dental care

August 9, 2016

To Floss or Not to Floss

Have you seen the article about flossing that’s gone viral on the internet over the past several weeks? This one is about the lack of clinical evidence that flossing prevents tooth decay. When my cousin sent me the article, I thought it was a hoax, but it appeared to be from NYTimes Magazine, no lightweight in the publishing world. As I read it, I grew alarmed, not by the content of the article but by the implications. By glancing at the headlines one could come away with the idea that flossing doesn’t work. What the article actually says is that there aren’t clinical trials to prove that it works.

Why is it that we, as humans, will skip over 54,000 information bytes that give one opinion, but will focus on the ONE byte that opines differently, especially if it concerns something we’re not crazy about doing anyway? It’s one of the endearing qualities that makes us special, I guess.

May 12, 2016

Good Hands

Have you ever had that experience when you just know you’re in good hands? You don’t even have to think about it. My IT guy is like that. I call him and I know that in this area where I am mostly outside of my skill set, I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to worry that I’ll be taken advantage of, that I will be “upsold,” that my problem won’t be resolved. I know that I can trust him, that he will do a great job, and that he’ll charge me a fair price. Every time. Check that off my list of things to worry about.

January 10, 2016

What does the customer want?

From talking with people, I can tell you what they don’t want.

They don’t want to be cheated, tricked, overcharged, or given unnecessary treatment. From what I hear, that sort of thing is still going on! It’s pretty unbelievable to me, but that’s what I hear.

They want to know they can trust their dental team. Makes sense. Sounds reasonable. But how do we assure them that they can trust us? Is it the kind of thing that develops over time like any strong relationship? Maybe so. That’s how we approach it: one patient at a time. Trust builds through one conversation at a time.

January 5, 2016

Confessions of a Floss Hater

Is there something you just hate doing? Something that you do because you know you should? You know that responsible adults do this, so you should too. Is it getting your tires rotated? Going in for your annual medical checkup? Taking off your makeup before bed? Exercising? Taking your vitamins every day?

Flossing my teeth is one of those things for me. There was a time when I would floss several times a week and feel pretty virtuous about it. Three times a week! That’s more than most people, right? That means I’m taking good care of my teeth, right? When my hygienist would ask me if I floss regularly, I’d chirp right up, “Yes!” Yes, three times a week. In fact, in the week before my dental appointments I’d floss almost every day, for good measure. (By the way, that doesn’t work. They always know.)

December 3, 2015

Why Do We Buy?

Why do we buy? There are so many reasons, if we want to be thorough, but primarily, I think we buy things to solve a problem. The problem may be that we need food, that we need clothing, that we need transportation, that we need medical care. It may, of course, be that we need a gift for someone or that we need a pick-me-up. Perhaps we need to maintain the items we’ve already bought or that we already own, such as an oil change for the car or a haircut. No matter the reason, we all buy things. We also usually have a choice about where we buy. That choice is the crux of it all for a business owner.

All posts tagged dental care

To Floss or Not to Floss

Good Hands

What does the customer want?

Confessions of a Floss Hater

Why Do We Buy?