Dealing with the Public?

Dentists, like other service professionals serve the pubic as a whole. People come in all different sizes, shapes, personalities and in NYC they often come from diverse cultures as well. I believe in order to provide them better help, I need to understand a little about where they are coming from.

When patients interact with a doctor or a dentist, they bring their own biases to the table and if their doctor understands these he can be more effective. I usually have a treatment plan that I feel is the most ideal for a mouth, but it is not always initially accepted by my patient. They often come in with a certain desired outcome in mind and it usually helps if I ask a patient with a dental problem "What would you like me to do for you? If they respond with "You're the doctor!" I add "Well if you could have your way what would you like for me to do?". This sort of banter helps me gain some insight into how my patient sees their problems and what biases they have.

Fortunately, often I am able to help them in the manner that they envision, but there are times when the treatment they desire is not the right one. In that case, it is my job to help them understand what treatment options they have and together we will figure out which they feel is best for them. This is my version of "informed consent". This process can take three minutes or in some cases can take multiple visits. Given that no two people are alike and treatment of dental problems can vary in complexity, this is the way I choose to treat my  patients. I try not to let my own initial expectation for a patient's dental treatment keep me from exploring their other options. Sometimes this exploration is necessary for my patient in order for them to accept my recommendations. Even if a decision seems simple  to me, sometimes a patient needs to rule out other options prior to committing to one that I may think is an obvious best choice.