Dentaltown October 2023 - 71

Form completed and blood pressure taken;
while the patient reviewed and signed her medical
history, my assistant notifi ed me to begin my
portion of the appointment. Promptly.
Smiling and greeting her by name, I shook
hands and introduced myself as John. We chatted
for 10 minutes, getting to know each other
and searching for commonality. (Tell me about
your kids. Are your girls into soccer too? What
team? Etc. I recorded these notes on her record.)
The second portion of the interview
began when I asked:
1.
5. " Please tell me about past dental care. Were
there complications? Were you pleased? "
Forewarned is forearmed, and one has the
opportunity to assure a patient that the
unfortunate event won't happen here.
After returning the hand mirror so my patient
" How may I be of service to you? " Th is established
the dynamic that I was there to serve,
and I recorded their fi rst statement (chief
complaint) verbatim because it was imperative
that I fully addressed this desire. (If it's
not crystal clear, I have devised standard
forms for everything. Th ere are many ways
to do things, but only one is best, and a carefully
considered and delineated approach is
preferable to just shooting from the hip.)
2. " Are you having oral discomfort? Any sensitivity
to temperatures, sharp edges, food
catching or fl oss tearing? "
3. " Do your gums bleed when you brush, or
do you spit out blood in your toothpaste? "
A positive response allowed me to evaluate
her awareness of periodontal disease and its
relationship to systemic health.
4. " Do you have headaches? " was the fi rst portion
of my TMJ screen. I would delay other
conversations until after my clinical exam,
but I identifi ed and treated TMD frequently.
(Defi nitively treating TMD is master-level
care that requires eliminating all symptoms
with some form of orthotic, then performing
a full-mouth occlusal equilibration that took
an hour.)
could reevaluate her aesthetics, we reviewed the
results of our cosmetic evaluation. Besides tooth
whitening, veneers, crowns and bonding, I performed
orthopedics on kids, off ered full ortho,
and was very enthusiastic about Six Month
Smiles, which created an ideal cosmetic result
without attempting to correct Class 2, Class 3,
overbite, overjet, etc., on adults.
One doesn't trip and fall into excellence,
but many have achieved this estate, and their
eff orts have left clues. As is the case with patient
responsibility, it is incumbent on those striving
for excellence to take responsibility, create an
ideal path, then strive diligently for the desired
goal, for as Eleanor Roosevelt said, " Th e future
belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
their dreams. " Enjoying the reputation of excellence
and working in its ambiance is a suffi -
cient reward. DT
After working through eight years of higher education, paying
100% of all costs, Dr. John A. Wilde spent his next two years in the
U.S. Army Dental Corps before beginning a practice from scratch
in Keokuk, Iowa. He was debt-free at 30 years old, owning his
home and the practice he'd designed and built outright. He was
financially able to retire at 40 and fully retired when he was 53.
He has published six books and written more than 200 articles.
Contact: 309-333-2865 or jwdentist@hotmail.com
OCTOBER 2023 | 71 | DENTALTOWN.COM
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Dentaltown October 2023

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