Posted for Bob McBride

Lynn,

I saw this video a while ago and it is telling. The story it tells is that the dentist is on FM and the "patient" is on AM.

It illustrates up the wazoo:

- That (fine) dentistry is primarily a relationship game.
- That not all people can have it even if their mouths are capable of having it.
- That we can't be all things to all people.
- That we have a right to be selective, as I've discovered that fine dentistry requires us to be nurtured also, and this can't happen without a qualified patient.
- That relationship-based dentists are the most premier specialists of all - not elitists, but pragmatists in recognizing this.
- That fine dentistry cannot occur if the level of interest in becoming healthy is not matched between doctor and patient.

As you well know, this starts with the dental school selection process that allows techno-trained graduates to be set afloat in a bogus, insurance-rigged "retail sales game" that's hard to figure out and if you do, the difficulty in finding those patients (clients) who are on a similar values-based frequency as many are also trained by dentists who have been lured like lemmings into the dental insurance marketing loop, as well as by the direct influence of the insidious communications of the insurance companies with their enrollees.

Not all patients can be "educated," and we shouldn't feel guilty when one enters our practice. I have developed a system wherein I have zero no-shows for my 1.5 hour new client preliminary appointment with a substantial reservation fee and they are all qualified.

The system filters all these folks out who deserve to be seen in a Tier 1 practice. The anger that a dentist experiences with these type of people must especially be a shock for new dentists who have only learned restorative and biological, but not behavioral science as they grapple with the myriad of things they have to yet learn technologically at the same time they are being confronted with insurance company ethics and uneducated and ineducable patients.

This begs the quintessential question as to whether a dental school graduate is ready for the real world that lies ahead with few beacons around for guidance. It is why a site like yours should not only be a primer, but integrated within what's being taught in dental school, but that in itself may be the quintessential oxymoron.

Bob McBride

The movie and reviews were disturbing to me. There obviously was no relationship involved with the patient and the dentist was not concerned about the patient as a person or human being. Any profession would drive one to insanity if there was no human interaction and caring with those we are to serve. I believe that there are some patients who will not fit into my practice, but I also believe that people respond to genuine love and care. If this is the norm in dentistry, may God help us. I am undrstanding why people are willing to turn health care decisions over to an uncaring government. I am thankful for people like Lynn Carlisle, Mike Couch, Mike Schuster, etc. who are promoting patient centered practices. God bless the effort to continue to strive to have great practices and serve people and not ourselves.
Ron Foust DDS Knoxville, Tn

I'm almost sympathetic--almost--on behalf of the dentist who made this.

It's not hard to see how frustrating it must be for a professional who sells a process to deal with people who want only an instant solution. Welcome to the 21st century--consumers don't understand much else besides the quick fix. They expect nothing else. And the fact is, dentistry keeps saying implicitly and explicitly that they can have it. Every bench ad on the street promises instant, pain-free transformation.

This dentist's dilemma is obvious: indulge the childish patient and compromise his own integrity, or try to serve only the patients who have the intellectual wherewithal to understand their own roles in their own good health. Good luck with that when the average patient--the average customer--is as obtuse and unrealistic as this one.

The challenge for the dentist who aspires to elitism is to create elite dentist-patient collaborations. Even a patient as thickheaded as this one is might be educated to understand her own self-interest, if the dentist has the skill and the patience to communicate effectively. Among the dentist's key talents is craftsmanship. The dentist-patient relationship is a challenge to craft trust, mutual understanding, and a sense of urgency so that the patient believes the dentist, knows the clinical stakes, and wants the dentist's real healing solution as soon as possible.

There's no point to fitting out an expensive operatory if your equipment doesn't include the skill to craft great relationships. As a matter of simple business practicality, your practice will succeed or fail based on your ability to communicate effectively even with the patients like the one in this video. The alternative is letting their mouths, minds and money walk out.