The below patient story comes from Dr. Michael McClure, see his first post {here} A new patient presented to my office for evaluation for implant restorations. She had consulted with a surgeon to have three teeth extracted and implants placed. The first thing she said to me : “I don’t want to hear about restoring these teeth”. The teeth had carious lesions/signs and symptoms consistent with the need for root canal therapy. She was on antibiotics. This patient is the wife of a doctor in town. She’s educated and of means. I sat down and asked her about her past dental experiences. I thought maybe bad experiences have kept her away from care. It hadn’t. She’d been having cleanings every six months for years. What I found out was, as she put it, she “has had enough”. Since she was a child she said that: “Every time I turned around, I had a new cavity.” then a filling was placed. Then a larger filling. Then a crown. Then a new crown and root canal. Her hygiene was good as far as I could tell. Her three teeth in question had large carious lesions, endodontic pain, and a probable need for crown lengthening, so I completed her evaluation for implants and scheduled her to come back for a records appointment. Her current dentist didn’t restore implants which is why she came to us in the first place. Also her husband is a patient of ours. As I said her husband is a doctor in town, he is a chiropractor and very much concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He is adamant about not using fluoride or other “chemicals” that may hurt his body. I was thinking that this patient was probably going to be the same, but I was determined to introduce her to the CAMBRA program. I told myself as long as I am giving her the information I am doing the right thing even if it falls on deaf ears. When she arrived for her appointment we sat down and started discussing the things I saw. I started talking about her oral health. She broke in and said she has been brushing and flossing for years, she does the best that she can, and if she has to hear someone tell her that she can do better, she’s going to scream. The first thing I said to her is brushing and flossing better isn’t always the answer. We discussed risk factors, disease indicators and protective factors. Mostly I talked and she listened. As this was going on I noticed a change in her demeanor/body language. It became clear to me that she was becoming more interested in what I had to say, she started to lean in. I could tell that she was really paying attention to what I was discussing. When she finally spoke, the first thing she said was: “So, I don’t always have to keep getting new cavities?” She said it with relief in her voice. I said “no”, and continued to keep talking about the CAMBRA protocol. By the time we were done discussing everything, she was ready to go. She was very excited about getting the CTx36 kit; she wanted to start right away. I discussed with her how she has to get the rest of her restorative work treated by her dentist if we truly want to exact change her oral health. It’s moments like this that show me I made a great decision to incorporate CAMBRA in my dental practice. We gave a patient who had no hope, in her mind, a fighting chance for her oral health. CAMBRA will set your practice apart. Implementing this protocol is much easier with CariFree products. It’s good for your patients, it’s good for your business, and it’ll be good for you. The hardest part is the change in mindset required. You must want to go from a tooth carpenter to a health care provider doing everything you can to help your patients achieve the health they deserve. Do you have a CAMBRA success story? Let us know about it in the comments below, you may be selected to be featured in our weekly blog posts! My name is Michael McClure and I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I attended the University of California and graduated with a Bachelors degree in physiology. I then entered the United States Navy where I served for 7 years as a Naval Aviator, flying P-3′s right here in Jacksonville. The US Navy saw fit for me to attend Dental school so they sent me to the University of Florida, one of the top 5 Dental schools in the country, where I graduated at the top of my class. Following that I served 5 years as a Navy Dental Officer making deployments twice to the desert and once to Djibouti, Africa. I left the Navy in 2005 and have been practicing dentistry locally since 2005. I have been happily married for over 16 years and have two beautiful children. Without a doubt, friends, family, and my patients are by far my top priorities. In 2007 I was awarded a prestigious Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry, which illustrates my dedication to learning the most state of the art dental, implant and cosmetic procedures.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:42:15 +0000
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