Howard Speaks: Follow the Golden Rule by Dr. Howard Farran

by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, publisher, Dentaltown magazine

Treat other people like you’d want to be treated. That’s the golden rule. My older sister, Mary Kay, who’s a Catholic nun, has told me that in every single major religion she’s studied and read—Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam—no single person, place or town shows up in all of them but the golden rule does in some form.

It should be a part of your dental practice, too. On Dentaltown and social media, people are always saying things like, “What would you do in this situation? I’m a young dentist working for this older dentist, or a DSO or group practice, and they’re saying I have to do it this way but I don’t know. Do you think I should?” Well, it’s real easy: Would you do that on yourself?

It includes why you do something …

The minute you’re doing something on someone else that you wouldn’t do on yourself, it always ends up bad, especially if you’re doing it just because of money. Instead of a large filling, it’s a crown. Instead of a filling, it’s an inlay/onlay. A root canal that you know that you’d never do on yourself. It’s hypocritical when a cosmetic dentist sees a patient with a bunch of crowded teeth and instantly files them all down for crowns and veneers, but if he or a family member had the exact same case they’d be in clear aligners and bleaching.

In dentistry, you’ve got to ask: Why do you want to do that molar root canal, if you know you’re not particularly good at it? Is it because the patient is in pain—accessibility, availability, the patient wants you to do it, they don’t want to go to anyone else? That’s totally different from, “I don’t think I can do that root canal … but I need the $1,000, so I’m just going to try it.”

If you wouldn’t do the root canal on yourself, why are you trying it on someone else? You’re actually putting your practice at financial risk, because if you do a bad root canal and it fails after a year, you’ve got to send it to an endodontist and pay $1,200–$1,500 out of pocket for a re-treat.

… as well as how you do it

Speaking of root canals, every time I’ve seen dentists finish one—and we’re talking thousands of times over 30 years—when it’s finally done they get up, walk to their private office and shut the door. They leave one patient in the chair and don’t consider how another has been waiting for 15 minutes.

I think only three restaurants in my part of Phoenix have been in business as long as my dental office. In each one, the owners are there in person, working the room like it’s nightclub or a casino. They walk around, they remember your name, they buy you a shot or send you a little something from the kitchen.

So, after the root canal is done, thank the patient! Then, while the assistant finishes up their final discussions and paperwork, head to the next operatory and apologize to that patient for running late. Their time is valuable, too, and if they feel you don’t believe that, they might not return to your practice. Just acknowledging that you’re flawed is human and connecting.

A lot of dentists think they’re the best because they’ve got a bunch of alphabet soup over their name, but I’ll tell you who the best dentists actually are. My four boys have all flown the nest and landed, and have six kids between them. If all six of my grandchildren had a cavity and went to your office, could you communicate with them and make them feel comfortable?

Could you explain the importance of fixing that cavity now, so it doesn’t turn into a root canal, crown or extraction later? Could you get all six of those kids to pull out their own Visa card and pay for a filling with their own money, just like they buy beer, pretzels and iPhones? The best dentists are the ones who connect with their patients and form trusting relationships, so patients feel comfortable asking questions or coming in even though they’re embarrassed about their teeth.

If you want to be the best dentist, then not only do you have to follow the golden rule but you also have to connect emotionally with your patients.

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about this topic! Please leave your comments or questions under this column.