WHY?…WHAT?…HOW?
This is a philosophy that is often taught in dental and hygiene schools: Diagnose, Treatment Plan, then Treat.
And yet, immediately after this is taught, a focus is placed on learning treatment, or the HOW. And then upon graduation the focus also becomes on treatment and production. The diagnosis (WHY) and planning (WHAT) become secondary. They’re only an avenue to an end…Production, a means to an end. That’s where the money is.
In a nutshell, that’s the problem with our entire healthcare system. We’ve forgotten to ask WHY. We’ve skipped the planning or WHAT and moved right into the HOW.
Insurance encourages this as well. Reimbursements are higher for “procedures” and not for the time it takes to diagnose and plan. Insurance is HOW driven. Even if there’s some reimbursement for diagnostic procedures, there’s none for the time it takes to collate the data and form a treatment plan. Thinking is not encouraged.
Why does the patient have periodontal inflammation? Why do they present with a condition that resulted in the pain that motivated them to seek care? Why did that tooth crack? Why are they getting cavities? There are so many WHY’s to be answered.
So then, WHY aren’t these WHY questions being asked?
The simple explanation would be that it’s about TIME and MONEY.
That’s an excuse. And, I’m going to posit something that YOU might not like. It might cause you to take a good, hard look in the mirror.
It’s because practitioners don’t care enough about their patients. They’re not IN LOVE.
If you loved someone, you would do everything in your power to make sure they didn’t get hurt and if they did, you would fix it and make sure it would never happen again. That’s what people in love do.
If “Love Thy Neighbor” was the philosophy one had with every patient, then…
• WHY WOULDN’T YOU DIAGNOSE MORE FULLY?
• WHY WOULDN’T YOU SPEND TIME CRAFTING THE BEST POSSIBLE PLAN OF FIXING THE PROBLEM?
AND
• WHY WOULDN’T YOU DESIGN A CUSTOMIZED PREVENTIVE PLAN SO THE PROBLEMS ARE LESS LIKELY TO RECUR?
If you’re reading this, you already know about the diagnostic tools available to you through OralDNA® Labs. You know part of the HOW. You know the value of understanding a patient’s BIOME and what that knowledge means in crafting a PLAN. The reports you get from OralDNA® Labs help guide you.
WHY WOULDN’T YOU USE THIS KNOWLEDGE TO HELP DESIGN A PLAN THAT HELPS PEOPLE REDUCE INFLAMMATION AND THE MYRIAD OF DISEASES THAT INFLAMMTION FACILITATES?
WHY?
WHY? That’s the question that’s not asked nearly enough in dental or medical practice today. The result is that our patients aren’t receiving the level of care and the long-lasting benefits of the HOW’s that we were all taught to administer. Instead, we’re putting Band-Aids on problems and kicking disease-causing entities down the road, all in the name of expedited, immediate gratification.
Our practices can be better. They can be profitable. They can be more rewarding.
You must focus on WHY.
To your excellent clarity and success,
Michael
P.S. In my next blog, I’ll talk about the WHO, which may or not be YOU.
P.P.S. If you’re interested in learning how I built one of the country’s most successful (and profitable) oral-systemic practices, contact me at: PracticePerfectSystems@gmail.com and I’ll send you a Special Report; The Practice of Your Dreams: It’s within your grasp.
Michael built a prestigious group practice in Manhattan where he focused on comprehensive, whole-body care. As he treated so many physicians, his colleagues dubbed him “The Doctor’s Dentist.”
He is a Fellow of the AGD, International Academy of Dental-Facial Esthetics, The New York Academy of Dentistry, the American College of Dentists, and a charter Fellow of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health.
Michael teaches practice management at Temple University and speaks nationally and internationally on a variety of subjects. He and Practice Perfect Systems are the official practice management consultants to the Spencer Study Club, their Business Elite Groups.
Michael has authored 3 books, including “What the Tooth Fairy didn’t Tell You”, “Beyond Ahh: A Guide For Physician’s” and “From Here To Where; a guide for dental practice success”. He’s recently had been the chief editor of a book on Sleep Dentistry written by 24 of North America’s finest dental sleep practitioners.
Michael is on the board of 3 charitable organizations that help provide care for the indigent and people with special needs around the world.
His mission: help people who help people help more people.
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