It is difficult to understand the resistance by dental professionals to test for the bacteria that cause gum disease. The excuses are numerous including, “I’ve always done it this way”. A variation on this notion is “We were always taught”. Other excuses shift the decision to the patients. “My patients won’t accept it”. Equally unsupported excuses include “We’re already getting good results”, or “I don’t need that”, or “What difference will it make?” Claims of insufficient time are very common excuses, such as, “We already have too much to do”, or “We don’t have enough time”. And even more insidiously, the blame is placed on others including, “None of my colleagues are doing it”, or “If insurance doesn’t cover it my patients won’t have it done”, or “It costs too much for my patients”. And even more base is the claim that “My staff won’t do it”, or “It’s too much trouble”, or “My hygienist won’t do it”, or “The doctor won’t do it”, or, or, or, or, or.
Set aside these excuses, which distance you from the responsibility of providing the best care. Look at the reasoning. Knowing the cause of disease, identifying the cause and acting on the combination of new information and experience is optimal. What the office is presently doing is not good enough. Certainly not for our patients.
We hope you enjoyed this holiday throwback, originally post 10/26/2016.
For more information on how to become an OralDNA Provider – scan HERE: 
- The Insights Provided by Salivary Testing - December 27, 2019
- I Don’t Need That, We’re Already Getting Good Results - November 29, 2019
- What’s Your Excuse? - August 30, 2019