Professional Courtesy: Better Dentistry Through Golf Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

– by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

Has a patient ever asked you why dentists like golf so much? Did you know there is more to the connection between golf and dentistry than just an old stereotype?

I recently slipped a golf question into Dentaltown.com's monthly online poll because I was curious to know if I was playing as much golf as my colleagues. I was shocked to discover only 18 percent of respondents play golf more than 15 times per year. I thought that number would be higher. Another 34 percent surveyed indicated they play less than 15 times per year for a total of 52 percent who play golf. I thought it would be helpful to compare dentists to the general population. The best statistic I found was in the neighborhood of nine percent (which means there are 28.6 million golfers over the age of six, according to a National Golf Foundation report published in 2009). Ask a patient why there is such a high percentage of dentists who play golf, they might say, "Because they are rich and work four days a week." I would suggest that the relationship between golf and dentistry is much stronger than that.




The conclusion is simple, play more golf and your dentistry will improve. Please post this article on your refrigerator when you are out at the golf course so your family will know why you went golfing. If you have a question, or just want to go out for a round of golf, you can reach me by e-mail: tom@farranmedia.com.

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