Have you heard of the principle that “we are all connected?” It’s one I’ve often learned about from some of my favorite spiritual gurus, and I’ll admit– at times this concept has been hard for me to grasp. If you look around, you’ll see that we all have our unique personalities, lives, and agendas. Our individuality is exactly what makes us special. If each of us are all independent beings who march to our own rhythms, then how can we simultaneously all “be one?” It’s also hard to imagine how I can “be one” with a complete stranger driving in...
For years the hive mind of dentistry tried to fit all dentists into a box. If you weren’t a private practice owner, then you weren’t successful. If you chose to teach at a dental school, it was because you “couldn’t hack it in the real world.” If you were burnt out or stressed, then you were a wimp, and something was wrong with you. While there are still some dentists who think this way, times are changing. I recently shared a podcast interview with The Truth Behind Dentistry that gained some popularity on Youtube. It was a fun collaboration, but with...
The other day I had a great conversation with a very successful dentist who was looking for a change. As we discussed how I, as a coach, help dentists design their careers on their terms, the topic of community came up. She mentioned to me that she has a few friends who also want change, and they’re not that happy in dentistry. Their friendship is so great because they can get together and blow off some steam… aka complain. But she laughed as she shared that all they ever do is complain, and they never do anything about it. It...
Do you consider yourself lucky? I used to think I was a really unlucky person, and I had a lot of proof. I had never won anything in my life. You know those people who always win party prizes over and over? That was never me. No matter what drawing or contest I entered, luck never seemed to be on my side. It started early. I used to spend summers on the Jersey Shore with my grandparents, and my grandfather loved entertaining my sister and me. He would take us fishing, play Skeeball in the penny arcade, and stroll the...
Don’t you hate it when your patients blame you for something that wasn’t your fault? My tooth didn’t hurt until YOUUU worked on it. You put my crown on backwards, and now it doesn’t fit! You never told me I had to pay for these x-rays. Or how about the patient who refuses to wear the night guard they wanted, but it’s your fault? We know how that goes… your patient comes to you desperate for a solution to end their headaches. You notice that they have serious bruxism issues, and you recommend a night guard. You spend extra time...
What is your wake-up call for change? I originally wrote this blog post, The Wake-up Call for Change, on March 30, 2021. It has since allowed me to form a beautiful friendship with Parul Dua Makkar, the sister of Manu Dua. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we all knew Manu. Manu had started blogging and had dreams and plans to turn his writings into a book. He never had the chance to see it to fruition, so in big-sisterly fashion, Parul jumped in to keep her brother’s legacy alive. She worked hard to create and publish Manu’s book,...
“Wow! Being a perfectionist is a curse!” I dramatically said to my patient with a sly smirk on my face. After what felt like an eternity of revisiting the stupid ledge that remained on that damn distal box floor of the MOD prep on #3, I had nearly given up. Fighting the patient’s tongue with my right hand while holding the mirror to barely see around my left hand doing the actual work, my right arm became fatigued. I was caught up in an obsessive pattern of alternating between blindly reaching for that ledge with a quick zip of the...
The Golden Rule is great, but there is one area in which it is lacking. Howard Farran recently wrote a column in Dentaltown titled, “Follow the Golden Rule.” In it, he offered excellent examples of how we can share our greatest and highest good with patients. When it comes to clinical care, we should only do treatment on patients that we would choose for ourselves. I like that. It allows us to lead with our integrity. Equally as important, he dives into how we treat patients on a personal level. We can get so caught up in the nitty gritty...
I stepped in dog poo the other day. Yes, that’s right. I’m blogging about dog poo. Let’s see if I can find meaning in that one! So here we go. It was the perfect storm of events that led to me stepping in poo. I was walking my dog, Nola(bees,) around the park while listening to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. I was trying to rewind to a specific part of the narrative, and there was a park services truck on the walking path driving towards me. Being the thoughtful, considerate person I am, I stepped aside into the grass. The...
As I watched 2020 roll out and the excitement for 2021 build, I couldn’t help but remember my New Year blog post from two years ago. It was a surreal New Year for me, different from all the others I’d experienced in my lifetime. What’s even more surreal is how applicable those old musings are today. As you read this, imagine changing out the details of my cancer journey to what happened to you in 2020 and what you anticipate for your 2021. I hope it gives you an interesting reflection on how we label time. FYI, The only words...
