A new patient waited for me to do her examination. She held a book in her hands. When I entered the room, the first question I asked was, “What are you reading?” She told me, and so began my preclinical interview. I learned she was an avid reader and she was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Audrey H. became my patient. I completed her dentistry twenty five years ago.
Audrey never missed a dental appointment. She always carried a book with her, and we traded reading lists. My first questions to her were always, “What are you reading and how is your blood sugar.”
Through the years she slowly lost her ability to read. First she went to Large-print, and then to audiobooks. She had a difficult time controlling her blood sugar and eventually had to go on dialysis. Through all of this, she never missed an appointment. Audrey couldn’t drive after a while so she would take a taxi to her appointments.
Eventually she went to an assisted living facility.
She still came for her hygiene appointments. (more…)
The nice thing about dentistry is that you have the opportunity to choose your own culture based on your own set of values. I am fond of the expression by Boston Philharmonic maestro, Ben Zander: “It’s all invented anyway.” In his book The Art of Possibility, he describes the meaning of that expression: 
My first book chronicled my career in dentistry. I made many mistakes in every area of dentistry. I fell down – hard. I wish I had a book like this to help guide me through those difficult times. Dentists must become autodidactates. They must learn to educate themselves. Our dental school experience is not enough. Seminars leave us wanting for more in terms of applying our lessons. We work alone with very little guidance. Some of us are lucky enough to work with skilled mentors who are not only excellent technicians but also know how to transfer learning through great teaching. These are rare exceptions.