In a recent post I explained that one of the most important roles for a dentist is to be a motivator. Motivation is a leadership skill that too many dentists confuse with education. Sure education is important, but I know a lot of smart people who never get off the couch. This blog is committed to making you a better presenter so I want to remind everyone to never lose sight of constantly and consistently motivating patients to “be better.”
Now that could mean a lot…I can write a book about that (actually I am completing that book right now—The Art of Case Presentation). “We are always presenting,” and “Doctor, you are the message” are two of the topics I cover in the book.
The mouth you see in this blog post belongs to a new patient I saw last week. What do you think he needs more than anything? Like the smoker and the overweight person…he needs some motivation. Obviously he knows the score…he just needs some really good emotional reasons to get moving. And that is our job. Or you could argue that our job is just to inform him or that our job is to just make it go away.
The problem with those last two job descriptions is that we tend to “educate” and inform by implying the word, should. I know a lot of dentists who should all over their patients...I like the term, musterbate (they must do it, or else something bad will happen). Did you ever should on a smoker? How far did you get?
So I sat with my patient during our preclinical meeting and asked some questions. Mostly the questions concerned the obvious orthodontic condition. I asked the thirty five year old if he ever considered straightening his teeth…he said he was okay with the way they looked, so he saw no need. I followed up that question with, “Can you think of any other reasons why braces would help you?”
He looked befuddled. I gave him time to answer but he really had no clue. So I told him (I educated him about periodontal disease and function and even the oral-systemic connection), but he appeared unmoved…interested, but unmoved.
Then I asked him about his parents. How were their teeth? He said his dad still had his teeth but his mom had lots of problems with her teeth. I asked if she wore dentures, but he didn’t remember because she died early. “From what,” I asked.
“Heart attack,” he said. But he said it with emotion, and as if something clicked, I saw the emotional gap closing.
That is the goal of presentation…to close the emotional gap.
I write about this a lot in my new book, but I wanted to share this story with you because it clearly illustrates the distinction between motivation vs. education.
Dentistry doesn’t do the public any great favors by overemphasizing cosmetics…we can actually devalue dentistry by focusing on things that are superficial for many people.
Science tells us that when we give examples of other people, our brains don’t get the connection. The gap stays open because our brains see the other as a stranger. Our job is to get so close that the patient actually visualizes what will happen to him in the future. Difficult to do? Yes, but we can do it with morphing software which will eventually be available, but we can also do it with surrogates like our parents.
When we close the emotional gap we also swing the cost-benefit ratio way in favor of the benefit side.
Leadership skills and presentation skills are what will make the most successful and effective dentists of the future…I have always contended that and that is why I have devoted this blog and TAOofDentistry.com to those ends.