Word Of Mouth – A Dental Blog

I presented a lecture to the Oral Surgery and General Practice Residents last week at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on “Implant Aesthetics”.  As part of the presentation I talked a little bit about the “Psychology of Beauty” so residents get a better understanding of why the esthetics are so important to the patients they are treating.  I addressed issues concerning the evolution of plastic surgery since the first reported plastic surgical procedures in 600 BC.

In Beauty Junkies,  by Alex Kuczynski, the author talks about the historical change in the emphasis and goals of plastic surgeons from creating an appearance that allowed an individual to  “fit in” to one that allowed patients to stand out by enhancing their physical appearance.

In the NY Times Magazine section this past weekend I read an article entitled What are You Really Worth?  Speaking of appearance related issues, here are some interesting findings:
·    Above average looking man over his working life earns $250,000 more than least attractive men.
·    Attractive men are paid 5% more than less comely counterparts.
·    Prettiest women earn about 4% more.

Who would have thought?  Maybe beauty IS more than skin deep!!

As always, just my thoughts.
Thanks for listening.

RMS

As I’ve said before, in a world that is changing so rapidly in terms of technology, social interaction and economics, we’re trying hard to remain ahead of the curve.  How do we change and stay in touch with our patients?  How have their dental  concerns about health, comfort and beauty changed over the last 18 tumultuous months and how does that affect the way they perceive what we do?  And how do we remain relevant in their lives?  Do they want us to remain relevant in their lives?

We’ve tried hard to ask these questions, both in the office and by surveying our patients on line.  My gut feeling has been that we need to remain supportive of what our patients are experiencing and need to be curious about the best ways to help them stay healthy and achieve their dental goals.  I’ve always believed strongly in relationship based and very personalized patient care. 

In the spring of ’09, I was interviewed by a writer for MY BUSINESS Magazine.  I spoke about my belief in patient centered care and how important it is in the world in which we now live where often the Dr-patient relationship has become depersonalized.  You can find some of my comments at http://www.mybusinessmag.com/fullstory.php3?sid=1970

Who’s listening? We are!

Several years ago my office team and I spent some time attempting to redefine what we do and how we do it.  We had a general idea of what we felt was important to our patients and to us in terms of the care we deliver but felt we needed to better define our core values and become more focused.

 At the time there was a lot of press related to “cosmetic” dentistry and “spa” dentistry (whatever that is).  In an age of “Extreme Makeover” and almost instantaneous gratification, we chose another path.  I never wanted to be just a “cosmetic” dentist.  I felt our patients were entitled to more than just cosmetic care.  I felt comfortable based on my training and experience providing a more comprehensive kind of experience - one that was patient centered, relationship based, and that fully integrated health, comfort and beauty.

Two articles I read in the last week helped confirm that in a world that is rapidly changing my team and I are on the right track.

In New York Magazine, week of June 1, Beth Landman wrote in her article “Nipped & Tucked” about the changing reality of medical and dental practices that were only recently, cosmetically oriented.  She wrote about “lifestyle” medicine losing some of its allure as the result of changing economic times and the trials and tribulations of doctors who now have to provide more health centered treatment.  I apologize if I appear naïve here, but shouldn’t the health aspects of care have been considered all along? 

As I’ve said before, as dentists we’ve been trained to be scientists, biologists, clinicians, and artists.  But concentrating exclusively on the “cosmetic” aspects of care often times neglects the health and comfort of the patient.  Shouldn’t these clinicians have been addressing health issues all along as part of the “cosmetic work” they were doing?  Now they’re getting back to basics because the revenue stream from these cosmetic procedures has slowed to a trickle.

In the New York Times Business Section, June 7, 2009, Julie Weed wrote an article entitled “If All Doctors Had Time To Listen”.  She talks about changing models of health care delivery; new methodologies that allow physicians to spend more time with their patients, emphasize prevention, and decrease the number of referrals to specialists.   Ms. Weed  states that these “patient centered” practices are popular and growing.  That shouldn’t be a surprise.  Patients are looking to re-establish a more relationship based personalized kind of care where they feel cared about and cared for.

All in all, a good week that made my team and I feel comfortable that we are on the right track, trying to remain relevant in the lives of our patients.

As always, thanks for listening.

RMS

This week I presented a lecture to the Oral Surgery and General Practice Residents at New York-Presbyterian Hospital where I am on staff as a voluntary attending dentist.  I was asked to speak about implants and aesthetic dentistry- certainly an interesting topic. 

I had an opportunity to speak to them about the changes I’ve seen in implant dentistry over a 25 year time frame as the result of scientific frontiers that have been continually pushed outward.  But just as importantly, I had the opportunity to speak to them about what I call, “The Psychology of Beauty”.

We live in a society where more of us than ever before want to look good and feel good.  And for many, feeling good about themselves is tied in to feeling good about the way they look. We live in a society where baby boomers want to look better than their parents did at a similar age and where, right or wrong, it takes but 15 seconds for an observer to make decisions about who we are based on visual images (note the Susan Boyle phenomenon).  I tried to educate the residents about the psyche of the patients they are treating; about their expectations based on what they see on TV and in the media, and how their self esteem can be affected by our results.

 We spoke about the origins of plastic surgery and the first documented procedures in 600BC; the evolution of plastic surgery from an art and science dedicated to making disfigured patients fit into their society to one trying to make patients look better than others in society.  I spoke about the phenomenon of TV shows like “Extreme Makeover” and how programs showing significant improvement in body image impact on the self-image of the individual.  And I discussed with them how this evolution, indeed revolution, in technique and social thinking impacts on their successful delivery of aesthetic implant procedures. 

Studies by  Ellen Berscheid, at the University of Minnesota, and books such as “Survival of the Prettiest”  by Nancy Etcoff, PhD  cite the importance our society places on “good looks” and the “raison d’être” of the beauty industry.  After all, the eyes and smile are the first two features someone looks at when they meet you for the first time.  And many have come to realize the importance of a pleasing smile in both their personal and professional lives.

Of course I also addressed dental technique and process, and aesthetic and diagnostic criteria so essential to being successful.  But I think the idea of presenting information on “the psychology of beauty” and how this affects our patient’s expectations is another important consideration in the learning experience.

As always, thanks for listening.

RMS

Robert M. Sorin, DMD

I’m angry and sad today.  I’m angry that blatantly false and inaccurate information is being disseminated to the public in the name of beauty.  And I’m sad to see some in my profession “hawking” cosmetic procedures, to an increasingly susceptible public, that have no scientific basis for success.

But let me digress.  Several days ago my attention was directed to an episode of a nationally syndicated TV show, “The Doctors”.  A guest on this panel of doctors was a cosmetic dentist who has received prior national exposure as the result of his appearances on other cosmetically related television shows.  Now let me say that I accept the fact that reality makeover shows are now part of our culture.  Ever since December 2002 when the first episode of “Extreme Makeover” aired on television, cosmetically related procedures have become a regular feature on numerous TV shows.  And I accept the statement by sociologist  Victoria Pitts-Taylor in her book “Surgery Junkies” when she states “in postmodern cultures our bodies have been positioned as signs of personal, individual identities”. 

It’s been said that we live in a fifteen second culture.  That’s how long it takes someone to look at someone else and decide if they’re interested.  We live in a society in which more of us than ever before are concerned about how we look, because how we feel about how we look significantly impacts on our self image and how we feel about ourselves.  Ms. Alex Kuczynski, a well know writer for  The Style section of The New York Times, in her book “Beauty Junkies”, describes “a world in which images hold more power than words, and language has been replaced with symbols and sound bites”. 

So the potential influence on the public perception of cosmetic improvement by shows such as “The Doctors” is huge and as such, shouldn’t we expect that the truth will be told? Don’t they have the responsibility to tell it like it truly is?

 In the show I saw, the participant from the audience shared with the studio and television audiences her concern about her “gummy” smile.  When she smiled she felt that too much gum showed.  From a cosmetic point of view, her concerns seemed to be well founded.  But the procedure that was demonstrated was not one that could address the patient’s concerns and correct her problem in a professionally accepted manner.  In fact, to correct the patient’s problem, a much more extensive procedure(s) was needed, one that fully took into account the anatomy and histology of the structures involved.  The solution was not one that could be accomplished in just a few minutes!

At the conclusion of the segment the hosting MD showed before and after photographs; this was a sham.  Photographs before the demonstrated procedure showed lots of excess gum tissue.  Photographs after the procedure showed less exposed gum tissue.  But this was only because in the photographs taken after the procedure was completed on camera, the patient’s upper lip didn’t move as much because she had received an injection of local anesthetic!  So while the procedure did remove the barest minimum of gum tissue, the procedure shown was not one that is clinically accepted to achieve the results purportedly demonstrated. The result shown on camera was highly misleading if not an outright lie. 

 So I’m curious.  I’ve got some questions.  Why can’t we expect some truthful “reality” here?  Are these TV shows just pandering to a viewing audience drinking the Kool Aid of looking better? Should the public accept all that is shown as factual?  Who and where are the professionals who are fact checking to evaluate risks, benefits, accuracy and truthfulness?  And is my colleague appearing just for the exposure that drives his entrepreneurial empire? 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look better.  That’s the world in which we live.  It’s an essential part of what I do every day. But the real problem for all of those concerned about looking better is who are the good guys and who are the bad guys and how do you tell the difference?

Thanks for listening.