- Published on
1. 'How Did I Get Into This Pickle -- And How Do I Get Out of It?' (The Greatest Orthodontic Finishing Course You'll Ever Attend.) July 13-15
2. The "Way Too..." Weekend, for Dentists who are "way too" stressed and want to renew their vision for their practices. Aug. 17-19
3. You and the Adverse Growth of a Child: Nov. 30 - Dec. 2.
Details about 2018's ELEMENTS™ Weekend courses, in Texas
2. The "Way Too..." Weekend, for Dentists who are "way too" stressed and want to renew their vision for their practices. Aug. 17-19
3. You and the Adverse Growth of a Child: Nov. 30 - Dec. 2.
Details about 2018's ELEMENTS™ Weekend courses, in Texas
- Published on
Boy! Dental school didn’t give me any direction on being responsible for employees, staffing, HR, hiring and firing! How about you?
Maybe dental school taught you how to work with a chair-side dental assistant.
Maybe.
Maybe dental school gave you some direction on training a chair-side assistant.
Maybe.
Then there is the part about staffing - the search, the interviewing, the choosing, the hiring... Any direction on that in dental school? Not in mine.
And the part about staff coming to you with their beefs, their worries. Didn’t learn about that in dental school.
You, likely, as most of us dentists, are approval addicted. You want everyone to like you - patients, staff, community… You learn at meetings that you can take your staff out for “bonding” and fun, take them to dental meetings and CE.
Of course you find some nice people to work with you. Because dentists are usually very nice to everyone (but not as nice to themselves), the staff actually like you.
You might wonder sometimes if your team members like each other, but as long as you keep being nice to them, making them happy - hopefully they’ll take care of things for you.
Step back for a moment and think about all of this. Does it sound a bit like being a parent? Your children have their moments with each other too. They bicker, make up, fuss, and come to you too. Can you just hear the, “Mommy/Daddy, she’s ‘looking’ at me.” It starts in toddlerhood. How about,, “Can I get that? Can I have one?” Or, “Can I go to the mall / movie / out to eat…?”
I am not my staff’s parent.
I can give them love through the opportunity to carry out the vision of the practice, of loving each other, patients, parents, and all.
The answers lie in systems. Your job as the business owner is to develop and utilize systems which every single employee utilizes as well. In systems, each position is clear. All responsibilities and expectations are clear. They can be followed.
You have the responsibility to be the keeper of the flame - the vision of your business. Your job is to define that vision in systems. Your job is to hire and keep only staff who share the vision, because it fits their vision for themselves, and they work toward your practice’s vision. That vision, based in love for each and every person is indeed a flame, burning bright.
As you and your team carry out the systems, your mission is successful, your business grows, to love and care more, and for more, and you can enjoy the patients, the staff, the days.
I am not my staff’s friend.
I am their mentor, their light, their guide.
I am to love them through our shared vision.
I am responsible for guiding and growing the vision, which brings love to them and everyone who is part of the practice.
It’s all about loving. But not about doing everything to be loved.
Keep your eye on the vision, on the systems, on your purpose. Your courage in that will bring love to all.
I am not my staff’s friend, nor am I their parent.
I create the system; they carry out the system.
They contribute greatly to the improvement of the system.
We share love together.
The point where you show love to your staff is where you enable them to do a great job through carrying out the systems that fulfill the vision of love in your practice, not “giving” them stuff, attention, experiences, etc. to try to make them happy. (Like everything in life, we always want to be given more and more, and there is no end, no satiation for very long.)
Here’s your answer: It’s the old Chinese saying, “If you want a man to eat for a day, give him a fish. If you want him to eat for a lifetime, teach him how how to fish.”
Give your staff priceless lifetime skills. This is love.
Give yourself a great life too.
Maybe dental school taught you how to work with a chair-side dental assistant.
Maybe.
Maybe dental school gave you some direction on training a chair-side assistant.
Maybe.
Then there is the part about staffing - the search, the interviewing, the choosing, the hiring... Any direction on that in dental school? Not in mine.
And the part about staff coming to you with their beefs, their worries. Didn’t learn about that in dental school.
You, likely, as most of us dentists, are approval addicted. You want everyone to like you - patients, staff, community… You learn at meetings that you can take your staff out for “bonding” and fun, take them to dental meetings and CE.
Of course you find some nice people to work with you. Because dentists are usually very nice to everyone (but not as nice to themselves), the staff actually like you.
You might wonder sometimes if your team members like each other, but as long as you keep being nice to them, making them happy - hopefully they’ll take care of things for you.
Step back for a moment and think about all of this. Does it sound a bit like being a parent? Your children have their moments with each other too. They bicker, make up, fuss, and come to you too. Can you just hear the, “Mommy/Daddy, she’s ‘looking’ at me.” It starts in toddlerhood. How about,, “Can I get that? Can I have one?” Or, “Can I go to the mall / movie / out to eat…?”
I am not my staff’s parent.
I can give them love through the opportunity to carry out the vision of the practice, of loving each other, patients, parents, and all.
The answers lie in systems. Your job as the business owner is to develop and utilize systems which every single employee utilizes as well. In systems, each position is clear. All responsibilities and expectations are clear. They can be followed.
You have the responsibility to be the keeper of the flame - the vision of your business. Your job is to define that vision in systems. Your job is to hire and keep only staff who share the vision, because it fits their vision for themselves, and they work toward your practice’s vision. That vision, based in love for each and every person is indeed a flame, burning bright.
As you and your team carry out the systems, your mission is successful, your business grows, to love and care more, and for more, and you can enjoy the patients, the staff, the days.
I am not my staff’s friend.
I am their mentor, their light, their guide.
I am to love them through our shared vision.
I am responsible for guiding and growing the vision, which brings love to them and everyone who is part of the practice.
It’s all about loving. But not about doing everything to be loved.
Keep your eye on the vision, on the systems, on your purpose. Your courage in that will bring love to all.
I am not my staff’s friend, nor am I their parent.
I create the system; they carry out the system.
They contribute greatly to the improvement of the system.
We share love together.
The point where you show love to your staff is where you enable them to do a great job through carrying out the systems that fulfill the vision of love in your practice, not “giving” them stuff, attention, experiences, etc. to try to make them happy. (Like everything in life, we always want to be given more and more, and there is no end, no satiation for very long.)
Here’s your answer: It’s the old Chinese saying, “If you want a man to eat for a day, give him a fish. If you want him to eat for a lifetime, teach him how how to fish.”
Give your staff priceless lifetime skills. This is love.
Give yourself a great life too.
- Published on
You are doing it. You are fielding life’s stuff.
The world doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Stuff happens. And when it happens, your seeds of possibilities begin to grow.
In disappointment and distress are the seeds of wisdom - and the seeds of despair and grief.
In despair are the seeds of acceptance, personal growth and gratitude - and the seeds of helplessness and more despair.
In grief there are the seeds of love, compassion and growth - and the seeds of devastation and hopelessness.
In growth are the seeds of appreciation, gratitude and joy.
In gratitude and joy is the seed of fulfillment and love.
Our expectations and willingness shape these possible sequels to what happened. What we think - feel - do, when stuff happens, determines which seed grows.
Love,
The world doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Stuff happens. And when it happens, your seeds of possibilities begin to grow.
In disappointment and distress are the seeds of wisdom - and the seeds of despair and grief.
In despair are the seeds of acceptance, personal growth and gratitude - and the seeds of helplessness and more despair.
In grief there are the seeds of love, compassion and growth - and the seeds of devastation and hopelessness.
In growth are the seeds of appreciation, gratitude and joy.
In gratitude and joy is the seed of fulfillment and love.
Our expectations and willingness shape these possible sequels to what happened. What we think - feel - do, when stuff happens, determines which seed grows.
Love,
- Published on
Ectopic teeth in a smile and in orthodontics
For a patient whose teeth are ectopic - out of place - it is distressing.
A child will often say, “I don’t like my fangs.” And, if the teeth do not show up, are ectopic and unerupted, it is distressing to have spaces in your smile.
It is also distressing for you, wanting to be efficient and effective in helping create an even more beautiful smile. It is distressing in planning and carrying out your orthodontic mechanics in an often difficult situation with potential for negative sequelae.
A child will often say, “I don’t like my fangs.” And, if the teeth do not show up, are ectopic and unerupted, it is distressing to have spaces in your smile.
It is also distressing for you, wanting to be efficient and effective in helping create an even more beautiful smile. It is distressing in planning and carrying out your orthodontic mechanics in an often difficult situation with potential for negative sequelae.
IF, and that is, IF, you see the child early enough, there is a MOST HELPFUL answer to reducing the treatment time, the risk of sequelae, and improving the smile earlier on. It is simply, clearing the path of eruption.
While the scholarly articles about this topic are many, and great academics like Ericson and Kurol have written excellently, the bottom line is that the first and most important treatment/prevention is to clear the path.
As Fox and Fletcher wrote in the British Dental Journal, “ Late detection of palatal canines may have treatment implications for the patient and medico-legal implications for the dental practitioner.”
While it is rewarding to be thought of as the hero who helps a child have the most beautiful smile, it is no fun to be implicated in the parents’ and patient’s thoughts as someone who at worst, “harmed or worsened the smile,” and at best, “didn’t make it better, after all that ‘time and money.’"
While the scholarly articles about this topic are many, and great academics like Ericson and Kurol have written excellently, the bottom line is that the first and most important treatment/prevention is to clear the path.
As Fox and Fletcher wrote in the British Dental Journal, “ Late detection of palatal canines may have treatment implications for the patient and medico-legal implications for the dental practitioner.”
While it is rewarding to be thought of as the hero who helps a child have the most beautiful smile, it is no fun to be implicated in the parents’ and patient’s thoughts as someone who at worst, “harmed or worsened the smile,” and at best, “didn’t make it better, after all that ‘time and money.’"
Neither is it fun for the parent and patient to be unhappy with their smile, first and foremost, after orthodontic treatment, and neither is it fun for the parent and patient to be unhappy with the provider of orthodontic care.
Neither is it fun for the orthodontist to have a treatment plan extended by sometimes - yes - 2-3 years, working to aide eruption of the tooth/teeth, soothe the patient and parent as well as him/herself because everyone wants it to go quicker and easier.
Like all of your skills, surely you can learn to utilize, competently choose, plan and intermingle techniques necessary, including exposure, surgical attachment, orthodontic mechanics of wires, chain, forces, biomechanics including anchorage with TAD’s, appliances.
And, there will be patients who no one saw early enough to clear the path before the trajectory of the ectopic tooth/teeth was set and difficult.
And, there will be patients who BEFORE you even considered how to guide eruption and orthodontically reposition for that patient, there was damage to adjacent tooth roots, occurring as nature’s adverse trajectory triggered the resorption of other permanent tooth roots. And patients whose adverse position is such that the tooth cannot/should not be erupted due to risks.
As Jon Kurol states, “The correct development of a stable, functional, and aesthetically acceptable occlusion is an integral component of comprehensive oral health care for all paediatric dental patients.
It is the responsibility of the dentist to recognize, diagnose, and manage or refer abnormalities in the developing dentition.”
So what to do?
Prevent as often and as much as possible. Engage nature and natural eruption. Clear the path as early as is feasible and appropriate. Consider expansion if maxillary teeth are involved.
How to identify and diagnose aberrant eruption tracectories, ectopic teeth? Take a panoramic x-ray. Routine pano should be taken when any permanent tooth is erupting into the mouth. That is the time to initially identify possible aberrancies.
Neither is it fun for the orthodontist to have a treatment plan extended by sometimes - yes - 2-3 years, working to aide eruption of the tooth/teeth, soothe the patient and parent as well as him/herself because everyone wants it to go quicker and easier.
Like all of your skills, surely you can learn to utilize, competently choose, plan and intermingle techniques necessary, including exposure, surgical attachment, orthodontic mechanics of wires, chain, forces, biomechanics including anchorage with TAD’s, appliances.
And, there will be patients who no one saw early enough to clear the path before the trajectory of the ectopic tooth/teeth was set and difficult.
And, there will be patients who BEFORE you even considered how to guide eruption and orthodontically reposition for that patient, there was damage to adjacent tooth roots, occurring as nature’s adverse trajectory triggered the resorption of other permanent tooth roots. And patients whose adverse position is such that the tooth cannot/should not be erupted due to risks.
As Jon Kurol states, “The correct development of a stable, functional, and aesthetically acceptable occlusion is an integral component of comprehensive oral health care for all paediatric dental patients.
It is the responsibility of the dentist to recognize, diagnose, and manage or refer abnormalities in the developing dentition.”
So what to do?
Prevent as often and as much as possible. Engage nature and natural eruption. Clear the path as early as is feasible and appropriate. Consider expansion if maxillary teeth are involved.
How to identify and diagnose aberrant eruption tracectories, ectopic teeth? Take a panoramic x-ray. Routine pano should be taken when any permanent tooth is erupting into the mouth. That is the time to initially identify possible aberrancies.
Dental panoramic tomograms/ radiographs are widely taken in practice, but not often enough when permanent teeth are just beginning to erupt.
Look at the radiograph. Identify each and every permanent tooth’s presence and trajectory. Diagnose aberrancies. Inform the parent. Plan to manage or refer. Every single time.
Management at early transitional dentition may include: clearing the path, expansion, monitoring with progress films. Just don’t ignore the aberrancy! Instead, change a life!
Look at the radiograph. Identify each and every permanent tooth’s presence and trajectory. Diagnose aberrancies. Inform the parent. Plan to manage or refer. Every single time.
Management at early transitional dentition may include: clearing the path, expansion, monitoring with progress films. Just don’t ignore the aberrancy! Instead, change a life!
- Published on
Difficulties are in the seeing - or not seeing. Perhaps we should say in the not recognizing what is trueabout life.
Think about how frequently you tell yourself, or feel, “I can’t”, vs. how often you think, “I can do this, even though it’s hard.”
You can if you think you can.
And you must if you want change.
Remember that saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.” You can change what you are doing.
Let the connections to why you “can’t” go. Let the too’s go - too old, too young, too poor, too uneducated, too inexperienced.
You are perfectly imperfect, and perfectly capable of changing, one tiny step at a time.
The difficulties will become smaller. You will become bigger. You can. You will.
Start meditating every day. Start saying three gratitudes every morning before you get out of bed. Start eating more vegetables. Start reading a few great pages every day. Start talking to people who motivate you. Start loving people like crazy.
Go out there and start. Life is too good to wait. It’s wonderful to start. It’s wonderful to succeed.
You can.
Love,
Think about how frequently you tell yourself, or feel, “I can’t”, vs. how often you think, “I can do this, even though it’s hard.”
You can if you think you can.
And you must if you want change.
Remember that saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.” You can change what you are doing.
Let the connections to why you “can’t” go. Let the too’s go - too old, too young, too poor, too uneducated, too inexperienced.
You are perfectly imperfect, and perfectly capable of changing, one tiny step at a time.
The difficulties will become smaller. You will become bigger. You can. You will.
Start meditating every day. Start saying three gratitudes every morning before you get out of bed. Start eating more vegetables. Start reading a few great pages every day. Start talking to people who motivate you. Start loving people like crazy.
Go out there and start. Life is too good to wait. It’s wonderful to start. It’s wonderful to succeed.
You can.
Love,
- Published on
© 2018 Dr Chris Baker
LEFT: Patient "Miss A" (see below for case explanation), displaying a right lateral openbite and forward tongue. © 2018 Dr Chris Baker
Funny how we call detailing the tooth alignment and the bite, “finishing”. Funny because it all starts from diagnosis. Actually it starts at the initial examination. What we do at the beginning makes our finishing time longer or shorter.
Here are three examples of finishing challenges that can become overwhelming, and how you can know of the facts, and handle the challenges better, from the start:
Facts and challenges like:
Patient Miss A may need lengthy and difficult anterior bite closure - how do you know?.
- ENT referral and treatments
- Tongue exercises that you prescribe
- Sublingual frenectomy
- Habit treatment
- Bite turbos, posterior biteplate, or other posterior intrusion therapies
- UAW or other molar positioning and incisor extrusion where appropriate
- TAD anchorage with posterior intrusion
- Lower full coverage splint following ortho treatment
And look at the concern typed onto the treatment plan for this patient, just above the signature line for the parent/patient:
Concern – Airway issues, habits and adverse tongue positions all contribute to adverse growth and continued adverse forces on teeth, with or without orthodontic treatment. Adam’s growth is vertical, which is made worse by mouth-breathing and low tongue position.
This may predispose him to an openbite. All treatment will be directed to improving these adversities, but longterm stability is lessened and risk of relapse is greater, depending on the success of the airway treatment, tongue position improvement and habit cessation.
OR
Vertical growth patterns are difficult to correct, and when corrected, often relapse, with a return of the open bite (space between upper and lower incisors, when the patient is biting on the posterior teeth.)
Even in the best-case scenario, openbites may relapse. Beginning treatment as soon as is feasible may help in longer-term stability. Compliance with elastic wear, if indicated, is important. All treatment is directed to improving the openbite pattern with as much stability as possible.
Annie’s tongue position is low and forward, and probably is contributing to the spacing of her teeth. Tongue training may be helpful, including CM circle and ball on retainers, and wear of her retainers as directed, will be critical, because the teeth often exhibit connective tissue memory/relapse without excellent retainer wear, due to the tendency of the tongue to remain forward and low throughout life.
Patient Mr. B may have later excessive mandibular growth, “outgrowing” your orthodontic treatment that attained a beautiful Class I, and the patient ends up Class III with open bite tendency. How do you know?
A patient and his mother presented for a recall orthodontic evaluation, and the mom said her dentist had asked her why we took the braces off, when he had 0 overbite and 0 overjet. A review of his final photographs at orthodontic completion showed a Class I occlusion with 3 mm overbite and 3 mm overjet. Indeed that was not the case any longer.
His treatment plan had listed the concern of possible excessive mandibular growth. He had a chin sling for nighttime wear prescribed for wear with his retainers, which had not been worn. Don’t we dislike these concerns expressing themselves in reality?
But - we don’t make the growth, and we are pleased to stress the concern at the diagnostic and retainer delivery stage. The patient compliance may not work to advantage. We hate that, of course.
Treatment during or throughout the original active phase, not just during what we call finishing may include:
- Class III Correctors - Motion or D2 appliances
- Chin Sling or Facemask wear
- Posterior intrusion therapies
Communication of growth progress to the parent is critical, throughout treatment. Keep them in the reality loop!
Patient Miss C may have difficulty attaining and maintaining adequate canine and/or posterior overbite. How do you know?
- Tongue exercises
- Blue Grass or other beads in palate
- Castillo-Morales circle in palate
- Crib on appliances
- Expansion therapy
We could similarly lay out the signs of future TMJD, of lack of eruption of an ectopic tooth, adding 2-3 years to a treatment time, of the complete dependence on the patient’s compliance if the occlusion is to be corrected, and on and on…
So, before you even consider putting appliances into a patient’s mouth, consider the findings - all of them. Do excellent diagnostics. Get all the information - about medical, airway and breathing, dental, skeletal, growth and finally dental findings. THEN put it together in a comprehensive treatment plan that you can share with the parent /patient, giving them the information they need to make good informed decisions about the treatment.
Then, pay the closest attention to your bracket placement. Bracket placement, though impossible to do perfectly, can make huge differences in finishing needs.
Keep everyone — parents, patient, your chart — in the loop. Be honest and open with the progress, OR LACK THEREOF. This will help you throughout the treatment. Your finishing will be more predictable, and could be a lot less surprising, a lot less difficult, and a lot less stressful for all.
- Identifying the existing risks, discrepancies, malpositions, and adverse trajectories of erupting or unerupted teeth begins your finishing.
- Making them part of your written treatment plan information for the parent/patient puts you all on the same page, reducing surprises and disappointments later.
- When you work these out, discover, document, and add the concerns to the treatment plan, and review with the parents/patient BEFORE you start, you will feel better, they will feel better, and even though the challenges are there for all of you, there is a better chance of working together with the realities.
Here are three examples of finishing challenges that can become overwhelming, and how you can know of the facts, and handle the challenges better, from the start:
Facts and challenges like:
Patient Miss A may need lengthy and difficult anterior bite closure - how do you know?.
- Signs and symptoms of airway and breathing limitations (bedwetting, ADD/ADHD, mouthbreathing, snoring, bruxism/grinding, enlarged tonsils, enlarged adenoids, dense turbinates and more).
- Vertical or dolichofacial growth and muscle patterns
- Forward and low tongue position, tongue habits, forward tongue swallow, difficulty with sibilant sounds and even generalized spacing between teeth
- Short sub-lingual frenum, which makes the tongue stay low and forward
- History of or current finger, thumb or pacifier habit
- Deficient overbite
- Protrusive incisors
- ENT referral and treatments
- Tongue exercises that you prescribe
- Sublingual frenectomy
- Habit treatment
- Bite turbos, posterior biteplate, or other posterior intrusion therapies
- UAW or other molar positioning and incisor extrusion where appropriate
- TAD anchorage with posterior intrusion
- Lower full coverage splint following ortho treatment
And look at the concern typed onto the treatment plan for this patient, just above the signature line for the parent/patient:
Concern – Airway issues, habits and adverse tongue positions all contribute to adverse growth and continued adverse forces on teeth, with or without orthodontic treatment. Adam’s growth is vertical, which is made worse by mouth-breathing and low tongue position.
This may predispose him to an openbite. All treatment will be directed to improving these adversities, but longterm stability is lessened and risk of relapse is greater, depending on the success of the airway treatment, tongue position improvement and habit cessation.
OR
Vertical growth patterns are difficult to correct, and when corrected, often relapse, with a return of the open bite (space between upper and lower incisors, when the patient is biting on the posterior teeth.)
Even in the best-case scenario, openbites may relapse. Beginning treatment as soon as is feasible may help in longer-term stability. Compliance with elastic wear, if indicated, is important. All treatment is directed to improving the openbite pattern with as much stability as possible.
Annie’s tongue position is low and forward, and probably is contributing to the spacing of her teeth. Tongue training may be helpful, including CM circle and ball on retainers, and wear of her retainers as directed, will be critical, because the teeth often exhibit connective tissue memory/relapse without excellent retainer wear, due to the tendency of the tongue to remain forward and low throughout life.
Patient Mr. B may have later excessive mandibular growth, “outgrowing” your orthodontic treatment that attained a beautiful Class I, and the patient ends up Class III with open bite tendency. How do you know?
- The patient has more than 4 total clinical deviations from the norm toward Class III, between Porion Location, Ramus-Xi position, Cranial Deflection and Molar Position.
- The patient presents with Angle Class I occlusion or Super Class I occlusion
- The patient has a brachyfacial growth and muscle pattern.
- The patient is skeletal Class III.
A patient and his mother presented for a recall orthodontic evaluation, and the mom said her dentist had asked her why we took the braces off, when he had 0 overbite and 0 overjet. A review of his final photographs at orthodontic completion showed a Class I occlusion with 3 mm overbite and 3 mm overjet. Indeed that was not the case any longer.
His treatment plan had listed the concern of possible excessive mandibular growth. He had a chin sling for nighttime wear prescribed for wear with his retainers, which had not been worn. Don’t we dislike these concerns expressing themselves in reality?
But - we don’t make the growth, and we are pleased to stress the concern at the diagnostic and retainer delivery stage. The patient compliance may not work to advantage. We hate that, of course.
Treatment during or throughout the original active phase, not just during what we call finishing may include:
- Class III Correctors - Motion or D2 appliances
- Chin Sling or Facemask wear
- Posterior intrusion therapies
Communication of growth progress to the parent is critical, throughout treatment. Keep them in the reality loop!
Patient Miss C may have difficulty attaining and maintaining adequate canine and/or posterior overbite. How do you know?
- Low and adverse tongue position
- Narrow palate, result of low tongue and cheek muscles strong without tongue balance
- possibly Class III tendency
- Tongue exercises
- Blue Grass or other beads in palate
- Castillo-Morales circle in palate
- Crib on appliances
- Expansion therapy
We could similarly lay out the signs of future TMJD, of lack of eruption of an ectopic tooth, adding 2-3 years to a treatment time, of the complete dependence on the patient’s compliance if the occlusion is to be corrected, and on and on…
So, before you even consider putting appliances into a patient’s mouth, consider the findings - all of them. Do excellent diagnostics. Get all the information - about medical, airway and breathing, dental, skeletal, growth and finally dental findings. THEN put it together in a comprehensive treatment plan that you can share with the parent /patient, giving them the information they need to make good informed decisions about the treatment.
Then, pay the closest attention to your bracket placement. Bracket placement, though impossible to do perfectly, can make huge differences in finishing needs.
Keep everyone — parents, patient, your chart — in the loop. Be honest and open with the progress, OR LACK THEREOF. This will help you throughout the treatment. Your finishing will be more predictable, and could be a lot less surprising, a lot less difficult, and a lot less stressful for all.
Patient "Mr B" (case discussion above), displaying zero overbite, zero overjet and excessive mandibular growth. © 2018 Dr Chris Baker
Patient "Miss C" (see above for case discussion) displaying an adverse tongue position. © 2018 Dr Chris Baker
- Published on
1. We want to be able to trust people. Put another way, we want people to make guarantees to us. — Instead, we can work on keeping our promises to ourselves
2. We want love and acceptance from others, so we feel valued and validated. Instead, practicing compassion / love for others makes us feel truly important - because then we are.
3. We want to have the best of everything. But - the happiest people don’t have the best of everything - they make the best of everything.
4. We want to be happy. But - we too often complain, judge others and wish it were different. We call it “being realistic.” Instead, just stop it and be happy.
Here’s a funny take on negativity from Bob Newhart. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/4BjKS1-vjPs
Claude and I send love,
2. We want love and acceptance from others, so we feel valued and validated. Instead, practicing compassion / love for others makes us feel truly important - because then we are.
3. We want to have the best of everything. But - the happiest people don’t have the best of everything - they make the best of everything.
4. We want to be happy. But - we too often complain, judge others and wish it were different. We call it “being realistic.” Instead, just stop it and be happy.
Here’s a funny take on negativity from Bob Newhart. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/4BjKS1-vjPs
Claude and I send love,
- Published on
In the day to day push, pull,, challenges, service to many people, it’s easy to feel an overwhelming feeling of “just trying to survive.”
The day to day routines, the business drag, the difficult patient, unhappy staff members, worries over money - all are tough to survive.
What if your practice went from survival mode to WOW?
WOW! that patients come in and go out raving about being in your practice. WOW that you have new patients referred by happy patients. WOW that you and the team are having great fun in serving wonderful people. WOW. Just WOW.
How in the world do you get there??
A few steps to help:
First off, evaluate what you are trying to survive. In dental practice it is often stressful practice days, worries about money, staff issues.
Once you identify the difficulties, understand a mindset of peace and acceptance will help you get past and get to WOW! Honestly, you may be battling yourself. Worries are your own battle. Your disappointments are another battle. All the negative thoughts keep swirling around in your head, and multiply your worry thoughts. It gets harder, not better.
“Life is too short to spend at war with yourself. The biggest disappointments in our lives are often the result of misplaced expectations. Letting go of needless expectations is your first step to happiness. Come from a mindset of peace and acceptance, and you can deal with almost anything and grow beyond it." ~ marc and angel
What works for you? Meditation? Walking in the woods? Anything that brings you peace is good. There is a new product which changes your neural activity. It's called Touchpoints. Go to thetouchpointsolution.com.
Touchpoints are tremendously helpful to a lot of people. Touchpoints are used for autistic people, and it was discovered that they relieve stress by over 70% in people (both autistic and non-autistic) in as few as 30 seconds. The neuroscience department at Harvard has looked at how they create and change your neural pathways to, neutral to positive. How about that when you are feeling stressed out and negative??!!
Feel free to email me for more information - I am not affiliated in any way with the company; Claude and I just find them amazing - for stress, for sleep, for calm. You’ve got to try various settings to get the one that works best for you. Worth it!!
Secondly, understand that life IS difficulties and problems. They are part of this thing we call life, which is a school for our spirits to learn and grow.
Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don't measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know; also, the most rare. ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
Now, you smart you, you can start reminding yourself how smart you really, are. Happiness, as Walt Whitman said, “not in another place but this place ...not for another hour, but this hour.” This can be your purview.
I once heard someone say, when we think we are having no challenges at all, we might want to ask, “God, don’t you trust me? I love this life. Keep it coming!”
That’s life, as Frank Sinatra sang. And it’s a good ‘un!
Oh yes, we’re going for WOW. OK how about,
Thirdly,
Focus on gratitude.
Think about your patients who love you - and there are those - YOU KNOW IT!.
Grateful that you and the team can have fun and find joy in serving wonderful people.
Grateful that you have a team.
One person can wow, but to wow continuously and consistently - get the entire team onboard.
We take turns in the morning saying the word of the day. Each team member gets a turn. It’s usually a saying, or a word.
Some days since we’ve been working on WOW, the word has been - WOW!
1,2,3: Know what the stresses are - and change the thoughts to what the joy is!
Two, accept the crazy reality that life is challenge, will always be and is supposed to be. See it as opportunity, fun, sure, challenge, but there’s good. Find it. Find the peace in your life.
And three, remember to find what you are grateful for. Thank you for all that I HAVE had, all that i NOW have, and all that I SHALL have. Thank you thank you.
WOW. Just WOW.
The day to day routines, the business drag, the difficult patient, unhappy staff members, worries over money - all are tough to survive.
What if your practice went from survival mode to WOW?
WOW! that patients come in and go out raving about being in your practice. WOW that you have new patients referred by happy patients. WOW that you and the team are having great fun in serving wonderful people. WOW. Just WOW.
How in the world do you get there??
A few steps to help:
First off, evaluate what you are trying to survive. In dental practice it is often stressful practice days, worries about money, staff issues.
Once you identify the difficulties, understand a mindset of peace and acceptance will help you get past and get to WOW! Honestly, you may be battling yourself. Worries are your own battle. Your disappointments are another battle. All the negative thoughts keep swirling around in your head, and multiply your worry thoughts. It gets harder, not better.
“Life is too short to spend at war with yourself. The biggest disappointments in our lives are often the result of misplaced expectations. Letting go of needless expectations is your first step to happiness. Come from a mindset of peace and acceptance, and you can deal with almost anything and grow beyond it." ~ marc and angel
What works for you? Meditation? Walking in the woods? Anything that brings you peace is good. There is a new product which changes your neural activity. It's called Touchpoints. Go to thetouchpointsolution.com.
Touchpoints are tremendously helpful to a lot of people. Touchpoints are used for autistic people, and it was discovered that they relieve stress by over 70% in people (both autistic and non-autistic) in as few as 30 seconds. The neuroscience department at Harvard has looked at how they create and change your neural pathways to, neutral to positive. How about that when you are feeling stressed out and negative??!!
Feel free to email me for more information - I am not affiliated in any way with the company; Claude and I just find them amazing - for stress, for sleep, for calm. You’ve got to try various settings to get the one that works best for you. Worth it!!
Secondly, understand that life IS difficulties and problems. They are part of this thing we call life, which is a school for our spirits to learn and grow.
Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don't measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know; also, the most rare. ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
Now, you smart you, you can start reminding yourself how smart you really, are. Happiness, as Walt Whitman said, “not in another place but this place ...not for another hour, but this hour.” This can be your purview.
I once heard someone say, when we think we are having no challenges at all, we might want to ask, “God, don’t you trust me? I love this life. Keep it coming!”
That’s life, as Frank Sinatra sang. And it’s a good ‘un!
Oh yes, we’re going for WOW. OK how about,
Thirdly,
Focus on gratitude.
Think about your patients who love you - and there are those - YOU KNOW IT!.
Grateful that you and the team can have fun and find joy in serving wonderful people.
Grateful that you have a team.
One person can wow, but to wow continuously and consistently - get the entire team onboard.
We take turns in the morning saying the word of the day. Each team member gets a turn. It’s usually a saying, or a word.
Some days since we’ve been working on WOW, the word has been - WOW!
1,2,3: Know what the stresses are - and change the thoughts to what the joy is!
Two, accept the crazy reality that life is challenge, will always be and is supposed to be. See it as opportunity, fun, sure, challenge, but there’s good. Find it. Find the peace in your life.
And three, remember to find what you are grateful for. Thank you for all that I HAVE had, all that i NOW have, and all that I SHALL have. Thank you thank you.
WOW. Just WOW.
- Published on
My mother and I were listening to songs on the radio while she ironed clothes and I folded. I was 11 years old.
I asked Mother, “Why are all the songs about love?”
Mother said, “Love is what makes our lives wonderful.”
Our deepest needs hinge on being loved.
All warm-blooded animals are born with an innate need to be touched and stroked affectionately. Human babies actually die from lack of touch. Love is life.
In the nineteenth century, most institutionalized infants in the U.S. died of marasmus (severe malnutrition and wasting away, as if they knew no one loved them).
Orphanages reported a majority of infants under the age of two had died due to failure to eat and thrive, related to the lack of touch and affection.
Affection and touch not only help babies thrive and live, but help develop lower levels of adult aggression and higher levels of adult happiness.
Love is what makes our lives wonderful.
This week, see how many people you can tell, “I love you.”
Give hugs. Share smiles. Share songs about love.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day - a great celebration of love.
Love,
I asked Mother, “Why are all the songs about love?”
Mother said, “Love is what makes our lives wonderful.”
Our deepest needs hinge on being loved.
All warm-blooded animals are born with an innate need to be touched and stroked affectionately. Human babies actually die from lack of touch. Love is life.
In the nineteenth century, most institutionalized infants in the U.S. died of marasmus (severe malnutrition and wasting away, as if they knew no one loved them).
Orphanages reported a majority of infants under the age of two had died due to failure to eat and thrive, related to the lack of touch and affection.
Affection and touch not only help babies thrive and live, but help develop lower levels of adult aggression and higher levels of adult happiness.
Love is what makes our lives wonderful.
This week, see how many people you can tell, “I love you.”
Give hugs. Share smiles. Share songs about love.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day - a great celebration of love.
Love,
- Published on
Creating "Wow" can be a big reason for your dental practice's success. Here's a video of a talk I gave this week during a meeting with staff and doctors at the Advanced American Dental Clinic in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
