the simple blog

Yesterday I spoke with a gentlemen who left his previous dentist.  From what I gathered, this doctor had all the highest tech gear imaginable: intraoral cameras, digital xrays, 3D patient educational videos.   When asked whether he liked it, my new patient said, "No, it just seemed too slick and salesman like.  I felt like I was at a car dealer."

Our office, because it's only four years old, has much more high tech gadgets than the dental office you may have grown up in.  Sure, we have digital xrays and cameras.  We also have high definition monitors for movies at the chair.  But at the end of the day, the fundamentals of dentistry haven't changed.  You still have to be open, honest, and fair with people.

A lot of dentists have purchased all the right gear for all the wrong reasons.  People are starting to wise up to the sell, sell, sell, high pressure techniques of large dental chains.  But when you get oversold on a car, you're just out money.  Dental procedures are almost always permanent and irreversible.  If you get oversold on dentistry, you can end up with lasting physical consequences.  

Our approach to patient education is very simple: illustrate the problem, discuss the solutions, and let the patient make the decisions on their own timeframe.   It is my goal to help you make informed decisions.  Technology is there to help me detect problems, or to illustrate them to you or the insurance company.   Most dental problems are asymptomatic; you don't usually feel them until its too late.  So it's important to use technology to communicate problems, which naturally leads to an open discussion about possible solutions. 

Here's a photograph of a cracked tooth:

Here's another one showing a less subtle cracked tooth:

When light abruptly stops in the middle of the tooth (rather than fading away), it's cracked.  These are examples of using technology to document and communicate the conditions we see.  And as an added bonus, good intraoral photography also reduces the rejection rate of dental claims.

Technology can be used to maintain transparency and integrity.  In a field where so many have damaged the public trust, it's vital that everyone can not only see what's going on, but be engaged and active in the treatment planning process.   I never try to "sell" my patients on anything.  We don't make them sign treatment plans immediately or leave down payments.  You have the luxury of thinking things over.  I routinely tell patients to go home and discuss significant treatment plans with their spouse.

If people can see what's going on, and they are given all the pros and cons of the possible choices (and doing nothing should always be listed as a possible choice), they will almost always make the right decision on their own, no high pressure required.