Archive for the ‘Professionalism’ Category

Often when I meet patients, they say things like “I was told I need __________ but I’m not sure what that means, so I haven’t done anything about it.” Sometimes they say a procedure sounds scary, sometimes they worry that it will be uncomfortable. The amount of time required is often a concern, and of course finances are always a consideration.

What bothers me is that if these questions aren’t answered, and the patient doesn’t get needed treatment, problems get bigger!

Most patients find that a complete understanding of their situation takes the “scary” out of dental treatment. It is important not only to understand how treatment is accomplished, but any alternative treatments that may be available. And what happens if you do no treatment at all?

Ask your dentist or his team about anything that they haven’t made perfectly clear. Questions like: How? Why? When? How much? What if?

As your understanding level goes up, so does your comfort level! Both are very important! So JUST ASK!

We hear that phrase everywhere – good enough! Seth Godin wrote a blog about how hard it is to get that last ten percent of quality… it’s so very tempting to say that the extra effort to get from good to excellent is hardly worth it. What you’ve worked hard to accomplish, produce, create, is very good. It is… good enough.

But is good enough good enough? Do you “settle” with something less than excellent? I didn’t think so!

We all can think of individuals or companies that impress us with their “passionate pursuit of perfection”. Do we live like that in our personal lives, in our business lives?

I continually do my best to treat patients as I like to be treated. I obviously want to excel in treatment quality, but also in comfortable friendly service. I strive to make dental visits fun! While I know that some will say that can’t be done, we do have a very comfortable atmosphere in our office.

I would like your comments on how you go the “extra mile” in your life. Where do you take pains to get that last ten percent of quality – please share with me your thoughts on this!

Dentists spend a lot of time in school to earn their “Doctor of Dental Surgery” degree. (Ever wonder what the DDS meant?) (Some universities call it a DMD, from the Latin for Doctor of Medical Dentistry)

But the point I want to make here is that when all the years in school are finished, the education is just starting! That’s why we say we “Practice” dentistry!

Most states have requirements for doctors to complete a certain number of hours of “continuing education” per year. In Colorado, the liability insurance company requires a minimum of 15 hours of clinical “CE” annually. I personally love getting CE time, and usually exceed this number in January! Last year I accomplished over 156 hours of CE… over ten times the requirement.

I think when choosing a dentist, it is important to see if they value staying current in all the latest procedures, equipment and techniques. People usually don’t ask how much CE I have done so far this year, but maybe they should! There are always new things coming out, and it is important to stay informed! A favorite dental management person has rightly said “You’re either green and growing, or ripe and rotting!”

I prefer the growing part!