Why I don't give in to Dental Envy?


One of the best parts of being a dentist is that each of us gets to decide how we want to practice. Some strive to have maximum "productivity" while others may have another agenda. The truth is, as dentists we all "play the same game" but sometimes we each set different rules for our selves. One dentist may spend 10 percent of his billings on marketing while another may believe advertising is a dirty word. One dentist may have inexpensive fees and spend less time on each procedure and another may have higher fees and spend more time to complete each restoration. Really it all depends on how we want to practice and what are primary goals are.

Some dental practices are financial juggernauts, while others, not so much. Usually the difference can be due to of a number of factors, including, the skill of the dentists, how they choose to practice, the type and variety of procedures they can perform and the amount of patients they have as well..

Long ago I came  to terms with myself and how I like to practice and although I do find myself experiencing "dental envy" from time to time, I don't dwell on it, because deep in my heart I know that I would not be comfortable or happy running my practice any other way .

Successful people do have "habits" that lead them to success and our most financially successful  colleagues do as well. That being said, the definition of a successful practice may vary, depending on how we define it. I feel successful when my work is performed to a very high standard of care and I can rest assured that it will likely benefit my patients for a very long time. I am not as turned on by doing a high volume of procedures as much as by the quality of my work. I love it when my patients return, year after year for their cleanings and I observe their mouths in health.

When I see  a patient on a re care appointment, whose care I have supervised for decades , and whose mouths have been in a more or less continual state of good health, I feel like a success! Of course from time to time their 'oral garden" may need tending but if repairs and maintenance are timely, their mouths can remain in an excellent state of health for their entire lifetime. Their tooth loss is either minimal or non existent and seeing their smiles when they return is all I need in order  to banish any feelings of dental envy that I might otherwise experience.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2018/07/why-i-dont-give-in-to-dental-envy.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more