Tooth Carpenters and Gum Gardeners
Do dentists belong on a pedestal? Be prepared for some Dental Philosophy today.
Do dentists belong on a pedestal?
I’m going to be totally frank with you. Strip away any pretense – the doctor-prestige and professional posturing – and you’ll discover Dentists are basically tooth carpenters and Dental Hygienists are gum gardeners.
Some Dentists will HATE me for saying that. They’re caught up in the whole white-coat-doctor thing and enjoy their lofty position up on that pedestal.
I call that Dental Elitism. That’s where a Dentist begins thinking they’re pretty darned special. They’ve forgotten that they’re just a fellow human beings with a specific set of skills to help you.
Here I come along to pull back the curtain and reveal that the Great Oz is just an old man with a microphone… That us dental folk are just tooth carpenters and gum gardeners.
Secrets of the Great Oz revealed... from The Wizard of Oz (1939)
By the way, dentists can be Smile Artists as well as tooth carpenters if they have that certain knack for Smile Artistry. That’s a story for another day.
Now I promote my office as prestige, because it’s a beautiful place. But really I’m just a regular guy with some dental skills. The only thing that really matters is whether I can help you or not.
In my last post on Dental Sins, I talked about the sin of doing too little. Today I’ll be revealing how lack of emphasis on prevention can be devastating for you.
Old-Style Dentists – Emphasizing Carpentry
With old-style dentistry all the focus was on carpentry and the gardening was neglected.
Dentistry is carpentry in miniature Art by Dr. Ian Davis of London England
By gardening I’m referring to Hygiene Services. I like this analogy because it comes down to removing the noxious weeds before they can take over the garden.
With the old-style approach, dental care was reduced to reacting to Dental Emergencies and outbreaks of disease.
Way back in 1985 I took over the practice of Dr. Don Anderson. He had started up from scratch back in 1950.
Like most dentists back then, Don was a tooth carpenter. He didn’t have a hygienist so he would clean everyone’s teeth himself. He saw patients every 30 minutes for a checkup and would often squeeze in a filling as well in that time.
Don was a good man, he provided decent dentistry, charged ridiculously low fees, and never did anything unnecessary. Don’s only Dental Sin was doing too little. In this case, neglecting the preventive aspects of dentistry. How good of a job could he squeeze in during 30 minutes?
He wasn’t alone. Most dentists of that era took a similar approach. Also, back in those days people weren’t very good at home care. Dental Caries (cavities) ran rampant and severe Gum Disease amongst adults was the norm.
People were losing their teeth left right and center. You would be considered lucky if you kept your teeth long enough to lose them all to Gum Disease.
The lesson from that? When prevention is neglected, dentistry becomes a game of chasing the inevitable onslaught of disease. A game where you the patient are the inevitable loser.
Here’s the thing. Old-style reactionary dentistry is STILL the default path today. If all you take is a reactionary approach, losing teeth can be expected in the future.
A key part of a Dentist’s role is to raise the bar on level of care.
Leave the Standard of Care up to a patient and most will set the bar far too low. They’ll sink to the old style where they neglect the gum gardening and end up struggling along the Path of Pain as disease gains the upper hand.
With the Dental Sin of doing too little, a dentist can sit back idly and allow patients to self-destruct. That way they can step in and profit from the tooth carpentry work to be done. I talked about that in Dental Pain Exploiters – dentists who take advantage of pain.
The emphasis should be reversed. Pay attention to the gum gardening so you can AVOID more of the tooth carpentry. The less dentistry you have, the better off you are.
New-Style – Dental Hygienists Rule
The focus of new-style dentistry is on optimal health and care.
To achieve that, dentists need to break out of tooth-carpentry-mode. They need to set the bar higher on Standard of Care and change the emphasis over to Prevention Services.
None of that happens on its own. Dentists and hygienists have to become LEADERS to make good things happen.
Gum Gardening - hug your dental hygienist!
Believe it or not, the total production from our hygienists exceeds that of our doctors almost every day.
That’s unheard of.
What’s the big deal? It means our hygienists are doing a great job.
We spend a lot of time and effort helping people stay healthy, and it’s working. We pay attention to the gum gardening so you can avoid the tooth carpentry.
Every day I get to tell people, “Everything looks great. Keep up the good work!”
Wouldn’t you rather be hearing good news like that?
What dental news are you getting lately?
Stay healthy and keep smiling!
Dr. Joe 
| About the Author: Joe Bulger is a successful dentist in Toronto, Canada. Visit his blog on Dental Secrets Guide to learn more about dental services and opportunities. |
More Resources:
- Dental Hygienist – Definition of Dental Hygienist from Wikipedia
- What is a Dental Hygienist? – American Dental Hygiene Association.
- Healthy Smiles – hygiene services for a healthy beautiful smile.
- Dental Hygienists – Occupational handbook from bureau of Labor Statistics
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Good piece Doc. I think a part of the problem with preventitive services is the cost. People associate dental work with expensive procedures and completely forget how much money they stand to save by keeping up with regular care. What costs more, a cleaning and checkup ever few months, or a root canal and several fillings?
I live in Fla so my chances of visiting your office are pretty slim, so I can go ahead and praise my own dentist. Aside from being very skilled at dealing with nervous nellies, he’s more than fair. I had worried that a filling was coming loose, so scheduled a visit. He gave me a checkup and found everything ok, had his hygienist do a quick cleaning, and sent me out the door without a bill. In and out in 20 minutes.
Great comments Paul. What you said about prevention is so true. Your best defense against big dental bills is solid prevention. Cures can cost big bucks.
Regarding your dentist, he sounds like a great guy and that was very generous of him. My only concern is he’s diminishing the value of hygiene services. Give something away for free and people start thinking that’s all it’s worth.
Anyways, he deserves a link so go ahead and plug his name if you like.
I like this article. It got me thinking about my past visits as a child. I always had a hygienist, but back then, I still always thought of the actual Dentist as being my leader in keeping my teeth & gums healthy.. In more recent years, I’ve come to value the information sharing that my hygienists have been providing me with. I look to them as “Dental Gods”, in keeping my hygiene up to par!
Oh so the gums are important? lol
It is amazing how we forget, that we can’t build on a faulty foundation, I guess basic priciples are often forgotten. Healthy gums equals healthy mouth and the rest will follow.
Thanks for your comments
You’ve summed it up nicely!
Faulty foundations? I’m not so sure. Dentists are a pretty conscientious bunch of people and most of us build our practices on solid ideals and good intentions.
Of course good intentions don’t always amount to great results. The problem is we take pressure from all directions, making it hard to uphold quality and integrity.
Consider all the financial pressures of paying off loans and running a dental office. There’s also the constant allure of doing dental tricks for money. That can make us drift off course… Patients are often resistant to treatment, especially preventive care. Many are in financial stress and less accepting of a doctor’s guidance… Insurance coverage is has diminished… Building a great support team is a never-ending challenge, including top-notch hygienists.
With so much pressure, it’s easy to give in and let services drop down to a reactionary level.
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
Interesting Article, good post! Very detailed and informative, great work!
I like this article, wish I could visit your clinic. Here in Asia, many people do not make it a habit to go to their dental hygienists (if ever there was one) or their family dentists. The major reason is the expenses. Most do only visit when there is severe tooth pain or any major problem with the teeth and gums. I know many people who advised me to gargle water with salt when I had bleeding gums, and thankfully it worked, but I still had to visit my dentist when it reoccurred.
Hi Felicia. That reactive approach to dental care that you describe happens everywhere. And like you said, money and culture are big factors. Ultimately, dentists must LEAD people to a higher standard of care because people by nature are passive about dental services. EXCEPT when they’re in pain.
Joe
This is good article. We all know the fact that dentist are the carpenters of our teeth or our oral health. Thanks for this article for giving us the knowledge or reminding us that the sole protector and carpenter of our teeth are dentist.
Hi Waterloo. As dentists we easily see the analogy of carpenters and gardeners. On the other hand, our patients never really pay much attention to our little universe. They just see us as bad guys slinging dental drills instead of 6-shooters.
OK, maybe not as bad as that.
Whenever I tell patients “Dentists are carpenters and hygienists are gardeners” they chuckle, because they immediately get the connection.
Joe
Its amazing that the new way in which the Dental Care experts handle the problems is so different than the old age one’s. Also, the point that Prevention is better than Cure is noted and proper hygiene of the gums is maintained beforehand!!
Hi Rohit. New ways of dental care? Actually, I think of it as a return to the old ways. People taking care of people. Integrity, respect, contribution – those sort of values. It’s leadership.
We all get dazzled by whiz-bang technology. What really counts is doing the right thing and doing it well.
Joe
Its amazing that the new way in which the Dental Care experts handle the problems is so different than the old age one’s.I like this article. It got me thinking about my past visits as a child. I always had a hygienist, but back then, I still always thought of the actual Dentist as being my leader in keeping my teeth & gums healthy.. In more recent years, I’ve come to value the information sharing that my hygienists have been providing me with.
I like the comparison or the equation dentist=carpenter and dental hygienist=gardener. And your reference to dental elitism couldn’t be more true.
You are nice in information with good pictures.I have never thought that surfing online can be so much beneficial and having found your blog, I feel really happy and grateful for providing me with such priceless information.
Its amazing that the new way in which the Dental Care experts handle the problems is so different than the old age one’s.I like this article. It got me thinking about my past visits as a child.You are nice in information with good pictures.I have never thought that surfing online can be so much beneficial and having found your blog, I feel really happy and grateful for providing me with such priceless information.
Thanks for your message. Good dentistry has always been about good prevention. Find a dentist that helps you stay healthy and avoid the dental chair.
Joe
thanks !! very helpful post!
There are a few cases when dental elitism is a positive such as a few patients who want to feel like the dentist is definitely in charge and knows what he is doing. But, for most people, they don’t respond well to being talked down to verbally or non-verbally, so thanks for pointing this out.
Thanks for your comments. I’ve learned to approach things as cards to play. The confidence card, the caring card, the smart card, etc.
When I was young, I tended to overplay my strength – the smart card. It’s a big turn-off. Now I hold that in reserve (except when blogging) because people already assume I’m smart as a dentist.
What most first want to see is caring. Is this guy a jerk or a decent guy? That’s called the beer test, as in “Would I sit down for a beer with this person?”
Other important cards to play early are authority and social proof… Is this person an expert in their field? Have other people had positive experiences dealing with this person? It all goes towards building credibility, confidence and trust.
Joe
hey your blog design is very nice, clean and fresh and with updated content, make people feel peace and I always enjoy browsing your site.
- Norman
Great post with interesting content. Keep up the good work
Hi Joe,
I have spoken to many dentists and marketed their blogs and websites, but this is the first time, i am seeing such self depreciating views from a dentist!
Maybe, some of the dentists who place themselves on a pedestal should learn from you!
Abhishek
Thanks for your comments Abhishek. I really don’t see it as self-depreciating. I just see pretentious posturing as counter-productive.
I write to be helpful and contribute to those looking for insights to the dental world. Others remain stuck on self-promotion and that’s to my advantage. He (or she) who contributes most wins.
Joe
I have always had a morbid fear of getting to the dentists, but i have a big hole in one of my molars. pls what are my options. thank you
You always have these options
1. do nothing
2. find someone to fix the situation
3. find someone to pull the tooth out
Taking action involves finding someone to take care of you and then deciding upon a suitable treatment plan. Fixing a hole in a tooth might be a simple thing. Might be complicated. You could be into a variety of scenarios, all depending on how bad the situation is.
My suggestion is to get it looked after sooner rather than later.
Joe
Valuable information and excellent website you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your ideas and time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up
blog designs are nice and also the content/articles inside.
I love your great analogy of carpentry and hygienists. I agree with you that dentists are smile artists and we are their masterpiece; complementing each other is a nice idea to remember and to enjoy life with a smile.
Anyway, I think it’s time for a lovedentists.com website
Hello There. I found your blog the use of msn. That is a very smartly written article. I?ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful info. Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.
Very well documented post also the pictures you used is nice one. I don’t think after reading your blog no one will avoid dentist or hate dentists.
This is a great tip on Prevention Dentistry. Our Hygienist is an important part of our practice.
It takes years and years of college and practice to become a dentist. I think they are pretty special people. A lot of them forget why they wanted to become a dentist in the first place which was to help people. They shouldn’t let their prestige get in the way of that.
What I like most about this article is its honesty and objectivity. I have never heard of the analogies used and think it is great. I am going to link to put up a link to this page… thank you!
I had a great time reading your blog. I adore all the dentists out there after reading your post. It made me think that caring your home is more likely taking care of your teeth. A good foundation plus a proper care result to healthy teeth.
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