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.

Some time ago, I was listening to a person speak about love and replacing the word “love” with “forgiveness.” His argument was that if you truly expressed forgiveness, then you are a loving person. As I thought about it, I decided “acceptance” was a better word for me. I felt that if I could accept a person for who they are, then it would be easier for me to forgive, and thus love. This started me thinking about the present and past relationships in my life and how I could apply acceptance.

After intentional self-work in this area, I have found that life is more understandable and pleasant when I practice the art of acceptance.

Consider Relationships

We all have had concerns about relationships. We all wonder why others act a certain way towards us. We benefit emotionally, physiologically, and strategically by understanding where they are coming from and how their past experiences have molded them. Stephen Covey would use the phrase “seek to understand, before trying to be understood.” In other words, accept the person for where they are, before you feel you should be influencing them to be what you perceive is correct. In a bad situation, understanding the other person would be a big step towards forgiveness.

Consider Situations

Acceptance of situations has emotional, physiological and strategic benefits as well. It comes down to understanding what is happening instead of trying to control everything. I find this so true in my practice life when my patients have some sort of moderate to severe dental issue. Until they accept what is wrong and “take ownership” of the situation, there is very little that I can do to help them. Often, the worst thing you could do is to try to fix a bad situation without the patient having ownership of the problem, because if things go astray, it becomes your fault.

For Both Ourselves and Our Patients

The art of waiting for when the patient is ready to accept treatment—and the art of understanding, accepting, and positively influencing the patient during the waiting—have both become easier for me over time. Sometimes we need to have difficult conversations with patients to help them accept the truth. But oftentimes we simply need to better understand what they are thinking and why. And, the gentle way to get at this is to inquire why they are reluctant to move forward without a tone of judgment—instead, with genuine care.

One of the great discoveries of working with the public and patients so closely is that most of what we apply to them we can also apply to ourselves. Therefore, we can benefit from accepting who we are, our personal situation, and how those around us are trying to help us. These can be important keys to moving forward in our own lives. Remember, we all travel the same journey.

It’s early in the morning and the first sip of coffee full of that fresh aroma just went down with a sigh, a sagging of the shoulders and a feeling of here we go for another day. My mind is starting to run the list of what is on the day’s agenda…work deadlines and meetings…the kids’ schedules…what is my spouse doing today? Did I pay that electric bill or not? Then it hits. Oh, that’s right! I have a dental appointment today!

The morning life puzzle pieces all start to come together as they always do.

Everyone and everything are in their place. And off I go to the dentist with that fearful thought, “I hope they don’t hurt me today.” Parking in a rush and taking a breath before entering the dental office door, I worry, “Am I just in time?” A gentle face looks up, smiles and greets me by name. With that kind hello, I begin to relax and mentally whisper to myself, “I’m safe here. They know me. They want to take care of me. They’re happy to see me. I’ll be okay.”

The reality is this kind of personalized attention and care is slowly going away.

In medicine and dentistry, consolidation of practices into corporate entities has forced doctors to “run” on a patient-number schedule and production list. Statistics and numbers are slowly pulling their want and desire to give personalized care away from them. And I, the Patient, don’t want to be treated this way.

I’m glad my dentist takes time to know me and my concerns, spends time diagnosing and planning treatment that is individualized and best for me, and doesn’t let insurance companies limit my choices and the quality and quantity of care I receive. What’s important to me is I trust this type of dental care, I think I deserve this type of care—and the comfort I feel during my dental visits is priceless.

In the Pankey Institute’s Invisalign focus course, course leaders invite you to consider the ways in which Invisalign can be used to enhance what you do for patients on a daily basis.

One of the most significant benefits to be gained from Invisalign is achieving a more optimal environment for eliminating gum disease and maintaining periodontal health. Another is the preservation of natural tooth structure.

In my position as Director of Content for Patient Prism Academy (at www.patientprism.com), I work daily in helping dental teams communicate with their patients and prospective patients, and sometimes even among themselves. Knowledge translation is my strength. I’ve made it my business to know what patients want to know. The following information is provided in a form you can easily include in your treatment presentation when discussing dental alignment with your patients.

You know this, but I remind you here. The ideal candidate for aligner treatment is not limited to esthetic cases. Your patients who are battling gum inflammation and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and CVD, or your patients whose teeth are worn, chipped, crazed, or perhaps even mobile, will be receptive to this particular discussion.

They Just Don’t Know

The ADA has told us that, although 75% of adults (80% of adults over age 65) have some form of gum disease, only 60% have any significant knowledge about it. It’s not surprising, then, that even fewer have an understanding of the association between their dental alignment and the health of their teeth, their dental alignment and the health of their supporting bone and gum tissue, and their dental alignment and their systemic health.

Your Patients Want to Know What Studies Have Shown

• Gum disease has surpassed tooth decay as the leading cause of tooth loss.
• Plaque accumulates more where teeth are crowded.
• Where teeth are crowded, more types of harmful oral bacteria are present in the plaque below the gum line.
• When teeth are crowded, there is increased risk for development of periodontal disease and tooth loss.
• When teeth are crowded, there is increased risk for chronic gum inflammation.
• Even low grade chronic inflammation harms periodontal tissues and systemic health.
• Crowded teeth, in combination with any of the following, increases the patient’s risk of gum inflammation, periodontal disease, and systemic diseases:
  • Tobacco use
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease

This is to say that, if more than one of these factors is present, the risk to health is even more.

• Gum disease, chronic or acute, exacerbates (makes worse) cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
• Poorly aligned upper and lower teeth put abnormal force on each other. Over time or suddenly, this abnormal stress wears down, chips, or creates cracks in precious dental enamel. The stress can also weaken root support, inflame periodontal ligaments and nerves, and result in loose teeth (teeth that wiggle).

Your Patients Also Want to Know

• Battling gum inflammation, periodontal disease, and systemic disease can all become problematic due to crowded teeth. Until teeth are aligned properly, the personal cost can (will) grow in terms of the extent of treatment needed and the time and expense required for treatment to restore health and quality of life.
• Additional benefits of Invisalign treatment will be a more esthetic smile and proper tooth spacing for restoration of damaged teeth (and replacement of missing teeth if one or more teeth are missing).

Feel free to copy any of this to an information sheet to utilize in your consultations. Because your patients view videos fed from YouTube via your social media, I encourage you to use these bullets to organize your thoughts to prepare a video presentation for patients.