Dirty, Lying, Stealing, Crooks 2

I always like to keep you informed about situations that have been mentioned in previous blog posts.
Remember that I told you about an insurance company which refused to pay for the replacement of two 30 year old crowns because the x-rays didn't show tooth decay? Then I took the crowns off  and showed you (and them) photos of the tooth decay under the crowns and inside on the underside of the crowns.

Well the insurance company conceded that there WAS tooth decay but they went into a new delay tactic of asking for a report about the bone level and soft tissue..

The insurance company HAS the x-ray which shows healthy bone.

Dirty, Lying, Stealing, Crooks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why I won't deal with insurance companies..They could care less about your dental health AND they want to drive a wedge between YOU and ME so you don't trust me.

Back in the day, you went to the doctor and the insurance company paid the bill, less any deductibles.
But that was before some of the CEOs of insurance companies made 40 MILLION DOLLARS a year.

Ask yourself: Why would you trust  these dirty, lying, stealing, crooks?

I don't know!!!

Interesting Thoughts

The Japanese have a few words to express a kind of pathway towards mastery of any area.
Shūjuku: means to “study and ripen” with your knowledge and skill level. Jukuren :means expertise, skilled or to be proficient through practice and
repetition. The literal translation is to “ripen and repeat.”

I hold a Certificate of PROFICIENCY in Esthetic Dentistry or JUKUREN. I do the same thing all day: fix teeth and restore implants from very simple to very complex.

I have 7,000 hours of Continuing Education past my DDS degree or Shūjuku.

Many dentists that I communicate with in person or online do not enjoy their work; they don't value their work. They value their job for the economic rewards.

I value my work because I value YOU. And I have made a promise and commitment to you to take care of you.

Try to LOVE your work and it won't just be a job.

My Second Birthday

Today is my 'second' birthday.

41 years ago I was crushed between two parked cars which virtually amputated my right leg... It was a defining moment of my life but it is NOT what defines me.

My injury is why I limp and why it is becoming increasingly difficult to walk.

In my opinion, we  must use the negative things that happen to us as inspirational moments to take us to the next level. This is what I have done and I would suggest that when bad things happen to you that you take a moment, collect your thoughts and ask yourself:

"Something bad just happened to me. How can I move forward with my life."

That is what I did and it 'worked' for me.

I Don't Get It 2

Another Update about the dentist who views his job in terms of dollars..

He wrote to me and said:

"No one does the right thing. Everyone only does what is in their own interest."

Really????

No

REALLY???????

If this dentist is correct, we are all in big trouble.

Dentistry is my passion.

Taking care of you is my life's work.

It is not about the money...It has NEVER been about the money.

In a Capitalist Society, making money should be a REFLECTION of how well you do your job but it is NOT nor should it be,  the reason for our work.

As you can probably see, I am not the most liked person on this Dental Forum.

So what...Truth should never be a victim and taking care of you is why I work 50+ hours a week.

Wabi-Sabi 2

I feel compelled to update you on the patient who claimed that my 'recently' placed (4 or 5 years ago) bonded resin filling  was wearing away.

I told my staff that I would see her for a short consult at no charge so that I could see for myself what my work looked like. After meeting my patient, it was obvious that she had fallen on tough times so I could not be upset with her about the claim that my work was not doing well.

A clinical exam revealed that despite the work being about 5 years old, it looked as ideal as the day that I had placed it.

I am not infallible.  I am not the world's best restorative dentist.

But I know the level of my work and knew that the fillings that I placed would look great.

If you have a problem with my work,  please call Donna so that I can make it right.

Wabi Sabi: Nothing is perfect, Nothing lasts forever and nothing is ever finished...

It would be wise for all of us to remember that.

Adults Who Say Hurtful Things to Children

View image on Twitter

I was looking at CNN.Com and noted a letter of apology sent to one of the New England Patriot football players. The letter was from the players high school English teacher. The  teacher told the student that  he would never make it to the National Football League.  The letter:



I related to this because after graduating from Andrew Jackson High School  in Queens, NY, I met my high school math teacher on the platform of the New York City subway. She asked me what my plans were and I told her that I would be going to college. She blurted out uncontrollably,

"YOU????

That went into my memory file to serve as an inspiration when things weren't going well in college.

About 20 years later, Andrew Jackson held a 50 year reunion for anyone who had graduated from the school. The college adviser for the really smart kids (obviously NOT my advisor)  was taking tickets and greeting people at the door. Mr. Blatt was also the most accomplished high school Track coach in New York City and I had been on the team for four years.

When Mr. Blatt asked me my name he remarked,

"Did I see DOCTOR before your name?"

Neither teacher thought that I would amount to much.

Adults and especially teachers should not say disparaging things to children...The effects are life long.  My life has been an attempt to prove all the adults wrong who underestimated me.

I know how the football player felt.

I Don't Get It

I have been a dentist for 40 years and my job, as you know, is to take care of you in the best possible  way. In the biggest picture, it is my job to fix a tooth as FEW times in your life as possible. Yes, I won't make the most amount of money because fixing a tooth many, many times IS PROFITABLE.

But it is not about the money for ME but about taking care of YOU.

I am on a dental forum where dentistry is a low priority for most of the people on the forum. One dentist basically called me a fool (ok it was in stronger terms than that) because by doing really great dentistry, I will make far less money and which allows the insurance company to make more profit.
If I fix a tooth twice in a patients life, I make a little money in 30 years but if I fix the same tooth six or seven times in 30 years, I will make far more money and deprive the insurance company of profits.

Do you see a YOU (the patient) in any of this explanation????

This is what I wrote on the forum 10 minutes ago:

Hi Matt;

Well it took me a night to sleep on what you are saying but I FINALLY understand.

You are saying, if I understand you,  that in order to to get back at the insurance company and limit their profit, you are advocating doing crappy dentistry.

You get the MOST money from the insurance company at the patient’s expense..

So you willing to hurt your patient so that you can be the most successful businessman.

It is like saying if we kill all the poor children, we won’t have to feed them and your taxes will be lower.

It is all about greed.

Nice

PLEASE correct me if I am misunderstand you…because I hope that I am. I hope that I have been too stupid to understand what you are saying an misinterpreted your example.

gerald 

You know I am passionate about my work...More importantly, I am more passionate about taking care of you. I will not.....EVER.... place my financial success over your best interest.

You are my reason for doing what I do.

There is absolutely a generational difference and now you can see it with your own eyes. Very troubling for me.

Wabi-Sabi

 For Richard Powell, "[w]abi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."^[4] Buddhist author Taro Gold describes wabi-sabi as "the wisdom and beauty of imperfection."^[5]

Wabi-sabi is a concept in traditional Japanese aesthetics constituting a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete." Wikipedia

Why am I bring this up in a blog and how does this relate to my work?

I tell ALL of my patients that EVERYTHING  that I do will FAIL given enough time. I also state that the definition of a good dentist is a dentist that makes things fail at the slowest possible rate.

Yes, ok...again where is this going?

A patient called to say that my filling was 'wearing' and that I told her that my work would not wear..

First of all, I would NEVER make that statement given what I said a few sentences back. Secondly, I know for a fact that a direct resin bonded filling placed under a rubber dam is NOT going to wear in a few short years. Break? Possible because God's teeth break and anything man-made can break because humans can do stupid things with their teeth...Like ummmmm  chewing ice cubes.

Wearing of a new, or relatively new filling of 3-4 years which is how long this patient has been in my practice...is not going to happen. Could it be that one of her fillings that were placed prior to her becoming my patient is failing? Possible.

Nothing  lasts forever...and the ancient Japanese masters recognized this.

"Nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect."

Let's all understand this...because it is a 'perfect' concept.

CEO of Hobby Lobby: Hypocrite

Don't you hate when someone doesn't want to do something because he or she claims that it is against their religion? A few years ago David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby took the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over a provision of the Affordable Health Care Act. I have no problem with people of faith following their religion. As far as I am concerned, people of faith may have something to teach the rest of us about how to relate to each other.

So what is the problem with David Green and why is he a Hypocrite?

Well he imported stolen property from Iraq...specifically, artifacts that cannot be removed from the country  (Iraq) nor can they be imported into the United States.

Poor David claimed ignorance....Except experts told him that importing stolen artifacts would be illegal. He even lied when he asked that the artifacts be mislabeled to appear legal.

Laws are only for average folks like us and not for billionaires as we have recently come to see.

Now poor ignorant (by his own admission) David has probably never heard of the 10 Commandments and specifically: Thou shall not lie or steal.

Even those laws don't apply to the wealthy.....

And not even his religion could bail him out this time as he was made to return the artifacts and pay a  three million dollar fine.

Poor David...What a hypocrite.

So why am I writing a blog like this? 

Because I don't hurt patients to financially benefit  myself or my office. As you know,  our office motto is: Do The Right Thing. PERIOD.

I won't steal from you or lie to an insurance company. 

If someone does not value quality dentistry, they won't have treatment in our office. And that is ok with us.

No lying, no stealing, no cutting corners.  I will put MY Values against David Green's any day of the week.