The Skills of a Great Dentist

[Landshark]

Hello all,

Just curious as to what you all felt are qualities of a great dentist. Types of skills necessary? I know in an interview they are going to ask me why I want to be a dentist, which I can answer, but I also want to comment on what skills I feel I have/ the skills a good dentist should possess.

Just a few I thought of: Patience (most important I think), attention to detail, great manual dexterity, great social skills, diagnostic skills, hard working (duh!)....

I have more but what do you all think? What would your list look like?

Thank you

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[Smilemaker100]

Hello all,

Just curious as to what you all felt are qualities of a great dentist. Types of skills necessary? I know in an interview they are going to ask me why I want to be a dentist, which I can answer, but I also want to comment on what skills I feel I have/ the skills a good dentist should possess.

Just a few I thought of: Patience (most important I think), attention to detail, great manual dexterity, great social skills, diagnostic skills, hard working (duh!)....

I have more but what do you all think? What would your list look like?

Thank you

Some other qualities I would include:

team work : being able to work with different personalities, people from different cultures

managerial skills :time management, managing the paper work and managing the personnel

being a good listener : part of dentistry involves psychology

being down to earth : not being arrogant/judgemental or talking down to your patients, try to relate/empathize with your patients

having a sense of humor :which helps with stress management

accepting one's limitations: you have to assess when a case is beyond your range of expertise and has to be referred to a specialist

a passion for learning: which is important because the field of dentistry, as other health professions, is constantly changing in response to the invention of new materials/new techniques/scientific research

being an educator :teaching patients preventitive dentistry and explaining treatment plans

Let me also add the fundamental ethics in regards to the treatment of your patients (also applicable to those in the other health professions):

Primum non nocere or Nonmaleficience which means "do no harm"

Beneficience which means "to do good"

Autonomy which means that the patient has the right to determine which treatment is in his best interest

Confidentiality of the patient's information

 

[dientesfuertes]

Good attribute: Answer any and all questions from your patient the way you would like something explained to you if you didn't know anything about dentistry. I have had countless patients at school who have expressed that one of the main reasons they left their previous dentist was because he/she acted like he/she was offended that a patiend would "question" his authority. -- a.k.a.: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

 

[Smilemaker100]

Good attribute: Answer any and all questions from your patient the way you would like something explained to you if you didn't know anything about dentistry. I have had countless patients at school who have expressed that one of the main reasons they left their previous dentist was because he/she acted like he/she was offended that a patiend would "question" his authority. -- a.k.a.: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

Give your patients a reason to smile when they leave your clinic !

 

[Landshark]

Wow, very good responses!! Thank you very much

Any other takers??

 

[tx oms]

If you want to be a real "doctor" and be respected by other doctors, act like one. Don't lie to your patients. Forget about being a "salesman". You exist for patient care. It seems to me many dentist want to become similar to journeymen carpentars: excellent at a trade/providing a service. They act like and advertise like interior designers you hire for ideas to brighten your room or, seemingly, solve all your problems with a better smile. Fine, be a good businessman, but don't be like the sales manager at the local Chevy dealership:

"Uh, Mr. Smith, I know you just wanted your tires rotated (teeth cleaned) but my man stripped down your transmission (I use my cool intraoral cam) and now we think you need a new transmission, and an air filter (you need a 30k mouth rehab, and a night guard)."

So many dentists push the envelope of ethics for money. Don't talk about an elective procedure as if it is anything more than elective. If there is no clear benefit other than cosmetic, it's elective. This **** pisses me off.

My wife went to a dentist in Dallas about a month ago for a cleaning. She didn't tell him her sister and I are dentists. He recommended replacing several "cracked" fillings and prophylactically (I assume) crowning some "big fillings". None of her fillings are cracked and I think prophylactically crowning moderate sized 2 SURFACE fillings is a bit sketchy.

 

[Dr. Steve Brule]

i'd have to say nunchuck skills, bowstaff skills, computer hacking skills..that sort of thing

 

[dWiz]

jumping off a ramp on ur sweet ride ->skills . If u can't do that than forget about dentistry

 

[Dr. Steve Brule]

jumping off a ramp on ur sweet ride ->skills . If u can't do that than forget about dentistry

i think you got like 3 feet of air that time!

 

[Mr. So-So]

easy..
#1 hardworking.
#2 nice to your patients.
#3 give painless injections...


all that other stuff is only important to the koolaid drinkers

Hello all,

Just curious as to what you all felt are qualities of a great dentist. Types of skills necessary? I know in an interview they are going to ask me why I want to be a dentist, which I can answer, but I also want to comment on what skills I feel I have/ the skills a good dentist should possess.

Just a few I thought of: Patience (most important I think), attention to detail, great manual dexterity, great social skills, diagnostic skills, hard working (duh!)....

I have more but what do you all think? What would your list look like?

Thank you