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The
Philosophy Behind Oramedics
Dr. Robert O. Nara
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(Make your Own Toothpaste Part 2) Subscribe to the OraMedia Newsletter OraMedia Products; Oral Irrigators, Floss, Mouth Rinse, OraMD, Maxiumum Teeth Whitening... Bad Breath and Gingivitis | Is Your Dentist Taking Shortcuts? | How to Become Dentally Self Sufficient Feelings! | Principles of the Seven Factors for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life | Venus, Mars and Oral Hygiene | Via Jet Pro | TheraSol | Glide Floss | OraMD | Maximum Teeth Whitening | BANA Test | 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life! | OraMedia Newsletter Advertizing | Take Bad Breath Seriously | Behavioral Effects of Fluorides on Mass Populations | What is the Best Way to Purify My Water? | Liquid Minerals | Sonicare Elite Bonus Pack 7700 OraMedia Home | Articles on Gum Disease | Newsletter Archive | Dr. Robert O. Nara Interview: Freedom From Dental Disease | Healthy Teeth and Gums | 3 Steps to Acheiving Proper Oral Health | Let your Teeth Heal Themselves | How to Eliminate the Dentist From Your Life | Healthy Teeth in Children | FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Q&A With a Periodontal Patient | Make Your Own Toothpaste | What Are You Brushing With? (Make your Own Toothpaste Part 2) Subscribe to the OraMedia Newsletter OraMedia Products; Oral Irrigators, Floss, Mouth Rinse, OraMD, Maxiumum Teeth Whitening... Bad Breath and Gingivitis | Is Your Dentist Taking Shortcuts? | How to Become Dentally Self Sufficient Feelings! | Principles of the Seven Factors for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life | Venus, Mars and Oral Hygiene | Via Jet Pro | TheraSol | Glide Floss | OraMD | Maximum Teeth Whitening | BANA Test | 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life! | OraMedia Newsletter Advertizing | Take Bad Breath Seriously | Behavioral Effects of Fluorides on Mass Populations | What is the Best Way to Purify My Water? | Liquid Minerals | Sonicare Elite Bonus Pack 7700 OraMedia Home | Articles on Gum Disease | Newsletter Archive | Dr. Robert O. Nara Interview: Freedom From Dental Disease | Healthy Teeth and Gums | 3 Steps to Acheiving Proper Oral Health | Let your Teeth Heal Themselves | How to Eliminate the Dentist From Your Life | Healthy Teeth in Children | FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Q&A With a Periodontal Patient | Make Your Own Toothpaste | What Are You Brushing With? (Make your Own Toothpaste Part 2) Subscribe to the OraMedia Newsletter OraMedia Products; Oral Irrigators, Floss, Mouth Rinse, OraMD, Maxiumum Teeth Whitening... Bad Breath and Gingivitis | Is Your Dentist Taking Shortcuts? | How to Become Dentally Self Sufficient Feelings! | Principles of the Seven Factors for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life | Venus, Mars and Oral Hygiene | Via Jet Pro | TheraSol | Glide Floss | OraMD | Maximum Teeth Whitening | BANA Test | 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life! | OraMedia Newsletter Advertizing | Take Bad Breath Seriously | Behavioral Effects of Fluorides on Mass Populations | What is the Best Way to Purify My Water? | Liquid Minerals | Sonicare Elite Bonus Pack 7700 OraMedia Home | Articles on Gum Disease | Newsletter Archive | Dr. Robert O. Nara Interview: Freedom From Dental Disease | Healthy Teeth and Gums | 3 Steps to Acheiving Proper Oral Health | Let your Teeth Heal Themselves | How to Eliminate the Dentist From Your Life | Healthy Teeth in Children | FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Q&A With a Periodontal Patient | Make Your Own Toothpaste | What Are You Brushing With? (Make your Own Toothpaste Part 2) Subscribe to the OraMedia Newsletter OraMedia Products; Oral Irrigators, Floss, Mouth Rinse, OraMD, Maxiumum Teeth Whitening... Bad Breath and Gingivitis | Is Your Dentist Taking Shortcuts? | How to Become Dentally Self Sufficient Feelings! | Principles of the Seven Factors for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life | Venus, Mars and Oral Hygiene | Via Jet Pro | TheraSol | Glide Floss | OraMD | Maximum Teeth Whitening | BANA Test | 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life! | OraMedia Newsletter Advertizing | Take Bad Breath Seriously | Behavioral Effects of Fluorides on Mass Populations | What is the Best Way to Purify My Water? | Liquid Minerals | Sonicare Elite Bonus Pack 7700 OraMedia Home | Articles on Gum Disease | Newsletter Archive | Dr. Robert O. Nara Interview: Freedom From Dental Disease | Healthy Teeth and Gums | 3 Steps to Acheiving Proper Oral Health | Let your Teeth Heal Themselves | How to Eliminate the Dentist From Your Life | Healthy Teeth in Children | FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Q&A With a Periodontal Patient | Make Your Own Toothpaste | What Are You Brushing With? (Make your Own Toothpaste Part 2) Subscribe to the OraMedia Newsletter OraMedia Products; Oral Irrigators, Floss, Mouth Rinse, OraMD, Maxiumum Teeth Whitening... Bad Breath and Gingivitis | Is Your Dentist Taking Shortcuts? | How to Become Dentally Self Sufficient Feelings! | Principles of the Seven Factors for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life | Venus, Mars and Oral Hygiene | Via Jet Pro | TheraSol | Glide Floss | OraMD | Maximum Teeth Whitening | BANA Test | 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy for Life! | OraMedia Newsletter Advertizing | Take Bad Breath Seriously | Behavioral Effects of Fluorides on Mass Populations | What is the Best Way to Purify My Water? | Liquid Minerals | Sonicare Elite Bonus Pack 7700 |
Graduation from
dental school is one of the two or three most important events in the life of any
dentist. Most of us float down from the stage or podium with
stars in our eyes, fire in our hearts, and the firm conviction that
we're going to do great things for our society, our patients, and
ourselves. And, in a small way, we perhaps do accomplish a lot
more than the average plumber, electrician, computer programmer, or
what-have-you. But do we ever really achieve the heights to which
we aspire? Are we able to set the world aflame with the knowledge
we have crammed into our heads, the skills locked tightly in our
hands? Generally speaking--no! There are just too many
pitfalls--and pratfalls--along the way. Let's look at some of
them.First, we have to get started, right? That means drumming up capital, the cash or credit to establish an office and get things rolling. Suddenly, the real world of finance stares us in the face, and we have to make the necessary arrangements, however crude we may think this to be. For some of us, even this initial hurdle is enough to make us shudder. But we overcome it... there are plenty of people willing to help, for a price... and we are, at last, in business. But does the public bruise its collective knuckles on our door? Are we deluged with phone calls and personal visits from a demanding clientele who simply can't wait to avail themselves of our services? Well... not quite! Still, the patients do gradually recognize our existence, and the practice begins to grow, however slowly or quickly, until we're at least reasonably busy. Things are definitely under way! And, at this point, many of us still have plenty of fire, plenty of zeal for our profession. We're still certain that we can turn the public's head, get people thinking our way... teach them how to save their teeth and reap all the benefits good dental health can bring. Right about here is where it happens-- a gradual, almost unnoticed loss of enthusiasm. We find that people don't really care about their mouths. They couldn't care less whether they keep their natural teeth. After all, didn't Gramps lose 'em... and isn't Dad nearly toothless now, just waiting for the last few to go so he can get his dentures? Who cares how many teeth you still have when you die? Just so long as the occasional pain caused by decayed teeth or gum tissue disease is relieved by the "good old Doc" as it comes up, why go any farther? After all, that's the dentist's job -- isn't it? And, after meeting this attitude day after day, year in and year out, even the strongest of us is likely to waver. If the public really doesn't care, why should we? Is it really worth the effort to try to teach people how they can save their teeth, protect their health, and save money all in the same stroke? Well, that's exactly the position I found myself in several years back. My attitude had slipped. I was no longer that bright young idealist in search of a meaningful dental practice, one in which I could feel that I was doing someone some real good. I was, in fact, becoming quite a cynic. If 'patch-'em-till-you pull-'em' dentistry was what the public really wanted...I was ready to give them just that! The attitude my patients had toward me was only one factor contributing to my dilemma, of course. The public as a whole felt much the same way. If I were introduced to someone at a party, for example, as "Dr. Bob Nara," that person would be quite interested in me...for awhile. The conversation usually went something like this: "Well, Dr. Nara, are you a general practitioner?" "No," l'd answer, not really wanting to volunteer anything. But my fellow guest wouldn't let it rest there. "Ah, a specialist, then! Surgeon?" "No," l'd grudgingly reply. "Pediatrician? Podiatrist? Gynecologist? Proctologist?" And, since the list was obviously limited only by the interrogator's medical vocabulary, I'd usually interrupt and say: "I'm a dentist!" "Oh. " That was the usual response. Just -- "Oh." And very shortly, I'd be alone again, just me and a martini waiting for the next embarrassing inquisition to begin...all because I'd become convinced that I wasn't an "R.D." -- a "Real Doctor"! So it wasn't just my patients. It went much further than that. It seemed to me that the entire world was less impressed with a dentist than with an apprentice Sanitation Engineer. Little wonder, then that my self-image had hit rock bottom just a couple of years after I'd hung out my shingle. If that's all the public thought of my profession and the type of job we could do for them, I'd satisfy them... I'd give them exactly what they asked for, no more and no less. If a patient came in for a 'quick cleaning,' I'd introduce him to the 'cleaning lady' and forget it. If someone preferred to have a tooth pulled, rather than repaired and saved -- okay! It's his tooth, isn't it? And I knew I could make a real fine living by giving the public what it wanted, what it expected from a dentist: Patch-' em-or-pull-' em! But the whole deal bothered me. I was missing the mark and knew it. Sure, I was making money. And the list of regular patients was growing almost daily. I had two assistants on board now, and my income was becoming pretty impressive, especially considering that my practice was located in one of the most depressed, almost--rural copper mining areas of Upper Michigan. We already had a very n1ce home, two cars, and a lake cottage on thirty acres to which we could escape evenings and weekends. But something was missing, and I couldn't kid myself into believing that I didn't know what it was.  Then came my "day of reckoning" -- and believe
me, we all have at least one. An attractive young school teacher
came hurrying into the office that afternoon with an aching
tooth. Nothing unusual: the tooth could be repaired easily
enough, although it was, I must admit, pretty far gone. Still, I
decided, it could be saved, and I so informed the patient.Her response was typical. "Look, Doctor, I really don't care whether you save the tooth or not. Just do what you can to relieve the pain... I'm in a hurry, and I can't afford anything 'fancy' just now." "Look," I answered, "we could take care of the pain permanently in just a few minutes by pulling the tooth. But I don't think that's the way we should go. Why don't you let me put in a treatment filling, just something to fix things up for a day or two? Then you can come back tomorrow or the next day, we can do a full exam, fix this tooth more permanently, and get started on any other problems you might have in there." She shook her head. "No. Just go ahead and pull it. My family all lost their teeth early -- looks like I've inherited the same problems the folks had!" I made another attempt. "That's really not the answer, you know. If you don't start taking better care of your mouth, you are going to lose your teeth. But if you'll let me analyze your whole mouth and get you started on a sound program of prevention. . . " "Please, Doctor," she interrupted, "just yank the thing and let me out of here! My financee' is waiting, and I don't have time to discuss it right now." Defeated. Without further argument, my assistant and I got down to business and extracted this young woman's tooth. Nothing unusual, as I said--and, normally, that would have been the end of it. But as I stood there with that tooth in my forcept, it dawned on me what was missing from my practice, from my life: Integrity! Fortitude! The guts to say, "No!" to a patient who was intent on doing the wrong thing! I looked at that tooth... that needlessly extracted molar... and made up my mind that I'd never do that again! And I haven't. It takes plenty of nerve to say "No!" and stick to it, especially when you're just getting started and you need every patient you can get. But I had to draw the line, right there...or get out of dentistry. If this was all my profession had to offer, I decided, then I'd either set out to change it--or find a new profession. All kidding aside, this wasn't an easy decision to make, either. There were other avenues open to me, although most of them would have meant relocating to another part of the country. Still, to try to change things, to "buck the system" in whatever way I could, starting with my own practice and my own attitudes, seemed almost impossible. It would be no easy decision, whichever way I went. In the final analysis, of course, I stuck with the profession. I refused to waste all those years of study and hard work. But the really difficult years still lay ahead, if I was to accomplish what was necessary. Prevention, I decided, was the only way. Through it, I could gain the advantages of providing my patients with the kind of dentistry that would give good health, while still earning an adequate income and building a meaningful practice. And that's how it started, the development of the preventive dentistry system I now call Oramedics. The details of this system will be the subject of the remainder of this book. Now, some 15 years later, with a lot of help from some dedicated friends I call my "staff," I've accomplished some of the things I'd hoped to all along. My patients--at least those who come to me in time, before dental disease has taken too great a toll--receive a lot more than treatment. They get an education in oral health: an education that helps them look better, feel better, and, over the years, save money in the bargain! Through proper administration and delegation of duties in the office, we've greatly increased the patient flow, the dollar volume, and the profit--we all live better, while helping our patients achieve something they hardly knew was possible: Good dental health! In summary, my philosophy toward the profession of dentistry can be stated in three sentences. First, good dental health is the one form of health our patients can buy with money. In spite of the fact that, in general, you can't buy love, happiness, or health, dental health is the exception! Anyone who pays the initial price, then continues to pay it in terms of honest effort, can buy good dental health. All it takes is that first step, then the conviction to stick to the plan we lay out for every patient. Second, without prevention, all dentistry is temporary. Anything we do - cleaning, examining, restoring teeth, making bridges, and so on, even the most complicated, sophisticated techniques and processes--all of this is only temporary, unless we help our patients embark on, and maintain, a planned program of preventive dentistry... that positive course of action we call Oramedics. So don't kid yourself that you're doing the job if you get a patient's teeth in shape and simply tell him or her to come back in six months or a year. Unless you show each patient how to prevent decay and gum disease, all you're doing is slowing down the process of the development of poor dental health and ultimate tooth loss! And since the answers are now available to us, there's virtually no excuse for performing temporary dentistry any more. Finally, the third key to my philosophy of dentistry: Dentists don't have enough fun! Now, I'm talking about more than cocktail parties and vacations-although they're fun in themselves. What I'm referring to is the total relaxation you can achieve if you know that you've done your job in the best possible manner. This provides peace-of-mind so that, when you do take a vacation break, or go to a party, or just do nothing at all...you can enjoy it to the fullest! Prestige is part of this "fun", too. It feels good to know that you're more than "just a dentist" to your patients. You're an expert, a specialist who is helping them achieve the health, self-confidence and pure joy that Oramedics can bring. To illustrate this, let's take another look at that party we attended earlier, the one (so typical) at which my Martini and I spent a pretty lonely evening. Again, the hostess has just introduced me to a total stranger--and she has introduced me as 'Dr. Bob Nara.' "Well, Dr. Nara, are you a general practitioner?" the smiling stranger asks. "No," I answer, still not volunteering anything. "Ah, a specialist, then!" And here's where the script changes! "Yes," I reply. I specialize in Oramedics." A puzzled look then: "Oramedics? What's that?" My immediate response: "Funny thing that you should ask! Let me tell you about it." Fun? You bet! But even more important is the fact that I get to tell another person about Oramedics. (continued next issue...) It's your ATTITUDE
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