What's the Right Word?

A while ago I posted an article about how it is important to use the right language with patients if you want to evoke the right responses. The words we use are often loaded with connotations, so we want to be careful about the choices we make.

This got me thinking: Is "discretionary" the right word to describe the procedures you provide above and beyond basic reactive and proactive care? It's a word we have used here at Spear for some time now, but I wonder if it sends the right message. I wonder if it's another example of how we tend to "prejudge" patients and their expectations.

After all, when it comes to dental care, one person's discretionary is another person's vital necessity. By calling it discretionary, are we already devaluing it by suggesting it's not really necessary?

So what are the alternatives? I've always felt that the term "cosmetic" makes it seem like the treatment is superficial. Similarly, "esthetic" can sound like it's just about looks. These words, along with discretionary can minimize the value of the kind of dentistry you perform in this category.

If you're like most dentists, you have had the incredibly gratifying experience of seeing a patient have an emotional, tearful response to receiving the gift of a restored smile. How many patients have had that kind of a reaction to getting a filling? Often, it is this so-called discretionary dentistry that ends up having the most vital impact on a patient's life, and we shouldn't discount that.

I think we should be thinking about these procedures as "social health" dentistry, the implications of which are every bit as real as any other dentistry you perform. And if your patients are going to accept that reality, your attitude – and your choice of language – needs to reflect that.