approach to root canal treatment.

Outside of dentistry, his ideal day off would be spent on a sunny golf course abroad, enjoying a relaxing round in great weather.