Of the 1048 Brighter Smiles columns published over the last 19 years, I will admit, I repeated a few. Trying to think of new things to write about, other than the importance of an electric toothbrush, water pik, and consistent professional care was challenging after a while. Sometimes I would re-write them completely, and other times I would just tweak them. I would often change the title, depending on how I changed the content.

One of my favorite columns, which was repeated a few times over the years, always went by the same title; 5 Reasons People Avoid the Dentist. There are no valid reasons not to avoid seeing a dentist on a regular schedule.

Those 5 reasons people avoid the dentist are money, time, lack of concern, fear and trust. The first 3 are excuses. The other 2 can certainly be stumbling blocks for some people; however, they are fixable.

You would think that money would be the biggest reason people avoid the dentist. It isn’t. While some dentistry may be costly, most problems are preventable with long-term consistent professional maintenance care. For the average person without dental insurance, that would cost less than a cell phone plan. Good health always requires awareness, acknowledgement, and investment. While we could argue the role that dental insurance plays, the fact of the matter is, – it’s your health and your choice.

Time is an excuse, period. Lack of concern about dental health is the most common reason people avoid the dentist. Absence of pain is not a good indicator of health. You certainly have the right to not care about your health, but if you do, take care of the gateway to the rest of your body.

I’m not going to comment much on fear today. There should be a minimal amount of fear with today’s dentistry. If you do have fear, you’ll also have to overcome the last reason people avoid the dentist, which is trust. There are many reasons why some patients have a lack of trust in providers. The provider-patient relationship should be based on mutual respect and trust. Continuity of care with as few different providers as possible over your lifetime, is in the patient’s best interest.

Another one of my favorite columns was The Most Important Gift.

As with many aspects of life, people often seem “pre-programmed” about what to expect in a dental office. I, and most of the dentists I know in this area, believe the philosophy of practice revolves around treating the person as a whole, and not just a tooth. It means patients, their overall health & well-being, must be foremost in the practitioner’s mind. Yes, it also means cleanings, fillings and crowns. These are often inescapable outcomes to dental disease – but, under what context are these services being provided?

It didn’t take me too many years to figure out that you can’t treat everyone the same. There are those patients who need every last detail explained, and there are those who don’t want to hear anything, and/or won’t do anything you tell them.

There are dental offices that just view the patient as a mouth of teeth. The goal is to fix as many problems in as many mouths in as short a time as possible. The patient becomes the object of the “fix”, instead of a participant in the treatment. How degrading is it for a patient to experience that type of environment? Where is the quality, attention and care when the dentist is busy running room to room? There may be patients who prefer that environment, so there is something for everyone.  

In a truly health-centered practice, each patient should be treated as a unique, whole person. Each patient should be treated with dignity and respect. The dentist gives each patient his/her most important gift: TIME.

The best care involves taking the time to listen, taking the time to do a complete examination, taking the time to teach the causes of existing and potential dental problems, and taking the time to explain alternative treatments and modes of prevention. It means that each patient be given the opportunity to choose the highest level of health consistent with their values and life circumstances.

I appreciate the many people who have given me feedback from reading this column over the years. I have enjoyed sharing information on a local platform about a profession I am passionate about. Thank you for following my message.

Thank you to Nancy, my dental assistant of 26 years, who edited all my columns. Aside from correcting my sub-par spelling and punctuation, she also made many of the subjects I wrote about actually make sense.

And finally, thank you to Marc, founder/publisher of The Town Common, for giving me the opportunity to use this space for 19 years. I appreciate it very much.

Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental practice in Rowley dedicated to health-centered family dentistry. He has a special interest in treating snoring, sleep apnea and TMJ problems. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about or questions you have, please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com

Happy New Year! So, how does it feel being back at work? Or, if you are retired, does today feel like any other day? For many people, the New Year is time for resolutions. Gym memberships go up and so do sales of healthier food. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble sustaining many of my “resolutions”. Change is difficult.

During the time I had off this past week, I re-read a book I read a few years ago. It is called “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. One of the main points in this book is that change or improvement in our lives comes one day at a time. It is the small decisions that we make daily, that we often consider insignificant, which mold who we are.

In a recent column on New Year’s resolutions in the Wall Street Journal the author says, “Typically, though, people fail to stick to their annual goals because the resolutions are too demanding, vague or unrealistic.” One of the strategies recommended is to predict in advance what the roadblocks will be and how you will manage them. In addition to that, I have found that a daily reflection of all the day’s events and the changes I would make will make for a better tomorrow.

Changing routines is probably one of the hardest things to do. However, changing routines is probably one of the most important things to do. Striving for improvement in our lives by changing our routine usually improves the quality of life.

Going to the dentist is a routine. It is not part of your daily routine but it should be part of your overall routine for staying healthy.  One of the biggest challenges I see in the practice of dentistry is changing people’s routines. Changing my own routines is tough enough; how does someone motivate someone else to change their routine? I think legendary coach John Wooden sums it up best when asked how he was so successful motivating his players for so many years. He said it was his ability to get his players to do what they didn’t want to do in order to get the results they wanted.

When someone goes to a dentist with a problem and has not seen a dentist for one, five, ten, or twenty years, it is easy to “fix” the immediate problem. The thing that is not easy to do, for any dentist, is to get those people to come back – to change their routine. While it is the dentist’s job to “fix” the problem, it is also their job to motivate people to see the bigger picture. Some people can be motivated to do those things they don’t necessarily want to do to achieve their goal (health), and others cannot.

Our priorities dictate our routines. Priorities need change just as much as routines. If our priorities include health, we will spend money on a gym membership or home fitness equipment, go to the doctor or dentist on a regular basis, and eat things that are healthy. If hypertension could be controlled by regular exercise and/or medication, doesn’t that beat an early heart attack? If periodontal (gum) disease, which doesn’t hurt and 75% of the population has some form of, could be controlled by regular visits to the dentist, doesn’t that beat losing your teeth?

Changing your routine to improve your quality of life is worth every penny you may spend on it. As Jeff Olson says in his book, “You can’t change the past. You can change the future. The right choices you make today, compounded over time, will take you higher and higher up the success curve of this real-time movie called ‘your life’.” Best wishes for positive change in 2025!

Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental practice in Rowley dedicated to health-centered family dentistry. He has a special interest in treating snoring, sleep apnea and TMJ problems. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com

At the end of each of the past 19 years, I have used this space to publish these 21 Suggestions for Success authored by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Cut this out and put it on the refrigerator. Read this list often and take these suggestions to heart.

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be loyal and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

Best wishes for a happy, successful, and healthy 2025. Happy New Year!

Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental practice in Rowley dedicated to health-centered family dentistry. He has a special interest in treating snoring, sleep apnea and TMJ problems. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com