I often hear dentists complain about the patients that only want to be treated if it's covered by insurance – and I'm sure it's true. The fact is the attitudes of patients and their levels of interest in dentistry can be all over the map.

Some patients are, indeed, driven by insurance limits. Others will only make an appointment when they are in pain. Then there are the patients that are only interested in a specific esthetic procedure and don't want to hear about anything else.

They are not the dentist.

You are. These patient mindsets will always exist, but the real problem arises when you start to buy into them. The problem begins when you start tailoring your diagnosis and treatment plans to accommodate those mindsets.

You are the clinician. When it comes to their oral health, you have to take on that role as the thought leader; your standard has to be higher and your thinking has to be more comprehensive. It's your responsibility to show them the possibilities, create a vision that inspires them and produce the right value that influences them to respect the idea of ideal care – even if they can't go ahead with all your recommendations right now.

This is not just a business strategy; it is your professional obligation. In other words, it is your standard of dental care that matters. You are the professional, and it is up to you to influence their thinking, not the other way around.


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Commenter's Profile Image Gerald Benjamin
August 24th, 2013
I have read most of the articles that Imtiaz has written the last year and while I whole heartedly agree with the contents of this piece, I believe that Imtiaz is directing his comments to dentists in the 1980s or 1990s. The professional that Imtiaz to whom Imtiaz is directing his comments is either over 60 and still at the top of his game or no longer exists. The insurance and education industries have totally destroyed the concept of 'placing the patient's best interest above our own.' It is virtually impossible to be both a superb clinician and insurance dependent just as it borders on impossible to be $350,000 in school debt and expect to always do the right thing for our patients. As a full time (50+ hours a week) dentist in my mid 60s, I see few young dentists who fully understand the concept of 'professional obligation.' They are struggling to survive under massive debt and with minimal skills. SpearEducation is the premier educational facility in the country and it needs to help dismantle the undergraduate dental education and transform dental schools into the educational institutions that they need to be so that young dentists can once again be true professionals. As someone who has taken as many as 25 courses with Frank, there is no one better to re-energize and educate than him.