A Healthcare Provider’s Greatest Gift

Don’t you hate to wait? I took my to get the oil changed a couple of weeks ago and there were three cars ahead of me. A man graciously opened my car door and escorted me to the “waiting room” like it was a 5-star resort, which it definitely was not. I sat there and waited and waited, constantly looking through the glass at the garage bays to monitor the progress. As I sat there I was thinking, “can’t they move any faster; there seems to be a lot of standing around doing nothing going on.” Then of course I realized that there was more to the story as there was someone under the car and “behind the scenes” doing something they were waiting for. I waited patiently from then on realizing I had no real control on how long it takes to change oil in a car.
One of my pet peeves in dental practice is running behind. I hate to make people wait. However, the reality of it is that things don’t always go the way you planned. Most patients are very understanding. Occasionally I’ll hear over my shoulder, “Doctor, your next patient would like to know how much longer it will be?” I’ll usually jokingly respond, with my current patient on their back in front of me, “Mrs. Smith, I’m sorry, I have to rush through the rest of your difficult filling because I have another patient to see.”
I 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?
Too often the dentist views a patient as just a mouth. 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? Although for some, this is the type of care they desire because the fees are often lower in this type of setting.
The dentist also suffers. How satisfying can it be for a dentist who sees 40 patients a day? What kinds of relationships can that dentist build with his or her patients? How can that dentist spend the necessary time with the patient to really know the patient’s needs and desires?
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.
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.