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Professional Courtesy: You’re Doing it Wrong by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

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

The initial reaction to the title of this column is most likely one of the following: "Is he talking to me?"; "I don't think this is about me but I'd better check"; or "Finally, somebody said something to those people." We live in a society that is sometimes too afraid to tell people they should change their ways; we might offend their delicate sensibilities or upset their world where everyone gets a trophy and a snack after the game. If you are already uncomfortable, you can turn the page. For the rest, I would like to share a few items that I have found valuable after 20 years as a dentist.

Dental Speak: Dental procedures and diagnostic findings can be diffi cult to explain to a patient but you must do it without the use of dental terms. When you say something like, "Mrs. Jones, you have caries on your upper left first molar and we will need to place a composite restoration in that tooth," you have impressed nobody in the room except your ego, if even it is still listening. The use of five-dollar words just to have a patient say, "What's that mean?" does not build their confi dence in your skills. When you can explain a root canal in a few simple sentences and they say, "Nobody has ever explained it that well before," you have said something truly intelligent.

Use Photos Frequently: While we are on the topic of communicating with your patients, a simple photo from an intra-oral camera speaks volumes. I have made it a habit to photograph any visible dental issues during an exam. Treatment presentations are much faster, I can quickly get up to speed when the patient has returned for treatment, and the photos can be helpful when a patient develops a cracked tooth and they have forgotten that was the same reason we did a crown on the other side four years prior.

Rubber Dam Fan: When I graduated dental school, I was excited to know that I never had to use the rubber dam again (we used it for everything in school). I'm happy to say that during my residency my perspective changed and I quickly fell in love with the rubber dam. I use it to this day as often as possible. When the rubber dam is not practical, I will use Isovac from Isolite. I know the rubber dam haters won't believe me, but I have had literally hundreds of patients over the years say, "Is that new?" or "I like that thing" after experiencing the rubber dam for the first time.

Send Mail: I'm referring to real mail that requires stamps, not email that sometimes is ignored. In our practice we s end a thank you letter to any patient that refers another patient, a welcome letter to every new patient after their first visit as well as birthday postcards. These are nice ways to connect with patients and also good opportunities to discover people that have changed their address.

Dentaltown: I know you may think it is redundant to mention Dentaltown when you are reading our magazine, but I added this to remind you of the world that is waiting for you on our website. Whether you visit us via desktop computer or through our newly redesigned iOS App (Android app coming soon), I promise any dental topic on your mind has been discussed and any question you might ask will be answered. If you have not spent time on our site or if you have been away for a while, please pay us a visit and learn something new.

If you want to complain about my commentary this month, you can comment on this article online at Dentaltown.com or email me tom@dentaltown.com. I'm on Twitter too: @ddsTom.

Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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