Are YOU a Dentist?Ever feel like you chose
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How often does fear affect your clinical decision making? |
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| Daily | 61% |
| Twice a week | 9% |
| Weekly | 8% |
| Monthly | 6% |
| Never | 14% |
So, only 14% claim NEVER to have their clinical decisions influenced by fear. Let's face it, we all experience fear from time to time when treating patients in a clinical situation. These are ones that felt the fear, but went ahead and did the correct thing anyway - courageous souls, or just confident in their skills?
Wouldn't it be great to be able to practise dentistry without fear?
Think how much less stressful your job would be, and how much better this would be for your patients, your nurse, your receptionist, your spouse, your kids .... but most importantly, for YOU.
It probably seems incredible to you, and I don't blame you for feeling this way, but it really is possible for anyone practising dentistry today to start applying these principles from the very first day to help more patients, do more satisfying dentistry and earn a lot more money without harming anyone, including yourself.
| Why don't they teach you SOME of this as an undergraduate? This subject really should be taught better. Why has it taken 15 years post-qualification to learn these things?! | |
| Dr A R, Cheshire | |
Dentists who increase their income by harming patients ultimately harm themselves.
One of the biggest threats to long term health and happiness is STRESS. And GUILT. Guilt and stress seem to be built into dentistry. You feel stressed and guilty every time you feel you haven't been able to give a patient enough of your time, every time you compromise on the fit, the shade, the materials, the laboratory, the longevity, the comfort, the sensitivity, the pain .... and every time this happens it harms you too.
| If I had attended this course earlier in my career I would not have extracted teeth that I now know could (and should) have been saved. | |
| Dr W L, Herfordshire | |
Feelings of Stress and Guilt prevent you enjoying Dentistry.
Stress and Guilt can stop you sleeping properly; they prevent you wanting to get up to go to work in the morning; they make you snap at your staff or your family; they make you need more holidays; more toys; bigger and better cars; make you look for ways of making money outside dentistry where you don't feel so stressed or guilty.
Money is no substitute for Health and Happiness, or being Rewarded and Appreciated.
But what if being healthy and happy, rewarded and appreciated, was the key to earning lots of money, as much as you ever wanted, guilt- and stress-free?
That's the power of Dentistry's Biggest Secret. A switch you can turn to unlock everything you ever thought Dentistry should have been when you entered university, full of hope and excited for the future. The Secret gives you way of switching on enjoyment, reward and optimism for the future, even when you've been practising in the darkness for years. I've seen it happen, lots of times.
The truth is often staring you in the face but you don't recognise it.
Have you ever had the feeling that you when you find out something new a light-bulb switches on somewhere, one of those 'ah-ha' moments that change and illuminate everything else from that day forward?
The Secret can help you see the same information as you saw before but in an entirely different way. You probably know the example of standing looking directly at a tree and believing there is only one tree there, but if you move slightly further away and off to one side you suddenly have revealed to you that there is a long line of trees or even a whole forest. Even when you return to your original viewpoint it is now impossible to 'unlearn' that there is more ahead of you than just the tree you're staring at.
Once you know the Secret to Dentistry there's no going back.
Just a word of warning. This is addictive stuff.
When you start to see the possibilities; the glittering future ahead of you; how you can transform the way you treat people and how they treat you; the rewards and freedom, you'll find it hard to go back to the old way of working.
Keep moving down the page and you'll be setting off on a journey into your future and there's no trail of breadcrumbs you can lay that won't be swiftly gobbled up by the next generation of unhappy, stressed, dentists that are following.
Here's your chance. Turn back now.
Still with us? Great!
A new vista of possibilities.
How do I know all this?
Because I have been there.
I left Dental School in 1978 full of confidence. I had passed all my exams with flying colours. Patients seemed to like me. I breezed into a great job in a lovely town. There was something missing. Within 6 months I was in another, bigger town full of people who needed LOTS of dentistry and most didn't need to pay for it.
By 1980 I was earning enough to own a 911 and a nice apartment.
BUT
The money wasn't enough reward for what I was experiencing; it never would be.
By 1981 I hated dentistry so much I would have packed it in and gone off to train for something else - anything.
In 1982 I had the good fortune to take my first tentative steps on the road to understanding Dentistry's Biggest Secret. I have reaped the rewards of the knowledge of this Secret from the very first day but after 28 years I am finally able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in a way that allows me to paint a complete picture for other dentists to follow.
The Jigsaw Puzzle and the Maze
I already had a couple of pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, given to me by two lovely, elderly professors, which I carried around for a few years. It was in 1982 that I entered the maze and started collecting more and more jigsaw pieces.
Like many mazes there are numerous wrong turns and blind alleys where you have to retrace your steps, but thankfully I was already pretty far in and retracing my steps without anyone noticing was still a possibility. I also seemed to pick up odd bits of jigsaw that didn't look like they would fit, but I kept them anyway.
Just a couple of years ago I seemed to emerge into the light at the centre of the maze, a journey of some 30 years, and put all the pieces together.
Of course, I haven't stopped learning or growing yet; there's a lot of truth in the saying that the more you know the more you realise you don't know.
This has held me back from sharing the Secret for a long time; the feeling that there was still so much I didn't know.
I now realise that it really doesn't matter because it is those who follow me, those who are inspired by this journey to take it further, who will discover that knowledge.
A Short-Cut to the Centre of the Maze and into Daylight.
Like the view of the forest, it's so much easier to see when there's someone else who can lead you by the hand away from the tree you're staring at so intently to a different viewpoint. That's what I want to offer you.
A short-cut to where the daylight is, out of the confusion, stress and guilt of the forest, out from the trees and up the grassy slopes of knowledge and understanding to a place where you can see the whole picture unfold and see your true place within it.
Of course, the maze through the forest and up the grassy hill might just lead you to a view of a far-off mountain range, one I feel I have glimpsed, but let's take it a step at a time.
Giving the Secret a Name
I've held back from giving the Secret of Dentistry a name, though I suspect you have already guessed it long ago, but thanks for playing along.
The reason I'm hesitant is that what I'm referring to with this word and what you already understand by it are probably two entirely different things.
I think of it as being a little like the word 'magic', which, if you have studied it, you will know to mean many different things to many different people.
.... and the Secret is
The one thing that has made the difference to my working life, my family's life and the lives of thousands of patients is Occlusion.
There, I knew it would put you off. It's like saying I want to convert you to Zoroastrianism. I heard that inner groan, the shutters coming down, the parachute failing to open. Go then, switch off, go back to your comfort zone, stop reading, ignore the message, write me off as another nutter with cotton-wool for brains, leave me to my fate.
But why would you pass up that opportunity? Aren't you just a little curious? Don't you want to find how crazy I really am? Aren't you just a little intrigued to find out how I think I can make such a dry, boring, confusing subject interesting, useful, a part of your every working moment? Isn't it all just for weird people who wear sandals?
Occlusion IS the Secret of Dentistry
There's very little you can do in dentistry that doesn't have some impact on Occlusion. Human beings are amazingly adaptable, so we dentists can get away with a lot.
Most patients can function pretty well with almost anything in their mouths. They might not feel as comfortable as they could, the work you do might not last as long as it could, it might not even look as good as it could, and, thanks to that wonderful adaptability, most of the time you'll get away with it.
But there's another level you could move into, one where everything you do feels so comfortable your patients will remark upon how good it feels; one where you can place almost anything in someone's mouth and it will last years and years. I regularly see crowns and bridges I placed 25 years ago still looking good and functioning perfectly.
How good do you think that makes me, my staff and (most importantly) the patient, feel?
An understanding of occlusion helps me to see the patient as a whole person; someone with a dentition that should work in harmony with that whole person as a part that creates no additional stresses or strains, mental or physical.
| "For the past 24 years I have been mending teeth (probably when they didn't even need fixing). I am now starting to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Thank you." | |
| Dr A C, East Yorks | |
An understanding of occlusion helps me to plan complex restorative and implant cases, diagnose complex issues involving pain, discomfort, mobility, drifting teeth, TMJ problems, advanced wear, aesthetic challenges and with a great deal of confidence about the outcome. I can confidently take an occlusion apart and put it back together again without raising a sweat.
Occlusion makes life EASIER
OK, so are thinking 'that would be nice, but isn't it all a bit too much hassle?'
Have you ever noticed how when someone is good
at something they make it all look so easy?
The Beckham cross,
the Hamilton overtake,
the Federer serve;
effortless.
If you ever learned to ski you'll know just how tiring it is to spend a day on the beginners' slopes, yet when you're an expert you can ski huge distances on difficult slopes all day and still feel like dancing all night.
When you have an understanding of occlusion dentistry suddenly becomes easier, but, like a tennis serve, this is a skill that needs expert guidance and plenty of practice. Roger Federer could write instructions and make a video about how he does it, but you're never going to gain the skill needed to get the ball over the net without picking up a tennis racket, chucking a ball in the air and hitting it. Thousands and thousands of times.
But, everyone has to start somewhere. Occlusion is no different; you just have to take the first step.
First steps - Absorb 30 Years' Learning in 3 Years
Moving from Initiate to Master in occlusion can be achieved in 3 years, given a reasonable commitment. You could take 10 years, or you might never make it, but at least you'd be on the journey.
The cost, both in time and monetary terms, is miniscule compared to the long term benefits to your income, life expectancy and length of career.
What we can teach you will make you as wealthy as you want to be, happier and more fulfilled and you'll be enjoying it all so much you may never want to stop.
OK, I'm exaggerating, dentistry isn't THAT great! But, you'll certainly want to reap the rewards in a happy and long retirement too, and how much easier will that be to achieve if you're not burned out at 55?
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After Part 2 Practical Course - How has this course changed the direction of your
practice? "Now seeing and looking at the patient differently. Starting to understand occlusion better and feeling more confident. Feel I am able to offer more help and more appropriate treatement to my patients." |
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| Anon | |
Mentoring and Support
One of the biggest changes I want to bring into Occlusion teaching is the feeling that you belong to a group of like-minded people all working towards similar goals, all happy to help each other on the journey. You could find one of the senior members of the group popping in to help with difficult cases or practice management issues; help setting up new practices or getting jobs in the places you'd love to work; sharing facilities and resources; introductions to technicians who speak your language; local study groups; shared case reports or problem solving on the Internet; help with referrals; a cohesive community, should you need it.
Basically, it's all the stuff I wish I had been able to call on when I was going through this process instead of having to learn it all from my own mistakes.
A Risk-Free Offer
So, where on Earth do you start?
We have put together a complete preliminary Distance Learning Course in Occlusion that will help you to take the first steps directly from your own armchair. It's risk free - if you don't like it just ask for a refund and we'll do it immediately, no questions asked.
If you get interested and want to know more then you'll be reassured to know that we have a great programme of really practical hands-on and clinical courses that have been established in the UK for over 25 years. Almost 700 dentists have already been through the 1st year of the programme.
Want to know more?
Join our mailing list today and we'll send you the information you need to take the first steps towards an exciting new future in a profession you're already part of.
Download Booking Form for Next Introduction to Occlusion Courses
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After 1st Clinical Hands-on Weekend "Venue was brilliant. Tutors very approachable and knowledgeable. Approach to diagnosing pain now has a new dimension and now I find I am not so focussed on the pulp but looking at the role of other structures." |
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| Dr M C, Cheshire | |