Dental school - and the dental culture - wants us to think like dentists. People don't want to have nice teeth in a vacuum. They want to smile at their spouses, have confidence in their jobs and enjoy a meal with their children. They don't want to have 28 teeth in full occlusion where CO=CR, a great TM envelope of motion and cuspid protected occlusion. When we think like that - we're thinking like dentists - not people. When I take a moment to learn where a patient "lives", I can best meet his/her needs.

We've been trained as technicians - not as doctors. We know how to take a good impression, mount models and prep good margins - but not help people. We can articulate casts, but not connect with our patients' desires. We can see see midlines that are off but not souls that are adrift. We want to put big paychecks in the bank - but don't care about the rewards in our hearts.

I spend the first 10-15 minutes of the new patient exam talking to patients in my private office. It's non-clinical, it has photos of, my family, it's decorated like "me". Patients see a person - not just a doctor. They realize that to me they're a person first - a patient second. They share their lives, their hopes and dreams and their problems. I provide answers and support - not treatment plans.

When I take time to talk to my patients.....or more importantly take time to listen, I find out what they need - and help them meet that need. That meets my needs, too.