Which is deadlier, psychological or physical torture? Surprisingly, it may be psychological torture. Consider this study: 38% of prisoners of war held by North Korea during the Korean War died; the highest rate of death among prisoners of war in U.S. military history. The North Koreans engaged in a relatively low rate of prisoner physical … Read more

No dentist practices alone. At minimum, you probably employ an assistant, hygienist, and receptionist. Many of you have multiple people in those roles, as well as an office administrator and perhaps a finance person. You also may work with other dentists. Your profitability, your patients’ comfort, and your own pleasure in your practice are tied … Read more

Has this happened in your practice? A consultant gives you a great idea or you go to a program at a place like the Pankey Institute and discover an exciting but different approach to practice. You become enthused and bring the idea or program to your staff. They agree that it’s great and you and … Read more

Leadership can be a bit mysterious. How do you win the hearts and minds of your staff to do what you believe should be done? Last month, I outlined the six leadership styles identified by those who study leadership. None of these styles is always the wisest choice. The most effective leaders have learned all … Read more

For better or worse, you are the leader of your practice. Might as well make it better. Our knowledge of what makes good leadership, like knowledge of dentistry, is based on study and scientific research. There is an army of people who devote themselves to studying what makes leaders effective. Just as they sometimes benefit … Read more

As a young person, when you dreamed of becoming a dentist, how did you picture yourself? Most readers probably envisioned working in someone’s mouths to create health and beauty. As a practicing dentist, you have discovered that picture is only partly accurate. There is a lot more to dentistry than, well, dentistry. You have to … Read more

Could you walk when you were born? Of course not. When your muscles and mind were mature enough, you had to practice, usually with some guidance. Later you had opportunities to master other skills requiring coordination, such as baseball, playing the piano, dancing and so forth. You went on to dental school to learn technical … Read more

Do you know where babies come from? There are some people who don’t seem to know the answer to that question. They just keep having babies. However, let’s assume that you are not one of those people and skip that discussion. Now let me ask a tougher question: Do you know where behavior comes from? … Read more

Your drill is not enough. Your X-ray machine, equilibrator and other dental tools are not enough. Necessary – just not enough. To succeed as a dentist you also must have the tools needed to constructively influence people – patients, staff, even yourself. To illustrate, consider this passage from an article Drs. Irwin Becker, Rich Green … Read more