As Easy as C-B-A
Few things in dentistry amuse me more than
colleagues’
confusion about my passion for pediatric dentistry. Many of the
referring
dentists apologize to me for the patients they send and are often
quick to add
some variation on the theme of
“thank
goodness for pediatric dentists.” Non-dental people, when learning
what I do,
will invariably say that I must be “very patient” or a “very
special person” to
do my work. I am neither. In fact, I am rather compulsive and
regular. So how
is it that I cannot only find success, but also enormous
satisfaction in
working all day with children? The answer is as simple as C-B-A.
While there are doubtless many tricks to being
successful
with children, such as “blowing sugar bugs away with a whistle”
instead of
“drilling the decay out of your tooth,” I believe the formula for
success lies
much deeper than that. I was stimulated recently by a speaker who
said that the
secret to most successes in life depends on this formula: if you
can Conceive
it and then you Believe it, you will Achieve it. C-B-A. This
simple formula is
universally applicable and certainly so in pediatric dentistry. It
never fails
to amaze (and inspire) me that about one half of all our referrals
(usually sent
to us because the children “wouldn’t cooperate”) are ideal
patients by the time
they have taken their seats in our operatory. How can this be? My
talented and
dedicated Team has embraced the philosophy that is the hallmark of
our
practice. It is simply this: We believe that every child will have
a perfect
visit every time. Do we accomplish this? Of course we do not. If a
child has a
difficult experience with us do we abandon this belief? Again, we
do not. After
35 years as a pediatric dentist, I am convinced that much of the
success in the
practice comes from nothing more than the belief by all
members of my
Team that each child will do well. Children sense this immediately
and respond
accordingly.
Unlike most other specialties, pediatric
dentistry is
defined by our patient population, not by the procedures we do.
This may
account for the focus placed on relationship rather than technical
care. It is
not lost on me that much of the treatment we provide will
ultimately fall out.
The attitudes we engender in the minds of our patients, however,
will not exfoliate.
My legacy as a pediatric dentist will be that the attitude my
patients take to
their next dentist will be a positive one lacking in the fears
that many adults
still carry toward our profession.
While it doesn’t pay my mortgage or buy me
groceries, a
significant part of my “pay” in my practice comes in the form of
gratitude. Children
give me hugs and send me senior pictures; parents thank me with
relief (if not
disbelief) written all over their faces and at the end of my day,
I take home
thoughts of satisfied, grateful clients. As if that weren’t
enough, I also
enjoy the fact that the government will not be taxing me 35% of
this form of
pay. I get to keep it all.
I am a Stanford University graduate and, quite
frankly, one
of the least likely candidates I know to be spending my day
squirting “sleepy
juice” and holding “raincoats” on teeth with a “button.” If
anything, I am more
of an academic than a daycare provider. My career has taught me
much. It is the
lifelong education that I could never have gotten in college or
even dental
school. My private pediatric practice has taught me the power of
positive
thinking and the stunning results that come out of it. Dale
Carnegie understood
this years ago. I smile at dental conferences when my behavior
management
course is in a room across the hall from the “How to make a
bazillion dollars
in dentistry” course. That room, of course, is packed with
dentists. My room is
filled with assistants and hygienists. Ironically, if dentists
really wanted to
be more successful, the information about relationships and
positive thinking
would get them much farther than learning how to “sell” a
treatment plan or
sending their patients computer-generated birthday cards. Almost
every day a
parent will ask me, “Can I come here for treatment?” I doubt it is
the cute vocabulary
that attracts them. I believe the successful formula is as easy as
C-B-A.