I’ve heard some middle aged people lament that if only they had online dating during their time, they would have had a far wider choice of partners. Presumably, dating would have been a lot more fun and they would have married someone far better than their tormenting spouses. The power to shop and choose from a global pool of potentials is indeed tempting. But does that guarantee us a better choice?
Let’s look at something simple. You want to buy a toothpaste. Brand X says that they are the brand most dentists use. Brand Y says that they are the brand Miss Singapore uses. Brand Z says that they are the brand a certain actress uses. Each brand says that they are best when it comes to preventing tooth decay, reducing sensitivity etc. So which brand of toothpaste should you use? Personally, I would use the brand that most dentists use. Why? Because this would be the brand that gives out the most free samples to dentists. Should you use it? Well, why not? Unless of course, the brand that Miss Singapore uses runs a contest that gives you a chance to have dinner with her.
Frankly, dentists won’t be any worse off using the toothpaste used by their denture patients. And don’t be surprised if a patient who has a very bad gum condition could be using the same toothpaste that Miss Singapore uses. He could even be using the same toothpaste that most dentists use – except that he didn’t get his for free.
Meanwhile, the precision thinkers may swear that they won’t buy any toothpaste until they have figured out which toothpaste is the best. They surf the net, interview dentists over the phone, plough into the literature for and against each brand. They continue researching for months without finding a clear winner. In all likelihood, they won’t. They’d be better off just brushing their teeth well.
Apart from cosmetic dentistry, I also practise “reality dentistry” and reality dentistry has a lot to do with 2 levels of patient education 1. To educate them to a sufficient level of dentla awareness and 2. Like reality TV, let them go behind the scenes and see how tough it is to be a dentist. Both levels of patient education are sorely lacking in our general population.
Dentistry is a boring subject. Unless you have the talent to make it interesting, nobody will visit dental websites just for the fun of it. However, there are some curious individuals who absorb information like a sponge and they seem to enjoy learning about dentistry even more than the dentists themselves. Is this to be encouraged? What if instead of something simple like toothpaste, these folks are considering implants?
Yes, for an exciting topic like implants, there is probably enough info out there to fill up all the libraries in Singapore. Each system has its series of sub-systems. Each system boasts of high success rate, excellent aesthetics … Even entertaining a sales person from each implant system can take up a lot of precious time. It is easy to choose the cheapest system. It’s easy to choose the system with the longest history. It’s easy to choose the leading system in the US, in Europe, Korea, Japan … Which practising dentist has the time to go through all the systems and choose “the best”? I certainly can’t be bothered. Why? Am I not interested in finding out which implant system is the best? The fact is, no single implant system has only advantages. The principle of osseointegration is basically universal among all the systems. It’s only a question of which system the practitioner is more comfortable with, what sort of bone condition the patient presents with and which style of restoration is more suitable for a particular case.
It’s quite rare, but once in a while, an atypically well-informed patient steps into my office and begins an intellectual discussion. This frightens me because like all practitioners (not academics), most of my time in the office is spent working on patients and not reading the literature. I normally welcome inquisitive patients because it gives me a chance to show what I know.
However, patients who come in already very well-informed can be a problem if they don’t know when to stop. This week, they have been reading about System A and they want a System A implant. Then, when they go back to surf the net, they find System B to be more impressive. They ask you if they should have System B instead. Another week later, they read somewhere that System C is the best. Then, they hear that a relative who has System C didn’t have a good experience. Digging further into the endless internet jungle reveals more anecdotes that speak for or against A to Z. Where does one begin? Where does one end?
And as if systems are not abundant enough, these patients are also spolied for choice when it omes to dentists. Should Dr A do it? Wait a minute, he’s not a specialist. What about Dr B? But he only does the surgery and will refer me to Dr C for the crown. Is Dr C good? Or should I go to Dr D for the crown. But Dr D does surgery too? Should I find out if he charges less that Dr B?
Nothing much I can say to these people except: happy shopping.
Dewdrop Notes
Dr Chan's Kitchen