5 routine things we do in the dental profession that do not make sense
B. Michelle Strange, RDH, MSDH, talks about five areas that have become routine in the dental profession—including telling people to floss and placing dental implants in patients who cannot manage to clean their natural teeth—that, when analyzed, are pretty ludicrous. She says, “If the recommendations that we give patients time and time again are not producing needed results, why continue to give them?
Helping patients find the best way to achieve their oral health—on an individual basis—will help redefine the future of dentistry.”
As dental professionals, most of the work we do as a matter of routine may be considered insane. For example, we work in a small dark area all day; we are constantly told that patients would rather be other places; and we are members of one of the most feared professions. Nonetheless, Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Can this definition be applicable to dentistry?