One may think of me as a marketer, as a business man, perhaps even a rogue. If so, please read on, because none of those descriptors truly identify the truth behind what you may describe as my success. But thought may.
How important is the power of thought? Each of us seeks out thinkers. When you see a physician, is it for a procedure? Sometimes. But much more often, we are looking for thought, often couched in the term, “diagnosis.” The why, in the medical profession, is so much more important than the do. And if the thought should arrive at the pinnacle, that of “cause,” who of us would not feel that we reached medical nirvana if that cause resulted in an answer to the malady from which we were suffering. It is so much the opposite of what we would expect from the Doc in the Box. And furthermore, we would pay good money, well beyond what insurance would cover, to find that thinker.
Dentistry may in some sense be different. We are a “doing” profession. But thinking enhances our doing profession. The Perio-systemic link is an excellent example.
I encourage you to buy the book, Beat the Heart Attack Gene, by Dr. Bradley Bale and Amy Doneen. This book describes the many causes of cardiovascular disease, the tests that we may take, and the remedies available to control each of those causes. In fact, the therapists specialize in preventing second heart attacks and strokes. Their success is so significant that there are Bale/Doneen physician disciples all over this country, perhaps the world. And yes, Bale and Doneen provide a guarantee to their patients in their Spokane clinic. Follow their recommendations and if you have a second heart attack or stroke, they will return all of the money that you have spent with them.
In that book, an Audible portion of which I play during my presentations to specialists, Bale and Doneen describe the absolute relevance of periodontitis as a cause of cardiovascular disease. And they champion a particular test, the Oral DNA test, as a diagnostic necessity and a monitor of the control of periodontitis. Oral DNA also provides genetic testing not only to identify the risk factors for periodontitis, but also cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is a “thought breakthrough.”
By having that book in every operatory, with relevant portions tabbed and highlighted, you can provide “cause” for your patients. And adding the Oral DNA tests to your diagnostic regimen provides a thought relevance that not only connects with patients, it bacteriologically monitors your success in controlling the periodontal pathogens that cause both periodontitis and cardiovascular disease. In fact, you may provide a motivator that takes your patient well beyond the periodontal probe to the prevention of life-threatening diseases.
It is thought that patients seek. And as they find that you are the purveyor of thought, they may then attach even more importance to what you do and what, in their eyes, you are paid for.
We charge very little for thought in dentistry. But if you want the secret to why we do so many reconstructive procedures in our office, thought and perhaps communication of that thought may be the key business element.
Want to learn more about how the IDS can help you?
Email us at AAIPsheldon@gmail.com. IDS membership and IDS consulting can make every periodontal practice better.