When working with participants at The Pankey Institute, I help them analyze dental cases to assess the risk for joint and muscle problems. I often hear, “The patient is not reporting any pain.” Yet, the dental records indicate the patient is at high risk of experiencing pain.

I have discovered a question to ask my patients that reveals their personal pain tolerance. “When you have a headache or muscle pain, at what level of pain do you take an Advil?” Some patients say at level 1 or 2. Others say not until it is a 12. Patients are all up and down the scale.

This one question leads to the patient’s self-discovery about how they perceive pain and potentially tolerate abnormal pain when they are “diseased.” Further conversation helps the patient understand symptoms they have been dismissing indicate abnormalities that can be “treated” for a healthier, longer-lasting dentition and more comfortable life.

And this brings me back to how we diagnose and plan treatment in general. Sometimes the questions we ask our dental patients aren’t structured to get us the information we are hoping for. If we gather inaccurate impressions from their responses to our questions, we go down the wrong path clinically. Asking more powerful, well-crafted questions allows us to better know the patient and get more complete information to better understand their situation.

The original owner of our practice recently retired.

Although he had been planning on retiring and a new associate had been identified by both of us months in advance, this transition was very profound and stressful for the entire team. So, with a long term game plan in place, we began the transition between associates. It became evident that each individual within the practice was struggling with this change in their own unique way. Supporting others through change became my part-time passion.

While some team members were engaged in the process, no one was fully comfortable with the transition to this unknown “new practice.”

We had 1.5 years of an office atmosphere that was taking us to this destination with new team members that we did not fully know. We were wondering if it was going to be an office environment with which each person would want to identify. Thankfully, one of the values that binds us—education, came into play in a positive fashion.

In recent years, our team has attended continuing education together, locally.

However, it has been a long-time goal of mine to travel greater distances with the team. Coincidentally, The Pankey Institute unveiled the first Pankey Learning Group for hygienists. The effect that this had on my practice has been amazing thus far.

Although I offered the opportunity to the entire hygiene department, only one hygienist chose to attend.

She attends this learning group, and it has been meaningful to her personally and professionally. She has become highly engaged with her patients, and while leadership and gratitude had not been her most prominent attributes in the past, they certainly are now.

Upon her return, she begins to pull the rest of the team enthusiastically through this transition that embraces a new associate and has us enthusiastically embracing our new unknown. This one hygienist has been embedded in my leadership for twelve years, and now it turns out she has always been absorbing my vision and philosophy. She just needed a little bit of investment from me to become a leader within the team.

The value of having a team member learn, from the colleagues who have helped frame my personal and professional growth, has been priceless.

With more education planned for each of my team members at The Pankey Institute, I am thinking this will be the foundation for a cohesive group of similarly minded professionals working together to provide the best comprehensive dental care for our community.

As I lay here and reflect on the last 30 years of my life, I cannot help but wonder and imagine what my life would be like had I not been given the gift of being a part of The Pankey Institute. Today marks my 30 year anniversary of walking through the doors of what was then called The L.D. Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education. I was seven weeks shy of my 27th birthday, and I had nothing but a lot of debt and dreams of doing great dentistry.

Back Then and Now

I am no different than many, if not most, of the students of today, who are saddled with what seems to be an insurmountable amount of debt. At the time, we were charging about $300 for a crown and paying a $70-$90 lab fee, a percentage of over 20%. I never even considered that percentage high, because I was just happy to be taking care of people.

Many people say, “It was different back then,” but was it? People were waking up with mouth or jaw pain. They were seeking an individual that could take care of their needs. Some wanted to feel better. Some wanted to look better. Some were willing to lose teeth. Some wanted to keep teeth. It is the same now as it was then, and it will continue to be this way for decades to come.

The fact that people will need or want to be taken care of will never change. The fact that some will have money to pay for your services and some won’t will never change. The question is “What type of dentist will you want to be?”

The Road Less Travelled

Thirty years ago, I wanted to be the best. Having been given the book The Philosophy of The Practice of Dentistry by L. D. Pankey, in dental school, I felt this was the way to care for patients that needed us. You see, it is all about the choices we make. I wasn’t going to be guaranteed a salary by a corporation, but I was going to have the opportunity to keep a portion of all I earned. It was up to me to make the decision about how I wanted to care for people, and this philosophy became my driving force.

The office I was in and peers in my area at the time did not seem to have the desire to take this path, as no one else had been to The Institute. I guess you could say I took “the road less traveled.”

The choice of committing to this philosophy has impacted my life beyond measure. For 30 years I have been able to learn from some of the greatest educators this profession has to offer, who have given their time, treasure, and talents to the 30,000 students who either have flown or driven to the beautiful island of Key Biscayne, Florida. I have established lifelong friendships with individuals from all over the world, who had and still have aspirations and dreams just like me. I have made mistakes, and I have done great things. All along the way, I had a group of individuals I could count on to get me through the ups and downs of the practice of dentistry, as well as life itself.

The Pankey Institute Community Is There for You

As you finish reading this, whether you are 26 or 56, realize there are people willing to help you get to where you want to be. I am glad it was The Pankey Institute for me. The Institute has now been here for over 50 years, and I feel immensely grateful for the 30 years that have been mine.

I want to thank all of those individuals who have given me so unselfishly their gift of priceless knowledge. And, if you have just begun your journey with The Pankey Institute or thinking you might like to, let me assure you that The Pankey Institute community is there for you.

Enabling Your Team to Bring Their Best to Collaborative Problem Solving

One day, several years ago, our dental practice was facing an imminent snowstorm. We could see that the storm would play havoc with our professional and personal schedules. Decisions had to be made about our response. Should our plan be the same as the last time the office had been closed by weather? People were beginning to get nervous about how this was going to play out. A clear decision and well thought out plan were called for, but there was no one right answer. We needed to quickly make a collaborative plan (an agreement) to distribute power and communicate with our patients.

Planning for Contingencies

As in the case of the imminent snowstorm, I believe there are frequently practice decisions to be made for which there is no one right answer – no one strict plan that we can establish ahead of time and not expect to modify. Many variables need to be considered each time as the circumstances of owners, team members and patients change.

Collaborative planning takes “high engagement,” insight and practice. If you have preplanned team agreement on how to handle special events, you are ahead of the curve, but you will find it helpful to visit these agreements periodically, and you can anticipate you may need to collaborate “on your feet” when contingencies arise.

Role-Playing

Last year, at “Inspired Team Facilitation” with Joan Unterschuetz, we did role-playing that helped the team develop a collaborative plan for which every member of the team had buy-in and agreement. Role-playing has helped our team huddle in an emergency to clarify what needs to be done, who can best take the lead on each task, and acknowledge the compelling reasons why we are doing this as a team. It also has been helpful to prepare each department leader to motivate team members who will help them make sure we effectively communicate with patients, assure patients, and shut down if we need to do this swiftly; then in reverse, open up the practice and zero in on what needs to be done to open the schedule and reschedule patients as priority dictates.

Agreeing to Agree

From the earliest time possible, work on building a culture of agreement around:

• Team meetings with high-engagement of all stakeholders
• Understanding problems to be solved and why they must be solved
• Respecting all team members who would be affected by giving them a voice in the planning
• Understanding that department team leaders will be accountable for execution
• Coming to joint agreement and celebrating that fact at the time the agreement is made

The goal of these “coming to agreement” exercises (even about the small stuff) is to set a standard of collaboration that is in alignment with your practice philosophy. When an emergency arises, the team knows from experience that they can quickly collaborate and come to agreement on a plan of action…even when there is no one right answer and you need to kick start action immediately. If your collaborative meeting goes off track, the dentist as practice leader needs to remind everyone of the compelling reasons why they need to come to agreement now.

Can’t Involve Everyone?

Sometimes involving everyone is not possible in a crisis, but the goal is still the same. The goal is to be on the same page and united in decisions. All team members need to be informed of decisions, so if you and your department leads need to quickly create an agreement, the leaders will report back to other team members for implementation and keep them in the loop. Keeping everyone in the loop honors them and combats the human response of making false assumptions and experiencing energy-consuming emotions. In a culture of agreement, there is less opportunity for negative energy to accumulate—less “drama.”

On day one of the 2019 Annual Pankey Meeting, Dr. Gary Severance and Angela Severance will explore how digital technology continues to expand the opportunities dental professionals have to know their work and to provide better dentistry and ultimately better care.  Preliminary to this presentation, we share this quote with you.

“Be not the first to try the new or the last to leave the old aside.”

This is a statement from Dr. L.D. Pankey in his 1985 interview with the International College of Dentists. As a well-read and literary man, Dr. Pankey was familiar with Alexander Pope, an 18th-century English poet who is best known for his satirical verse and translation of Homer. Because Pope is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (after Shakespeare), it is highly likely Dr. Pankey was inspired by the following famous couplet from Pope’s Essay on Criticism.

Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.

We offer this conjecture, because Pope’s couplet is often used across the professions in the context of evaluating and adapting to technological change.

Pushing Forward Mindfully

Dr. Pankey was on the forefront of the technological and methodological changes that rapidly occurred in dentistry during the 1950s and onward. He was internally driven to be and do his best for his patients and profession. He urged dentists to “know your work” to provide better dentistry and ultimately better care.

Digital technology in dentistry has advanced to address special needs, just as Dr. Pankey advanced in his systems of thought and practice to address special needs. He did this mindfully.

His genius, in concert with those of Dr. Arvin Mann and Dr. Clyde Schuyler, had produced the “P.M.S. Technic.” They had selected the best of the procedures that had been developed by outstanding practitioners in their special fields and assembled them into a system that functioned well for addressing full mouth rehabilitation. They applied their intelligence to “try” new techniques and new materials. They gained knowledge through carefully doing their best for patient, after patient. They then stepped out to share what worked successfully for them. Along the way, Dr. Pankey was mindfully developing his philosophy of practice. He intentionally set out to learn from many great minds, and the composite of principles he lived by and generously shared through his lectures, publications, and ceaseless conversations with other dentists have rippled into our lives today.

Learn, Converse, Lead with Confidence

As a community, you can share your knowledge, immerse in conversation, and lead with confidence. The L.D. Pankey Institute from its beginning was a radical departure from dental school settings of the day. The Institute pioneered a training clinic with overhead cameras and closed-circuit TV, anatomical simulators (which had heretofore only been developed for training in medical schools), and it’s characteristic “hands on” learning process. The Institute’s founding leaders conceived of novel ways to fulfill their goals. But—building the unique learning environment and learning process involved tens of thousands of hours of research, thought, and conversation. A group of “top” minds in dentistry worked together to close the gap between what was known (the science) and what was practiced.  Adaptation to emerging digital technology is no different.

The Pankey Institute’s 50th Anniversary celebrates the thousands of dentists who have learned and advanced their practice of dentistry through relationship-driven education principles pioneered by Dr. L. D. Pankey. We’re kicking off a year long celebration to honor half a century of transformative professional growth. 

Here’s how you can get in on the fun:

50 Years of Dental Continuing Education Excellence

The Pankey Institute was opened in honor of Dr. L.D. Pankey, a dental visionary who supported patient care designed to ensure oral health longevity while inspiring dentists to greater career satisfaction. Throughout 2019, we will celebrate the organization’s history, as well as its impact on dental professional across the US and internationally.

The celebration will culminate in the Pankey Annual Meeting, which will be held on September 13-14 at the Ritz Carlton, Key Biscayne.  Our theme is “The Future Starts Now, and are hosting some of dentistry’s top speakers. During the event plan to join us for the Triple Plus Club dinner, do yoga with Sheri Kay, get out and stretch your legs for the Fun Run/Walk and tour the newly renovated Institute at 1 Crandon Blvd. 

Dr. Pankey’s philosophy has changed the lives of over 25,000 dentists since the Institute was founded 50 years ago. Celebrating this legacy is about every one of the clinicians in our community and all that they themselves have done to transform their practice of dentistry for the benefit of patients.

We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as we make 2019 a year to never forget! Thank you for all your support of the Pankey family. Learn more about our upcoming programs here and read more about the Pankey experience here!

For anyone who has attended Pankey, there is a magic that happens as your cross the Rickenbacker Causeway.  Whether it is the magic of Biscayne Bay, the beauty of the Miami skyline against the water, or the knowledge that you are about to be at Pankey it is something all of us experience. We are asked all the time what makes Pankey special. That is a very challenging question to answer. We provide top tier clinical education. Pankey courses also include financial and practice management sections, as well as time to explore what you need Dentistry to look like. Yet, it is more then that. Pankey is about re-engaging and re-energizing personally and professionally. There is a magic of leaving your everyday environment, immersing yourself in the best dentistry has to offer and sharing that experience with others from around the world. Most Pankey alumni share that their best friends are people they met at a Pankey course.

For two decades our building at One Crandon Boulevard has been the center of the Pankey experience. A year ago we took on renovating the Institute with the goal to modernize, create a state of the art learning facility that supports both education and the community and relationships that are the center of who we are. We are excited to announce the completion of the renovation and share with you images of the new spaces.  The renovation created 3 new learning spaces on the third floor: Becker Hall, The Third Floor Teaching Lab and out new teaching Clinic. The second floor of the building now features 22 individual suites with private bathrooms and a common area including kitchen and living space for evening sessions.

Many of you had the opportunity to share in our growing pains as you attended programs this last year, and you will be greatly rewarded when you are back as you enjoy the incredible new spaces. I’d encourage all of you to make plans to visit Pankey this year, we look forward to welcoming you to the newly renovated Pankey Institute!

There is always room for improvement in the dental practice, but it can be challenging to know where to start. One of the best places to change things up is with CE on topics you may have never learned before. Another option is to delve into new adjunctive services or work toward providing more comprehensive care.

Adding and Marketing Adjunctive Treatments

For example, how strong is your whitening protocol or treatment options? Bleaching is incredibly popular, but just because you offer it doesn’t mean patients know or understand what is available to them. It’s a good idea to find creative ways of adding or marketing at-home tray bleaching alongside other more complex or involved services.

Another adjunctive treatment that can be a great boost in the practice is Invisalign. It’s a fabulous way to improve the outcome of many comprehensive treatment plans by optimizing tooth position. It also has some serious brand name cachet.

Invisalign can make your treatment plans more conservative because it can lead to requiring less restorative work. Additionally, patients who wouldn’t be willing to try traditional orthodontia will likely be far more interested in the clear Invisalign trays. Invisalign can be a new stream of revenue for the practice. That along with bleaching will noticeably increase profitability.

All in all, adding more services will keep things lively, introduce you to more interesting concepts, and inject some energy into the practice. Patients who trust and appreciate you will be excited to take advantage of previously unavailable treatments. These services will also help attract new patients to the practice or draw the attention of a unique demographic. There are plenty of options to explore!

Curious what makes dental care a valued investment? Check out this Pankey Gram blog we’re loving from Dr. Will Kelly here. And let us know what adjunctive services you offer in your practice …

Small group learning is the linchpin of lifelong professional satisfaction. 

My partner Nancy and I are excited to be the co-directors of Pankey Learning Groups (PLGs) at this time in the history of the Pankey Institute. Small group learning has always been one of our greatest joys.

It was in small groups that we really cemented our learning together. We had a chance to ask the professional and personal questions we might not have in other less safe environments without people who “understood.” We shared in good feedback with mentors and peers. Discussions were honest and helped us see others and ourselves more clearly. And we made dear friends for a lifetime.

So when we were asked to do this job three years ago, it was easy to accept the challenge. We did our best to build upon the program that Mark Murphy had initiated for us. With lots of hard work from PLG hosts, facilitators, our alumni that donated cases and workshop material, and especially a stellar in-house team, we feel good about where we are today. 

Pankey Learning Groups: Providing Support & Education Opportunities

We are really excited about what the future holds. With Dr. Lee Ann Brady on board contributing her vast experience in educational development, we all have a better sense of how PLGs can support the other components of the Pankey Institute. PLGs will now support the Essentials series, focus courses, and on-the-road courses like Worn Dentition and Pankey On the Podium.

We have a fantastic line-up of new modules. Treating doctors are interviewed and provide additional insight and understanding. We are also developing a selection of mini-modules. These topics include sleep medicine, practice management issues, and behavior.

In response to PLG requests, we are getting increasingly clear about how we can support our independent model (eight three-hour modules) and our facilitated model (two sixteen-hour weekend workshops) as well as how we can combine them with other educational offerings from Pankey. We feel this is consistent with the Pankey Philosophy to individualize our offerings for each PLG within our overall educational framework.

We are planning opportunities to support our hosts, facilitators, and ambassadors by developing resources and training to optimize the PLG educational experience. There has never been a better or more exciting time to supplement your professional growth by participating in a Pankey Learning Group!

Miami is an energetic, enormous city that is easy to travel to and from. The minute you touch down at one of the two closest airports, you’ll experience the distinctly Florida vibes featuring international influences and diverse people. Plus, a decent helping of ocean breezes!

Both Miami International and Ft. Lauderdale airport are good options depending on your preferences for travel and distance to the Key. They offer different experiences for those suited to bustle and others who prefer a slower, more relaxed atmosphere. Here’s our perspective on the best ways to visit the Pankey Institute with the least stress and most ease:

Airport Travel to the Pankey Institute

MIA

Miami International airport is an American Airlines hub, which makes it a great choice for those who rack up the AA miles. Otherwise, you should know it’s the fastest way to get to the Key. MIA is a 25 minute drive from Key Biscayne. You’ll be driving over the Rickenbacker Causeway seeing the Miami skyline and blue Biscayne Bay before you know it.

They have Uber, Lyft, taxis, and private car services readily available. It’s a big, busy airport, with a lot of international travel. Allow extra time for security and getting to and from your gate on the way out.

Bonus Tip: Baggage commonly has delays or long wait times at MIA. If you can travel with only your carry-on, you’ll save a lot of hassle.

FLL

Ft. Lauderdale is a Southwest airlines hub. It’s also a smaller airport with a slower pace. Security will be faster and it’s a much better option if you plan to check bags. Car services, Uber, and Lyft are available, as well as Super Shuttle. The downside is it’s an hour drive from Key Biscayne. Traffic can be a pain depending on the time of day.

We always recommend you arrive at least the night before your course in case there are any travel hiccups and to connect with faculty and other participants as we always plan some social time. It will also make traveling less hectic and give you a little more time to appreciate your drive through the bright lights and activity of Miami. If you can avoid rush hour, even better!