Archive for category: Leadership

If a patient wants or needs a prosthesis solution, there are a few good options available.

Although many would prefer a non removable denture solution, sometimes medical history, time and / or clinical conditions and of course expense can work against that option.

When patients consider a denture solution, it is usually with limited information as to the hows and whys of such a procedure.

For example most consider a denture solution to be a one-time mattter which is not true. A removable prosthesis must be relined periodically, which can mean they will have to live without it while this is being done.

Prior to treatment planning, you need a complete review of dental records and the patient’s medical history to date.

The design of your removable prosthesis will start with which type of material should be used, such as acrylic resin, vulcanite, polystyrene, metal, or flexible material. The guide planes and the height of contour of abutment teeth are other important factors.

Whether it is a full or partial denture, the goal is to reduce or eliminate lateral forces and attempt to transmit forces parallel to the long axis of teeth. When designing your prosthesis, consider the necessary support, retention, stability, and esthetic requirements.

When creating treatment plans for full dentures, please make sure you review with your patients the fact that they will need denture adhesive for a more secure fit. The advantage here is if they do not need it, you look good. If they do, they will not be surprised.

I recommend informing patients that ideally, they would benefit from two to six implants on the upper or lower arch or both arches for the best and most secure fit. Mention that the placement of implants reduces the need for relines and in many cases reduces the bone loss caused by resorption due to disuse atrophy.

This is an important concept for your patients to understand: in the time without dental implants, they will have more and more bone loss causing their dentures to fit poorly, causing many problems as well as discomfort.

A word of caution regarding patients who come to you and only want a reline: once you do a reline on a patient who has had dentures for a long time, you will be irreversibly changing his or her denture, which can cause problems.

I strongly recommend that you consider a new prosthesis first so you never touch his or her original denture. I find that patients who have had dentures for a long time develop a feel for them, much like an old pair of blue jeans.

To learn more about helping customers transition to prosthetics and more customer-focussed approaches to dental care, please contact me.

When working with my patients, I’ve come to see that aside from fixing their teeth, I’m also a consultant and at best, a coach to them.

If all I did was fix their chompers, that would get old rather quickly. Helping them change their habits and become proactive in their own care is a very fulfilling process for both them and myself.

As a dentist, I’m looking to establish a relationship with my patients much like a medical doctor.

Your physician talks to you about your health and what you can do to improve it. Same with dentists.

Short term thinking would have it that a dentist should allow poor patient habit to continue in order to profit off of their bad decisions.

But most of us are in the long game as dentists. We want our roles in their lives to be meaningful. We want them to change their bad habits and learn better dental hygiene.

Here’s the odd twist. Despite the seeming financial benefits of letting a patient worsen in their habits, it’s not at all true. If a patient’s dental health deteriorates one of two things will happen. They will either stop going to a dentist or only show up when they need a tooth pulled. Eventually dentures will enter the picture, another one-time solution to dental care. In short, they won’t be a patient of you – or any dentist – for long.

Keeping a patient by coaching them to better personal care will result in a fulfilling long-term relationship, one that, circumstances permitting, will see them as your patient for many years.

So if you want to bring greater purpose to your role as a dentist, become a coach to your patient. It will bring dividends both personally and financially for that matter.

If you want to learn how to be a better dental coach please get in touch. I can be your coach too.