Dentist with a mission, Clinic H.J. van Mil

Read in: Nederlands

Root canal treatment. The mere words would send shivers along anyone’s spine – but not when Rik van Mill is your dentist. He is a guru in the field of endodontology. Expats love going to Dental Clinic H.J. van Mill’s whose employees not only speak Dutch and English but also Japanese, Hindi and Urdu.

As a trained civil engineer Rik van Mill made calculations for drilling platforms in the North Sea until one day he realized he didn’t want to spend the rest of his working life sitting behind a desk. Using his hands, that’s what he really wanted. So he started studying dentistry. “Right away, I felt like a fish in the water doing all this delicate manual work!”

Time and attention for patients

In 1982, Rik and his wife Wilma opened a dental practice at the Parmentierlaan in Amstelveen and they’re still based there. “We grew steadily and thought about moving, but this is just a very nice area,” Rik says. “Besides, we’d rather spend our money on high-tech equipment and new developments. Our priorities are delivering exceptionally high-quality service and taking time for our patients.”

‘Our priorities are delivering exceptionally high-quality and taking time for our patients’

“It starts with our receptionists trying their best to match appointments with the busy schedule of our patients. And when I’m training dentists I always tell them to forgot the protocol and take a moment to sit back and ask the patient what you can really do for him or her.”

Dr. Clifford Ruddle

When Rik starts talking about his profession, he bursts with enthusiasm. “In my early years as a dentist, it really annoyed me that the bridges and crowns we made were very good but that the roots would still fail after a while. Healthy roots are the foundation for healthy teeth! The then prevailing materials and methods simply weren’t good enough and that was very frustrating.”

“Via an American colleague I went to Dr. Clifford Ruddle, a global authority in the field of endodontology. That was a real eye-opener. From early morning till late in the evening he shared all his knowledge about root canals with us, a select group of international dentists. It was great!”

‘Expats love going to dentist Rik van Mill, whose employees not only speak Dutch and English but also Japanese, Hindi and Urdu’

In the past two decades Rik has paid regular visits to Dr. Ruddle in Santa Barbara. Initially, following courses and later also assisting him during training courses. “Those visits to Dr. Ruddle enable me to share the latest developments with my team and to implement these in our practice. We’re very happy and proud that we managed to build such a fantastic team around us; they’re all as passionate about dentistry as we are.”

Japanese community and expats

The international team at Dental Clinic H.J. van Mill consists of five dentists, six assistants, two dental hygienists and three receptionists. All dentistry disciplines are represented here: prevention and dental hygiene, pediatric dentistry, parodontology and endodontology, implantology, orthodontics, crowns, bridges and facings. Apart from Dutch and English, Japanese, Hindi and Urdu is spoken here. No wonder many expats and members of the big Japanese community in Amstelveen are a large part of the client base. The clinic’s website is available in Dutch, English and Japanese.

A wonderful experience

In the Netherlands, Rik occupies a prominent position in the field of endodontology. He trains aspiring dentists and fellow-dentists refer patients to him, especially in complex cases or when a molar needs to be treated again. “Such patients have gone through a lot, so when they come here they’re really afraid. But in the end it’s always far better than they expected. ‘It was a wonderful experience’, a relieved patient told me recently. It’s all a matter of perfect team work between the dentists and their assistants. A successful root canal treatment requires the right equipment – we work with Zeiss microscopes – and expert knowledge. But you could say that for every dental discipline.”

Healthy roots form a solid basis

Cosmetic dentistry is one of the special fields at Dental Clinic H.J. van Mill. Rik: “You should realize that an aesthetic treatment, for example applying facings, requires sacrificing part of the tooth. After all, you need space for the materials you’re going to put in. We always operate in a rather conservative manner and strive for a natural aesthetic and sustainable result. The trend nowadays is to put in an implant straightaway. This can be a pretty good solution but the patient’s own tooth or molar is still the best ‘implants’! In our clinic, we always start with the pillars: healthy roots. We use these as a basis to build something that will last a long time. You could compare it with a drilling platform: it would be nothing without a strong and solid foundation!”

Rik van Mill, van Tandartspraktijk van Mill in Amstelveen, is de absolute goeroe op het gebied van tandheelkunde. Alle specialisaties zijn aanwezig.

Rik van Mill, dental clinic van Mill’s.

Tandartsenpraktijk H.J. van Mill
Verwijspraktijk en Trainingscentrum
Parmentierlaan 76a
Amstelveen
T: +31 (0) 20 – 641 65 66
E: info@hjvanmill.nl
W: www.hjvanmill.nl www.en.hjvanmill.nl www.jp.hjvanmill.nl