Dentistry In A New Light

We had a rare win in dentistry recently.  An event that is seemingly as uncommon as finding Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster, the Easter bunny or another mythical creature.

Dentistry was featured in popular culture in a positive light.

Obviously dentistry is commonly found on the news, in movies or discussed on podcasts.  But the way our beloved profession is featured typically makes us cringe (at best). 

However, in this instance, a writer at the popular magazine, The Atlantic, had a positive dental experience and actually chose to write about it. Amanda Mull, wrote The Atlantic story titled “Myth of Root Canals: Good news, they are no longer terrible”.

Even the title is a big “high five” to dentistry.  Sure, by way of a back-handed compliment… but I’ll take it.

The truly odd aspect of this is that it is such a big deal in the first place, right?

We, in dentistry, know that root canals have “no longer been terrible” for decades.  So, why does The Atlantic, a well-read, well-respected magazine feel that when somebody says dentistry isn't terrible, this is newsworthy? 

Somebody had a positive dental experience. So does almost everyone in my practice everyday.  And likely yours.

The year is now 2022.  A root canal is a common procedure that a large portion of writers are having done at some point in their career. This article was saying the root canal “didn't hurt, it wasn't horrible, it was a relatively painless easy smooth experience”.  Welcome to dentistry that is performed in this century. 

Over 95% of root canals should not be a terrible experience today.  So, why is this such a big deal? I believe it’s because we need to directly address the patient’s anxiety.

Somewhere between 60% and 80% of our patients have anxiety, and currently 71% of dentists are reporting higher rates of bruxism, so we have some work to do to change the public’s opinion of dental patient anxiety.  

It is time dental anxiety goes the way of the dodo bird;  it may not be a mythical creature, but we can make it extinct.

I strongly believe that almost everything we do in density does not have to be painful, as long as we place managing anxiety as a priority in our practice. Oftentimes this means giving a painless injection. This requires becoming a master of the painless injection.  

Sometimes it means talking to the patient and listening. This requires becoming a master of communicating with patients. 

Sometimes it means getting treatment done that day so they don't go home and worry about it for a month.  This requires a dental team focused on delivering dentistry promptly.

Mastering painless injections, developing communication skills and having a high performing dental team, however, are difficult and require time and attention.  This is effort that is WELL worth it, however it takes time and skill to develop.

However, we have a shortcut to success; sedation.  

Sedation, I believe, is drastically underused in dentistry.  From full conscious sedation to nitrous oxide or Therapeutic Virtual Reality like OperaVR, I believe that every dental practice should either have some level of sedation available or refer patients to an office that does. 

Why is it that if a dentist doesn’t feel comfortable extracting a tooth, they refer the patient, but all too often if the patient has massive anxiety about a procedure, it is just “their problem” and we have to suffer through the procedure together.  This leads to terrible experiences for everyone involved and the continual propagation of the idea that dentistry is, using Amanda’s word, terrible.

In a world where 71% of people brux and seemingly stressed out of their minds, I believe it is up to us, the dental community to raise the bar and create more positive experiences for our patients, like Amanda had at the dental practice,

Our goal everyday should be to have each patient leave the operatory thinking, “Wow, dentistry has changed… It is not what I expected. It is not terrible. In fact, those people seemed to be enjoying their jobs. I’ve got to tell people about this place.” 

This is putting the patients first. And, I believe, the best way to grow your practice today.