95: The Overlooked Key to Dental Patient Acceptance

Do you have empathy for your patients? A lot of us don't.

A lot of us like to do procedures and we don't really think that there's a human being attached to the mouth.

I'm pretty lucky because at the age of eight, a lot of you know the story.

I had a really bad bike accident when I was in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

I went over to handlebars with my best friend Paul Belsano's bike and I landed face first on the pavement.

Two little bloody stumps were left where eight and nine were.

And the teeth were like broken off like dried mosses on the pavement.

My mother came out, picked me up and brought me to an oral surgeon, Dr. Aronson in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

And he wired my mouth together, wired your teeth together.

I had an arch bar in there and I had to train through a straw and a wearing blender for about six weeks.

I was eight years old.

I didn't get my final crowns until I was 18.

So for 10 years, I went through high school with two little brown stubs there.

I didn't think anything of it because I was eight when the accident happened.

But then I went on to grind my teeth.

And then at age 48, I needed a full mouth rehabilitation.

I saw my friend Steve Rothenberg and he did 23 crowns for me.

And today I have a full mouth rehabilitation.

Four years ago, again, I went over to handlebars on my bike, 60 years after the first accident, and I knocked out my front four teeth.

And Dr. Min Yoon had to do a six unit bridge from six to 11.

So I know what it's like to be a dental patient.

Do you know what it's like to be a dental patient? Some of you may have periodontal disease.

Some of you may have had experience similar to mine.

Most of you probably haven't.

And that's a disadvantage sometimes in treating patients.

So when I see a patient who comes into my practice and they say to me, you know, doctor, this is the worst mouth you've ever seen.

I tell them, no, it's not.

They go, you don't understand.

I go, yes, I do, because I've had the same thing happen to me.

And I show them, I go like this.

And they go, oh, you got beautiful teeth.

I go, yes, they're beautiful because at age 71, they were all fake.

It was the only plastic surgery I have.

I have 23 crowns in my mouth today.

And they go, really? I go, yes.

And I showed them and I, hey, we have four gold crowns back there.

And Dr. Rothenberg did a beautiful job many years ago.

And Dr. Yoon redid the front bridge just a few years ago.

So my rehabilitation is close to 25 years old today, except for the front six teeth.

So I know what it's like to go through that.

But if I didn't know what it was like to go through that, because I didn't have the experience, I still have to show compassion for my patients.

Because when a patient comes in, they're full of fear, they're full of anxiety, and they don't think anybody else understands what they're going through.

They think they're the only one in the world.

Most people think they're unique.

So what do I do? I'll pull out a book.

I go, here, here's someone who's worse than you.

And I have before and after photographs of my patients.

I have four different books that we've created.

They're all available on our website if you'd like to see them, michelsonic.com. You can go there and download these pictures of before and afters of people with severe periodontal disease, people who have very decayed teeth and what we've done to make them better with ortho or implants or periodontal treatment or gingival grafting, etc.,

Do you have empathy for your patients? A lot of us don't.

A lot of us like to do procedures and we don't really think that there's a human being attached to the mouth.

I'm pretty lucky because at the age of eight, a lot of you know the story.

I had a really bad bike accident when I was in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

I went over to handlebars with my best friend Paul Belsano's bike and I landed face first on the pavement.

Two little bloody stumps were left where eight and nine were.

And the teeth were like broken off like dried mosses on the pavement.

My mother came out, picked me up and brought me to an oral surgeon, Dr. Aronson in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

And he wired my mouth together, wired your teeth together.

I had an arch bar in there and I had to train through a straw and a wearing blender for about six weeks.

I was eight years old.

I didn't get my final crowns until I was 18.

So for 10 years, I went through high school with two little brown stubs there.

I didn't think anything of it because I was eight when the accident happened.

But then I went on to grind my teeth.

And then at age 48, I needed a full mouth rehabilitation.

I saw my friend Steve Rothenberg and he did 23 crowns for me.

And today I have a full mouth rehabilitation.

Four years ago, again, I went over to handlebars on my bike, 60 years after the first accident, and I knocked out my front four teeth.

And Dr. Min Yoon had to do a six unit bridge from six to 11.

So I know what it's like to be a dental patient.

Do you know what it's like to be a dental patient? Some of you may have periodontal disease.

Some of you may have had experience similar to mine.

Most of you probably haven't.

And that's a disadvantage sometimes in treating patients.

So when I see a patient who comes into my practice and they say to me, you know, doctor, this is the worst mouth you've ever seen.

I tell them, no, it's not.

They go, you don't understand.

I go, yes, I do, because I've had the same thing happen to me.

And I show them, I go like this.

And they go, oh, you got beautiful teeth.

I go, yes, they're beautiful because at age 71, they were all fake.

It was the only plastic surgery I have.

I have 23 crowns in my mouth today.

And they go, really? I go, yes.

And I showed them and I, hey, we have four gold crowns back there.

And Dr. Rothenberg did a beautiful job many years ago.

And Dr. Yoon redid the front bridge just a few years ago.

So my rehabilitation is close to 25 years old today, except for the front six teeth.

So I know what it's like to go through that.

But if I didn't know what it was like to go through that, because I didn't have the experience, I still have to show compassion for my patients.

Because when a patient comes in, they're full of fear, they're full of anxiety, and they don't think anybody else understands what they're going through.

They think they're the only one in the world.

Most people think they're unique.

So what do I do? I'll pull out a book.

I go, here, here's someone who's worse than you.

And I have before and after photographs of my patients.

I have four different books that we've created.

They're all available on our website if you'd like to see them, michelsonic.com. You can go there and download these pictures of before and afters of people with severe periodontal disease, people who have very decayed teeth and what we've done to make them better with ortho or implants or periodontal treatment or gingival grafting, etc.,