Patients Just Have No Idea

OK. This is frustrating. I have been practicing dentistry for over 30 years and today something happened that just made me stop and think about why I bother to be the best I can be.

A new patient got the name of my laboratory and actually called them, made believe she was a dentist and asked for the lab fee for a specific procedure. She then called me and explained that she was going elsewhere because she felt my profit was too high.

This young lady had no idea what it really costs to practice dentistry. She actually believed that my fee less the lab cost was pure profit. She did not take into account equipment leases and loans, staff salaries, rent, electric and phone, dental supplies, insurance etc. She had no idea that dentistry is really a low profit profession and that most dentists just do OK. No complaints but no millionaires either.

She also had no idea that most dentists do not spend 1/3 of what I do on my lab. This lab, at $350 a unit, is at least two or three times what other dentists pay for what she thought was the same product. This is just nuts.

It's about time that patients understand that not all crowns are the same just because the guy or lady doing it has a dental degree. Not all dentistry is the same and certainly not all dentists are rich beyond imagination. It's about time patients began to appreciate the time and effort some, not all, dentists spend in an effort to be the best they can be in a profession that gets little if any respect. Yes, we know you don't hate us, you just hate dentistry.

But next time try to think a bit about the amount of education, investment, time and sweat that goes into the treatment of even the best of patients (and certainly most patients are not all that great) and give your dentist a break. Evaluate the service and don't think that cheap is just as good. Because I can guarantee you that cheap is never better. Expensive doesn't always buy the best, but certainly the odds are in your favor.