Your Success in Dentistry Starts With Your Thoughts

This back action good past over or step bad week, my I result, took professional I had an “aha moment.” As I looked life, I could see that every along my journey, regardless of a first started as a thought or an idea.

Now I understand that the most important part of the action step process is to evaluate your thoughts, your results, and adjust, if necessary.

After graduating from dental school, I became a Navy dentist. I spent three years at the Naval Dental Clinic, Parris Island, SC, Marine Corps Recruit Depot (i.e., boot camp). While at Parris Island, I was able to hone the clinical skills I had learned in dental school. At Parris Island, I was one of fifty dentists, and each year we treated 22,000 recruits. Boot camp lasted twelve weeks. Every three months, we were treating a new batch of patients.

With this revolving door of new recruits, I realized that the dentistry I was doing was a “geographic success.” Whether my work succeeded or failed, it moved. Because of that fact, I was never able to see the long-term results of my work.

Now I understand that, as a professional, we learn and improve the most when we see our clinical dentistry fail as opposed to when it works well. During my years of practicing dentistry, I never liked seeing my failures. However, I always felt fulfilled when I could improve my technique and as a result, achieve a better outcome.

After Parris Island, I worked as an associate for a dentist who was firmly established in his community, a great dentist, wellrespected, and loved by his patients. During my early days in his practice, I’d present treatment to his patients and immediately get that “deer in the headlights” look.

The mistake I had made was that whenever I talked with his patients, I just “talked dentistry.” I assumed that “tooth talk” was all I needed for patients to say “yes” to my recommendations. Often, the senior dentist would talk with the same patients, and every time, like clockwork, they’d accept his recommendations.

Now I understand that practicing dentistry involves more than just being a “great dentist.” Dentistry is a people business and establishing trust with your patients is the first step you need to take for your patients to regularly accept your treatment recommendations.

For me, this meant that I needed to soften the “let’s just get down to business attitude.” Essentially, I had to “lighten up,” focus less on dentistry, and focus more on getting to know my patients as people, rather than teeth. I learned that I needed to first seek to understand their needs, desires, and their goals, before proposing treatment recommendations.

Now I understand the importance of taking the time to first ask patients questions, and listen to their answers, rather than just jumping in and telling them what I think they need.

After three years as an associate, I decided to purchase an existing solo private practice. For about a year, I agonized over that purchase. After practicing as an associate for two years, the promise of a partnership was progressing nowhere. According to the senior dentist, who I still call my friend, “the timing just wasn’t right.”

In my heart, I knew I had to leave his practice. Unfortunately, I had worked myself into a frenzy by drowning in negative thoughts. What if I fail? With my dental school debt, how can I pay for this? I know “jack squat” about managing a dental practice.

Eventually, I reached out to friends and colleagues for their wisdom and guidance. After bringing me down off the cliff, they helped me see that I could, if I really wanted to, have my own practice.

They gave me lots of great insights and were a huge emotional help. After a few months, I was able to purchase my own practice, a place where I successfully and happily practiced for the next 28 years.

I now understand the importance of having colleagues to help us sort out the thoughts in our heads, to help us see things from a different, often better, perspective.

Also, I now understand the power of positive thoughts and the importance of taking risks. Had I continued to live in my negative thoughts and my fear of failure, I probably would have made less money, and practiced unhappily as an associate for many more years.

In truth, my first few years in private practice were a bit rocky. The practice I purchased was very busy; I affectionately called it “my hamster-wheel practice.” At the end of most days, I would return home to my family brain-fried, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

Things got better once I figured out what was important to me and how I wanted to practice. Again, it all started with taking the time to think about what I wanted and what I valued, and then finding a way to make it happen.

Thanks to the great teachers in places like The Pankey Institute and The Dawson Academy, I was able to morph my practice into one with a more manageable pace, one that was more fun, more fulfilling, and one that was more profitable.

Now I understand that once you are clear about your purpose, you can accomplish great things.

Once I figured out my purpose and how to better practice dentistry, I needed to learn how to lead and develop a team. I’m ashamed to say that during my early years in private practice, I became obsessed with the “numbers.” I focused way too much time on money and not enough time on building a team. I was a manipulative micromanager; not only did I make myself miserable, I made everyone else around me miserable.

I now understand how detrimental solely focusing on money is to a dental practice.

Again, after some struggle, I admitted that I needed help and hired a consultant. They taught me the skills I never learned in dental school, how to be a leader, how to better manage my practice, and how to create a great team.

I now understand that having a great team is a very important part of having a successful, profitable, and fulfilling practice.

With the help of my consultant, we developed detailed job descriptions and easy-to-understand systems. I started seeking input from my team and most importantly, I listened to their input. In truth, their ideas were often better than mine. We instituted morning huddles, weekly team meetings, and collectively made decisions. As we started to work better together, the practice production started to increase, one year, by twenty percent. And to think, it all first started with a thought.

I now understand that… having a practice that is fun, fulfilling, and profitable, begins with the right thoughts, a passion for dentistry, and a passion for your team and for your patients.

Here are a few steps to get you started.

• Get clear about your mission, who you are, and what you are about.
• Develop your dream team. Hire great people, treat them with respect, clearly define their roles, support them, seek their input, and reward them for their efforts.
• Spend time getting to know your patients, their needs, their goals, their fears, their dreams, and their desires.
• Always do your best dentistry.
• Know that when you focus more on your patients and team, the money will follow.
• If you are focusing first on money-STOP.

Remember that your thoughts have power and lead you to action.

Remember to evaluate your results and make course corrections.

Remember to take care of your team and your patients.

Because when you do, you’ll learn, you’ll grow, and be able to say…

Now I understand.

Wishing you more joy, more fulfillment, and greater financial success!