There is a very interesting woman out there named Fran Pangakis. She is one of the minds behind CareerFusion and I was lucky enough to spend some time with her at the annual meeting earlier this year in January. Fran has been involved in dentistry for over 30 years and has just about seen it all. What I found so interesting about Fran was her ability to peel the onion and see what was really going on in any situation.

Fran suggested a book for me to read,"The Five Love Languages" by a Dr. Gary Chapman. Well, being someone who has so much to do I went ahead and got it on MPs so I could listen to it on the commute to and from work. It was very easy to listen to and it was about the different ways people want to hear "I Love You", but in reality it can be about every relationship you have. I kind of always knew my main language was that of affirmation. (This is a new concept for me in the sense that I used to think it was wrong to have a high "Needs Approval" as a personality trait).

There are many ways in my practicing of dentistry that I can get affirmations left and right. "That didn’t hurt at all", "That crown looks just like my own tooth" and on and on. And they are all very important to me since it is my desire to provide the most esthetic dentistry in an environment that fosters mutual trust and respect.

If you know about my passion for prevention and my belief that the best dentistry is no dentistry then you would not be surprised to find out that perhaps my favorite affirmation of all in the office is when my patients get what taking care of their mouth at home is all about. And not once this past week, but twice, was I fortunate to have the feedback that makes me feel that I am actually making a difference.

The first time came from a new patient, a woman in her middle age, who when she first came to the office about 6 months ago had gum disease. With the help of the hygienists in our office, this woman went ahead with treatment meant to help get her gum tissues healthy. This in itself is not unusual. What is unusual is how a woman, who for the better part of her life never really took care of her teeth, got it because we took the time to teach her. And the payoff is how much she says she feels better because she is doing what she has to do, and how her long term costs are going to spiral downward because she is taking care of her mouth. And she sat and credited our office for her shift in her outlook for her own dental health.

The second affirmation is just a little second hand story…but it is still my favorite type of success story in my office…because it involves a young patient, an 11 year old girl, who I had only met once in the office. Her mother was in and she told me that whatever I had said to her daughter impacted her so much that she has been flossing her teeth religiously since her exam and hygiene in the office.

Doesn’t seem like much but to me our office has greatly impacted these two patients in a way that should help them for the rest of their lives. I can’t speak for any other dentists in the world, but for me this is the true purpose that I was put on earth, to help people. Not just in my office but in ways that impact them for the rest of their lives. That’s what it’s all about.