Riccarton Dental Studio, formerly Stafford Dental Centre, is a dental practice at 37 Main South Road in Sockburn, Christchurch. Regular dental visits are less about fixing problems than catching them early: a typical check-up involves an examination, a scale and clean, and the occasional x-ray, all far less costly than the fillings and root canals that neglect eventually demands. When choosing a dentist, it helps to ask whether you will see the same practitioner at each visit, since continuity makes it easier to spot gradual changes in your teeth over the years. It is also worth asking how a practice fits in urgent appointments, as dental pain rarely keeps to office hours. Sitting on Main South Road handy to Riccarton and Hornby, the studio's old Stafford name is worth remembering if you were a patient there before the change.