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• What I’ve Learned

What I Learned:

An orthodontist told me that it takes about 30 seconds during a 15 minute appointment to determine if the appointment was necessary because of the course, because of correcting, or because of compliance.

This read will only take 30 seconds

So you can decide.

If this read was necessary.

Cindy is taking her daughter Sarah to her orthodontic appointment

The appointment starts at 2pm.

Cindy and Sarah arrive.

They check in.

They sit down.

Sarah is called back.

Sarah jumps into chair #4.

She chats with the DA.

The chair reclines.

The screen flashes red.

Doc is called.

Doc asks two questions about Sarah’s gymnastics class.

One question on school.

He flips on the loupes.

He picks up the mirror.

….We’re getting closer:

Doc thinks:

Ok, are we where we should be?

Are there side effects I didn’t anticipate?  

Are we making progress?

Why’s that tooth not responding?

How’s my anchorage?

He’s recognizing patterns. 

It’s the side effects. 

Always the side effects. 

Scanning, checking notes, predicting, isolating, contemplating.

We’re here.

So was this particular appointment for Sarah

…..Necessary ?

—or could it have been avoided with a better treatment plan, a better technology, or a better method of compliance?

3…

2..

1..

Times up.

“There’s an article that a dental appointment—no matter what the length of the appointment—is a minimum of two hours of out that person’s day.

That’s two hours of trying to get out of work, pick up a child, come to the practice, and then go back to work.

If our profession is in trouble—shouldn’t we be doing everything in our power to make our treatments as easy for our patients as we can?”

^{-Dr. Bill Dischinger, Orthoprenuers, Podcast: The Orthodontic Practice of the Future. 9/10/2024.}

Appointments will always be necessary in orthodontics.

Progress is determining which ones.

Never stop pushing for efficiency with efficacy.

No matter how you practice.

Time is the scarcest of all resources.