RAT RACE DENTISTRY – Why budding dentists need to master the basics before anything else!

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Rotary endodontics, Implants, Advanced esthetics, Laser dentistry. Terms that once used to adorn various advertisements for courses have now found their way on to the boards of dental clinics and why not? It is 2017 after all! The humble dental clinic has given way to personal brands, chain clinics and registered trademarks. Dentists have risen above clinical practice. Marketing, selling and monthly targets are now mainstay and dental practice has become a business. Dentistry and technology are advancing at breakneck speed and it is only justified that practicing dentists too stay updated and adapt to the changing practices.

However, with the field and the scenario refusing to slow down on the advancing front, the budding dentist, the recent graduate, the newly joined locum; basically every “looking to set up a practice” kind of experienced dentist might find it all overwhelming when it comes to being able to offer all the advanced services to the patients. End result, there is a fear of being left out, a fear of not being able to match the competition, the fear of not being able to establish a sustainable and viable practice and above all, a fear of not being a successful dentist that haunts every budding dentist at the start of his/hers career journey. Add to that the financial pressure of sustaining a practice and you have a very nervous and a very negative frame of mind which eventually takes a toll on your well-being.

However, the current generation has found a way of handling these fears so to say. Attending courses on every possible “advanced technique” you can imagine! Be it implants, cosmetics, lasers, endodontics, orthodontics etc, the current lot of budding dentists is constantly involved in the “rat-race” of upping their skill set when compared to their peers. While there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with trying to update your knowledge and skills when it comes to elevating your practice, the problem here lies with the MINDSET. The mindset that this approach may somehow help them bridge the gap in terms of practice  and experience in a short period of time and earn them rich dividends in the near future.

Keeping this flawed approach in mind, here are 2 reasons why the budding dentist should focus on getting the basics right before anything else;

#1 IT’S YOUR PRACTICE AND YOUR REPUTATION “FOR LIFE”

While elevating your practice may seem like a HUGE challenge and overwhelming when you’re a budding dentist, it always helps to remember that your practice is going to be your job, your office, and your 9-5 “for life”. Read about any successful business out there today and how they started their journey, you will definitely notice a pattern. Your practice is your business, a business grows in increments, how big or small those increments will be depends a lot on QUALITY and REPUTATION both of which come from months and years of PRACTICE and EXPERIENCE and rely on ONE common ingredient; DOING THE BASICS WELL! So if you’re a budding dentist, perfect the basic treatment techniques before moving onto advanced techniques. Ensure patient satisfaction before ensuring monetary satisfaction; ensure quality over flashy discounts and above all “build a reputation” with your patient base in the initial years of your practice. By jumping the gun on the basics, the most common example being, how every dentist today is also an “implantologist” after a few weekend modules on implants, you are risking the ONE MAJOR FACTOR that will ensure a financially viable and sustainable practice in the future, YOUR REPUTATION! 

So keep in mind, BASICS, QUALITY and REPUTATION are the basic foundation on which your practice and career as a dentist rests! Do these well and incrementally learn, incorporate and introduce new techniques in your practice instead of trying to DO IT ALL at once!

#2 YOUR PRACTICE IS A SERVICE FIRST, A BUSINESS SECOND...YOUR PATIENT IS A HUMAN FIRST, A CUSTOMER SECOND

What many would describe as “old-school”, this mindset is the one that ensures a perfect harmony between personal and financial well-being. While it has become a trend today to “CONVERT” patients to a high paying treatment plan, the lines between ethical and unethical practice are getting blurred day by day. As a budding dentist, it is therefore important to develop and follow this SERVICE FIRST, BUSINESS SECOND AND HUMAN FIRST, CUSTOMER SECOND mindset especially if your aim is to establish a practice that is long term. The focus then should shift on building a relationship with your patient base. If your aim is to retire a dentist in the same area as you initially set up a clinic, keep in mind that a teenager who comes to you for a composite filling today has the potential to be the man/woman who approaches you for some other treatment 10-12 years from now. That is where YOUR approach to your practice matters. Building a relationship with your patient base, gaining the trust of the people in your locality and ensuring that you get a loyal following throughout your career should be the PRIMARY aim if you’re a budding dentist. Instead of focusing on monthly targets and treating every new patient as a customer, adding the HUMAN touch to your practice and ensuring the best possible treatment no matter how basic is what will lead you to the path of financial and personal success as a dentist.

To conclude, there is no doubt that a master clinician is the one who is updated in knowledge and practice but it is also true that nobody becomes a master clinician overnight, over few weeks or over few months just on the back of part-time training, advanced equipment and a corporate mindset. Budding dentists today need to take a step back and pause before they get caught in this “RAT-RACE” mindset of going one up on their peers.

The basic essentials of a successful dental practice that is both financially viable and sustainable still remain the same no matter which decade we’re in or how advanced dentistry becomes.

To the budding dentist, sticking to BASICS and doing them well, QUALITY work, building a REPUTATION and adding that HUMAN touch to the way you deal with patients matter much more to building and developing your career with all other means acting only as supplements.

So quit the RAT-RACE and focus on DELIVERING a good treatment plan rather than SCORING a high-paying patient and you shall see your practice rise!

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