Exploring: Practice Philosophy
Establishing a Practice Philosophy of Patient Care Excellence in Dentistry By Alla Brown, DMD When I was younger, I somehow knew I always wanted to be in the medical field. I researched many different areas and professions and dentistry sounded like the perfect fit for me. I became a dental assistant and worked for four years during my time at Georgia State Univ. The office where I worked was great all the way from the doctors and staff to the patients. I learned a lot about my chosen field and was sure I made the right decision. A couple of years ago I began plans to open my own practice using the foundation established in dental school and my experiences during my prior associations. It was now time to have my own practice and the reality of it was financially intimidating, yet exciting. I knew just how I wanted to do it. For the first time I would be in control of what my patients experienced from their initial phone call to completion of their treatment. I was equipped in every way to provide “Excellence in Dentistry”, just as my practice announcement stated.
Managing and leading my own practice and team is something they don’t focus on in school as much as other areas, so it’s been quite a learning experience, one that I build on day after day. I love the interactions I have on a daily basis with all my patients; being able to get someone out of pain is very rewarding. Also, there is nothing like witnessing the great changes you see in a person after cosmetic work, or after educating them on oral hygiene and seeing the difference it makes in their oral health. I had a patient tell me that she ate corn on the cob the other day without having to slice the kernels off, something she has not done in years,
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Dental Explorer | Third Quarter 2009
and it made her extremely happy. Her happiness is just one small example of many fulfilling experiences that has motivated me in my new and growing practice! I truly think that the “dentistry” is exactly what I expected when I entered the field. I had been around it long enough before dental school that I knew what I was getting myself in to. Working with people is great, but can also be challenging. Many patients would rather be doing something else than coming to see us, so we thoughtfully take our time and do everything in our power to make them feel comfortable and welcome. Managing and leading my own practice and team is something they don’t focus on in school as much as other areas, so it’s been quite a learning experience, one that I build on day after day. I believe that I’m becoming much better at it and feel very fortunate that I am able to rely on my great staff. They truly care about me, our patients, and the success of the practice. They all know their various responsibilities and are always coming up with new and exciting ideas and are a huge help to me as I grow my practice. During my young career as a dentist, I have grown to love continuing education courses and how they can benefit not only me as a clinician, but also my patients and my growing practice. I make every effort to read, listen, and absorb as much as I can, but sometimes no matter how much I am looking forward to a class, I leave disappointed. Perhaps I’ve taken some of these classes a little too soon since graduation 4 years ago or feel that the education I received during my four years was so rewarding it has been difficult to appreciate the information. Some of these classes seemed to be more of a review and lacked new ideas or content. Either way, I was disenchanted by one or more of these factors. With so much to learn during dental school, little time was left to emphasize occlusion and how it impacts every aspect of dentistry. Most cases we examined then were simple and far less complicated than the cases I was being presented in my own practice.
After graduation, when I worked as an associate for several years, I began to recognize and identify areas where I needed improvement. After carefully researching several postgraduate programs and receiving advice from other colleagues, I choose to take classes at the Dawson Academy and it was this experience that has really expanded my vision. Upon returning from my first class, I couldn’t believe how energized I felt and my husband couldn’t believe that I could not stop talking about it! I learned so much in that one weekend and was inspired by the whole experience. My enthusiasm couldn’t be contained and was shared with most anyone that came in contact with me. So far, I’ve only completed the first course out of many offered by the Academy, but there is no doubt that I learned more that weekend than I could possibly imagine. During those 2 ½ days, I quickly realized that Dr. Peter Dawson and the other class instructors, Dr. John C. Cranham, and Dr. DeWitt Wilkerson are dedicated to teaching the concept of complete dentistry and how everything is interrelated. You could tell through their passion that they love their profession as well as their patients, and I know that it may sound silly, but I truly feel that their passion is contagious. During the series of courses, they strive to teach their students the systematic approach to each patient with an understanding of occlusion and supporting structures instead of doing single tooth dentistry. With this understanding we can detect the earliest signs of occlusal instability and correct them before the need for more complex treatment. They also did an excellent job showing how understanding of occlusal principles allow for more predictable results and stress free dentistry. One of the most difficult concepts for me during my time as a student was understanding the centric relation and how it relates to everyday dentistry. After attending the course, I realize that without this understanding, it is impossible to perform everyday dentistry. The course also helped me visualize and understand the TMJ and assisted me in being able to record and verify centric relation. Ever since that weekend, I feel much more comfortable accurately manipulating patients into that position and taking the records I need to be able to mount and analyze casts and begin further treatment planning.
With this understanding we can detect the earliest signs of occlusal instability and correct them before the need for more complex treatment. Another amazing thing about the philosophy taught by Dr. Dawson is that he does not teach how to sell dentistry or increase your profit. He states that all of that will come when doing comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, educating and motivating patients so they understand the reason treatment is necessary, so trust and appreciation will be established. If you have not taken any classes with The Dawson Academy, I highly recommend looking into this program and the benefits that they provide. The first class in the series is called “Functional Occlusion – From TMJ to Smile Design.” I recommend that anyone interested look into it and then you can decide for yourself if this is something worthwhile to you and your practice. I understand that over 40,000 dentists have taken this course and that may include many of you, and I wonder if it was as inspirational for others as it was for me. It did change the mental picture of what I want to accomplish in my practice and career, and I am looking forward to my next course in a couple of months and many more in the years to come. One thing I did realize (unfortunately, I might add!) is that the knowledge I gained is somewhat bitter sweet. Why, you might ask? It seems that now I know how much more there is to learn and what a long road I have in front of me, but taking classes such as this is exactly what I feel that I need to become a better clinician. I truly love having my own practice so I can help it grow and control the way it grows. I believe it is important to involve everyone on the team and make them feel that they can contribute to our success, so we can accomplish our mission to truly provide “Excellence in Dentistry”.
Dr. Alla Brown maintains a private practice in Buford, GA. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Georgia State University, went on to graduate from Medical College of Georgia School of dentistry in 2005. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the Hinman Dental Society, and the Northern District Dental Society, and donates professional time to the Ben Massell Dental Clinic. She and her husband live in Braselton, GA. She can be reached at drbrown@laniersmiles.com
Dental Explorer | Third Quarter 2009
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