Dentistry That Speaks to the Heart

My sons are fanatical sports fans and they love going to games in person. Personally, I never used to be a big follower of sports but with those two around I couldn't help but get a taste of what it is like to be a fan. I remember back when we lived in Vancouver and the boys took me to my first hockey game.

I really started getting into the energy and excitement of the live action and started cheering. At one point, my embarrassed sons had to point out to me that I was cheering for the wrong team.

So when they approached me about four years ago with the idea of going in on a pool to get prime seats for basketball games, I was hesitant. I liked basketball enough to enjoy it but my first thoughts were of the expense and the time involved. It didn't sound worth it for a moderate fan like me. Then my son Rezwan said, "Think about it, Dad. We'll ride to the arena together, we'll eat together, watch the game together – it will be great quality time to spend with each other." That did it. Without hesitation, I said, "I'm in."

What Rezwan understood, because he's always been good at playing the angles, was that he had to frame the discussion in terms that meant something to me. He didn't spend a lot of time trying to sell me on how good the team was, or how great the seats were. He got to the heart of what he knows motivates me. Today, I'm a devoted basketball fan and I wouldn't want to give up those tickets – and those nights out with my sons – for anything.

This is something to keep in mind when talking with patients. As dentists, it's easy for you to provide the clinical explanation for why a procedure should be done – but the simple truth is most patients are not motivated entirely by clinical goals. You have to reach not just their minds but also their hearts.

You no doubt have had patients who have had their lives transformed by a procedure you have done, people who are demonstrably grateful to you for giving them a renewed confidence that has made a measurable difference, whether it was finding a new job or new relationship, or just feeling good about themselves. That's the kind of emotional connection you want to try to find with every patient. You have to not only explain what a procedure will mean to their teeth, but what it will mean to them – how it will make them look, how it will change the way they chew, how it will make them feel.

Most people have reasons within them for wanting to accept great dental care, even if they don't realize it. Sometimes it is just a matter of helping them make that emotional connection.