You Don't Know What You Don't Know

A grandmother goes to buy a gift for her young grandson. He is an avid baseball player and she knows exactly what he wants: A new baseball glove. She remembers that her grandson is left-handed, so she makes sure that she buys a glove that fits on the left hand.

If you play baseball, or are at all familiar with the sport, you'll understand right away why the boy was disappointed when he opened his gift. You know that a left-handed player throws with his left hand and catches with his right. But grandma, who didn't know the sport at all, didn't know that.

She had the right information – that her grandson is left-handed – but she wasn't able to put it into the right context. The very nature of expertise is being able to take the same information that is available to everyone and see it in a special way. As dentists, you do this all the time. When you look into a mouth, you instantly see things that we non-dentists don't see, and you have a language for identifying what you see that non-dentists don't share. You have a different context for looking at mouths than the rest of us do.

The same principle applies within the profession. Dentists who reach the highest levels of success are not there because they are just blessed with extraordinary natural skills (or luck). These dentists have reached the highest level because they have the education, training and experience that allows them to take the same information other dentists have (what the patient presents with) and do more with it. They have learned to see beyond what seems like the obvious solution. They have a different context.

The great thing is, this ability is available to anyone who has the desire and the commitment to attain it. Just as anyone can choose to immerse themselves in the many nuances of baseball, you can choose to explore dentistry at a higher level. And the view is incredible from up there.