For Better or Worse

Every time I accompany one of our Crown Council humanitarian expeditions (www.CrownCouncil.BlogSpot.com) to the Dominican Republic, I take at least one of my daughters to work and learn from the experience. Last week’s expedition included my 12 year old daughter Abby who helped every day with set up, sterilization, assisting, handing out hygiene kits, clean up, and whatever needed to be done. Abby even spent some time entertaining the other children while they were waiting their turn to see the dentist. One of her most significant accomplishments was the 750 hygiene kits she assembled to take on the expedition so that each patient could leave with a tooth brush and other essential hygiene items along with written instructions for homecare.

On our last clinical day, Abby assisted Dr. Jonathan Nicolas of the Dominican Republic. Abby held the flashlight, instruments, and did whatever Dr. Nicolas needed as they treated patients together. When we broke for lunch, Abby and I debriefed the morning wherein she made the following observation: “Dentists make things worse before they make them better.” Having watched Dr. Nicholas treat several cavities, she saw how much tooth structure had to be removed to make sure the decay was gone before filling the tooth. She, like most people, was amazed at how much had to be taken away before the tooth could be “put back together again.”

After listening to Abby’s fresh perspective on dentistry, it made me think of how many other things there are in dentistry and in life that have to get worse before they get better. Because we know it will have to get worse first, we often avoid taking action. How many of the following “worse before better” issues have you ever found yourself avoiding:

• Taking disciplinary action with a team member for fear of his or her response.
• Telling a patient everything that is really going on in their mouth for fear of how they will react.
• Making a change in an office procedure because of the time and effort it will take even though you know it will make things better in the long-run.
• Scheduling a long over-due C.E. course that you know will make you a better clinician because of the time and investment it will take.
• Remodeling or updating the office because of the investment.
• Taking the needed time to really train the team.
• Working with a coach to improve the practice for fear of having to face the truth about what is really going on.

When you think about it, most things do have to get “worse” before they get better and that is what stands in our way of getting started or taking action. But that same inaction makes it even worse than it would be if you just jumped in, felt the pain, and did it anyway.

So what is the biggest “worse before better” action you are avoiding? Could I challenge you to step up and start “prepping?” You might as well be in charge of the “worse” part instead of letting it be worse on its own. The faster you get busy and work through the “worst,” the faster it will get “better.”