I find myself enjoying logging on to my blog and hoping someone is out there reading it and communicating with me-For now, I have a very narrow audience but am getting ready to go viral as my site is more sophisticated and better looking.

Today was a nice day-It was busy and it was challenging as always, but it had some very special highlights.

I have many patients who travel far and wide to see SpektorDental for their dental care. Some days the weather is horrible and the traffic worse. One of our patients called from his cell phone and told us he has been in the car for over an hour and passed at least 40 dental offices on the way down. When he arrived, we saw him, took care of him and gave him an Ultreo Toothbrush to Thank him for 20 years of trust and support (Giving a special, meaningful gift as a Thank you is a great marketing strategy)

Today I got a Thank you note that said he would travel past 100 dentists to come see us and that it has been a great 20 years together-The Ultreo was unneccessary but very appreciated. How nice is that?

One of my staff members took home a pumpkin to enter a contest at a local orthodontists office. Her roomates helped her and she entered her pumpkin in the contest-(What a great marketing effort on the part of the orthodontist to connect with the staff of a potential referring office). They let their patients vote and our office won! The orthodontist came personally and presented a gift certificate for the office- How nice is that?

I gave a recent Business course for the University of Washington and it was so much fun to do. I must admit I put in a lot of effort and do it for enjoyment-It is one of my passions. I received some wonderful 'Thank You' notes from the attendees and that made all my extra efforts worthwhile- How nice is that?

If you have been meaning to contact someone and haven't or just need to make someones day, write a personal note-Even a email-Reach out and make someones day and they may say "How nice was that?"

It has been quite a week at the office.
Any dentist will understand what that means-Lots going on and nothing ever as it seems.

I guess I would say that we dentists must be able to swing with the day and adapt to many daily challenges.
Our team must be able to accept these challenges and flow with a smile which isn't always much fun and it isn't very easy.

Just REMEMBER;
Change is a way of life at the dental office.

Taking care of our patients is our number one job and so when we arrive at the office in the morning and anything can occur, we must be prepared. A dental practice is a small business, our patients and every dental team member is important. In one day we can have any or all of the below occur;

Missing team members because they are sick(strept throat, headaches, illness that requires hospitalization)

Missing team members because of changes in their personal lives(deaths, funerals)

Changes in the health of our patients(older patients failing and/or forgetting their medications, patients with sadness in their lives like divorces and cancer needing time to talk)

Changes in the schedule(emergencies, last minute cancels and walk ins, the weather and traffic causing the schedule to be off all day)

Changes in what the lab can or can not accomplish(color doesn't match, wrong type of crown, crown doesn't fit well enough)

Changes in what a patient expects for their care and what was scheduled, being over scheduled and the treatment more complicated than anticipated, patients that don't get numb

Missing equipment, missing materials, broken instruments not replaced, rooms not stocked

The list goes on and on.

This is when the pressure is on and you wonder how you got into this situatiion in the first place..........

I try to get my work done, get through the day and calm down.....
and always realize that I could never have gotten by with out the help of my staff!

Even though I am stomping around during tough days, at the end of the day I realize that I still could never have made it through the day without my staff (even when I think they could have handled a situation differently I still could not have done it by myself). I also try to remember that there are those who are stepping up to the plate to help things flow as best as they can when all heck is breaking loose.

Even on tough days, at the end of the day I know that my patients show up with anxiety and anticipation and I try very hard to take good care of them. I always try to remember to set reasonable expectations so that I under promise and over deliver so they will not be disappointed. I have very supportive patients and know I could never get by without the support of my patients!

When the lives of my staff are challenged, I try to be there to support them and want them to know that I am on their team.

When my patients have challenges, we all try to take time, listen and give them our support. They are a part of our family and giving them strength and hope are important. We want to make them feel better with a good visit and solid dental care.

Nothing is as it seems. It was one of those weeks...

But I get by with a lot of help from my staff and I get by with a lot of support from our patients....
Thank you - Remember, you can never say Thank you enough.