Personal Dentistry: Writings

Writings

Quit Smoking Without Willpower

Quitting can be easy. It doesn’t require going cold turkey. It doesn’t require willpower. What it does require is that you are clear about the reasons you want to quit. And it requires you to list those reasons, keep the list accessible and frequently review and give thought to the reasons you want to quit.

My guess is most smokers would like to stop. Scary medical, dental and social reasons are aplenty. Many smokers try to stop. I know that some of you ‘wanna-be-quitters’ stop for varying periods of time but get back to smoking. Now you are a ‘Stop Smoking Failure’.

It really isn’t hard to stop smoking. The beauty of my method is that you NEVER HAVE TO DENY YOURSELF a cigarette when you want one. Consequently…NO WITHDRAWAL! In fact, don’t ever tell yourself “Don’t Smoke” with this system. For a lot of reasons both your body and unconscious your responds to the word ‘Smoke’ and ignores the word ‘Don’t’. The more you say “Don’t Smoke” the more you’ll want to smoke.

So How Do I Successfully Stop Smoking?

List all the reasons you want to stop smoking. Each person has their own reasons.

Review the list frequently throughout the day. Some reasons will be more important than others. These will be the main reasons you want to quit. Make sure you spend time thinking about each reason. Not thinking about why you want to stop can prevent a successful outcome. The two reasons most important to me when I quit smoking 24 years ago were 1. I didn’t want to get sick before I got old and 2. I hated the fact that cigarette companies would kill me to make a profit.

Make notes on yellow sticky paper about why you want to stop and put them in places to serve as reminders to talk to your self about them. (For example: On the bathroom mirror, on a phone, near where you drink coffee, etc.)

ANY TIME YOU WANT A CIGARETTE, TAKE ONE...WITHOUT GUILT.

5. You will soon make better and better decisions, conscious and unconscious, about not

taking a cigarette. Soon you will no longer be a smoker.

Try it. It can’t hurt. You can do it! To increase your chance of success:

a. Get a quitting buddy - someone who wants to quit, or a non-smoker to talk to.

b. Speak with your doctor about using a nicotine replacement product, such as the patch or gum, and medication developed to help you not crave nicotine. It can help.

c. Avoid anything that triggers cravings, including alcohol, caffeine, and stress. It also helps to stay away from smokers for awhile.

d. Remember, when you quit, positive physical and psychological benefits start immediately.

e. Put away money you save by not smoking. When you quit, use that money to get yourself and your quitting buddy a treat. You both deserve it.

By Marvin Mansky, DDS, an Upper West Side New York Dentist

January 31, 2007 in Writings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Writings

How To Do Everything Better

We invite you to read about a simple technique which will allow you to do everything better by increasing your ability to focus.

Dentistry requires attention to detail. Detail to steps and procedures, detail in relating to patients and detail in planning and managing the dental office.

By increasing the attention we focus on each moment we increase the effectiveness we need to be more successful and less stressed in everything we do.

Want to learn more?

Download 'How To Do Everything Better' (PDF Document)

May 23, 2006 in Writings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Writings

TOP TEN LIST - WHAT PEOPLE WANT AND NEED FROM A DENTIST

For a long time I have been interested in understanding what patients want and need from their dental experience. I asked people what they wanted and most often their answers were ‘competence,’ ‘caring,’ ‘honesty,’ and ‘no pain.’

Although these words had meaning for me, I was not clear what they meant to the people stating them. Dictionaries give definitions of words but what words mean to each of us is based on our own life experiences. A general semanticist once said, “Words don’t have meaning, people do.”

Over time my interest grew to wanting to understand what it feels like to be a dentalpatient, what it means to be a dentist, and how to improve the experience for both.It is clear that many people are not comfortable in a dental office, despite the great psychological, health and self-image benefits dentistry offers. By discovering what each person hopes to gain from the dental experience, and learning the different issues each person has with dental care (e.g., wanting to feel heard and understood, not wanting to feel anxious, etc.), I was able to research techniques and develop techniques that improve the experience for both patient and dentist.

Please click here to download the TOP TEN LIST of what patients want and need from their dental experience.

January 12, 2006 in Writings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Writings

PERSONAL DENTISTRY and the filming of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”

My day started at 4:30AM, not that it needed to. The set-up crew was to arrive at 7:30 but my excitement about the day’s events kept me awake.

They and I were at the gate to the office at 7:30. They proceeded to make the changes needed for the taping of the 4 segments they planned to do on my birthday, March 16. Quite a wonderful birthday present.

Changes made: All of our wall art including the great 1949 Italian Happy Tooth poster in the reception area, were changed for their pictures and paintings that had no possibility of anyone, anywhere, owning the rights to them. They also put up many pictures that were pertinent to the story line: the dentist and his adored wife’s wedding and honeymoon photos. We negotiated successfully that our grandchildren’s cherubic photo stays up.

Other changes included changing all our daylight-assimilating fluorescents for blue tint ones that compliment color taping. They removed ceiling tiles and added lights and filters. They brought in cameras, lighting and sound equipment, and monitors used by the Director, Line Producer and Script Coordinator. There were also director chairs and headsets for Ivy and myself, probably to keep us out of the way.

Look for this photo of our grandkids which may televised.

Most amazingly, for you who know our office, by time the taping started there were at least 75 people working or what seemed to me mostly standing around. That’s a lot of people. There were also many support people in the many trucks parked on both sides of the street outside our office. Most parking was prohibited on the block beginning the previous evening. Altogether there were over 125 - 150 people involved in the day’s shoot and many more in the studio who dealt with the follow-up required after the shoot.

After a short rehearsal, taping started around 11:00AM with Bronson Pinchot, the actor playing me, OK, not me, but the dentist in the story. Ivy says she hopes not me since he may have bumped off his wife! Others in the cast who came to our office were actors Vincent D’Onofrio (Detective Robert Goren) and his partner Kathryn Erbe (Detective Alex Eames). Bronson finished and left by 12:30 and Vincent and Katie (as Kathryn Erbe is known to the crew) came in about 1:30 and finished about 5:00. The actors and the production crew then moved on to a new location and took a 1 _ hour lunch break (at 5:00 pm). I was told that taping for that day ended at around midnight.

The clean up crew stayed after everyone left and did a great job putting everything back just as it was, referring often to the many Polaroids they took upon their arrival. We were ready to see patients at 8:30 the next morning!

The day was fun. We had a few conversations with the actors and spent time with Director Frank Prinzi (our patient) and John Roman, the line producer. I saw parallels between watching Frank direct and my role as a dentist…lots of focus and attention to detail needed. (You didn’t think I could relate the two jobs, did you?) Frank was terrific. Always pleasant and always in control. Frank said they do a new show every 8 days. Work days can be 12 or more hours long. He directs about half the shows in a season and is Director of Photography for the rest. The cast and crew vacation for two weeks around New Year’s and are off in July and August.

In speaking with John Roman, the producer, he said that our office was a great space for them to work. It was roomy enough for their crew and he especially liked that it was a working dental office rather than a set made for the show. He said that a set never looks quite real. After a full day of taping, he said this would fill ten minutes of an episode.

Overall, Ivy and I are left with a new vision of our office. We reflect on 75 people being there, kind of like 7500 saffron Gates in Central Park. Once upon a time . . .

The show will air on NBC Sunday at 9pm some time in April. The episode is called, “Beast.” Watch our website for details of the air date! You can say, “I sat in that chair!”

March 23, 2005 in Writings | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Writings

How To Do Everything Better

How to focus on each moment, so we can become more successful with minimal stress.

Dentistry requires attention to detail. Detail to steps and procedures, detail in relating to patients and detail in planning and managing the dental office.

By increasing the attention we focus on each moment we increase the effectiveness we need to be more successful and less stressed in everything we do.

There are basics to everything.

Dental patients come to a dentist with many needs. People ask that the dentist and staff be caring, honest, competent, have integrity, be responsible, be attentive, and help them deal with their anxiety and fear. One special quality of the dentist and staff is basic to satisfying the patient’s needs. This quality is the ability to give our full attention to each moment. If the dentist can focus fully on each task, the patient will receive the most capable care the dentist is able to provide.

Dentistry is very involving. Mastering quality treatment skills are necessary. Proficiency in the abilities needed for office, staff and financial management are necessary. Developing the communication skills that lead to a connected feeling between dentist and patient are necessary. By eliminating mental distractions and focusing fully, most tasks needed for these skills can be accomplished faster, more successfully, with less stress and with greater personal satisfaction.

Distractions easily limit effectiveness in accomplishing goals. In an office situation, there are many causes for distraction. Poorly organized office systems, financial difficulties, difficult patient-staff interactions, dentist or patient anxiety, psychological problems, personal problems or physical problems can cause distractions.

The dentist’s training and experience qualify him as an expert in gathering information, making clinical diagnoses, and providing treatment. The patient is best served when the patient’s concerns are taken into consideration. Knowing what a patient thinks and feels allows a dentist to present information and treatment in a manner that is appropriate for that patient.1

It is the dentist’s responsibility to do a competent examination, to present his or her findings in a manner the patient understands, and to look to support the patient in wanting to become healthy. If a treatment plan, unilaterally developed without patient input is rejected, it can become a serious distraction to the dentist’s attentiveness. This is especially true if the dentist perceives this as a rebuff to his or her good intentions. It is more helpful to acknowledge that his or her recommendations lack pertinence in the patient’s life at that moment. A later moment may find the patient more receptive and appreciative of well-intended support. Other causes of distraction occurs when the treating professional makes unconfirmed assumptions about the patient, when genuineness is lacking, when the patient is not respected, and the dentist does not have patient’s best interest at heart.

A special benefit of focusing fully is that it can lead to a Flow State. ‘Flow’ is a word coined by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-sent-mi-hi) to describe the state occurring when a person undergoes a peak experience. Being effortlessly focused and fully absorbed in a challenging task is characteristic of a peak experience. Skills equal to the challenges presented and high level concentration with an immersed feeling describe the peak experience. A moment-to-moment awareness of a clear goal is present in the Flow State. Time flies, self-consciousness disappears, and problems are forgotten. The flow experience itself becomes a worthy part of the goal. It is during this state that a person feels happy, in control, and at peace.2

Each of us focus fully at certain times. If something doesn’t immediately come to mind, try climbing or walking on large rocks. Inattentiveness in a dangerous situation, even for a moment, can mean injury or death. Even easily distractible people can successfully negotiate dangerous terrain when survival is dependent on the ability to focus.

The ability to focus fully on each task has many benefits.

* Increased success in any task.
* Decreased stress.
* Tasks are accomplished more completely within the time available.
* Many different tasks can be handled sequentially, with less stress.
* The achievement of a Flow State.
* Increased control and a feeling of well being.
* Full attention to each moment is prerequisite to feeling connected with others. When both the treating professional and patient feel connected the patient feels safe and protected and the treating professional wants to provide the best care possible. This is a classic win-win situation.
* The increased ability to be aware of moment-to-moment changes in another person’s responses. This is necessary for effective communication.
* The ability to select relevant bits of information, to evaluate the information and to choose the right thing to do.2
For most of us, the ability to be more attentive to any task can increase with intention and training. Increasing the ability to focus attention requires the following:

* Having the intention to increase your attention.
* The ability to give attention to your attention This is the ability to be aware when you become distracted.
* The ability to return your attention to the task you are focused on when you realize you are distracted.
The following simple exercise is a tool for increasing one’s attention level. The benefit of improving our attention focusing skill is that in a relatively short time we can do everything better.

AN ATTENTION FOCUSING EXERCISE

* Sit quietly in a comfortable position and loosen any tight clothing.
* Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breathing.
* Breathe deeply, hold your breath for a moment, and then exhale slowly and completely. Do this three times, letting your exhalation symbolize your tension leaving your body 4.
* Now give your full attention to your stomach rising and falling. Expect your mind to wander. It will. As soon as you recognize your mind has wandered bring your attention back to your stomach rising and falling. Do not concern yourself with the depth or speed of your breathing.
* If you have a problem keeping your attention on your stomach rising and falling, tell yourself “up” when your stomach rises, and “down” as your stomach goes down.
* Continue this exercise for 15 - 20 minutes. You may open your eyes to check the time. Do not use an alarm or you will unconsciously prepare for the ringing of the alarm.
* When you finish, sit quietly for a few minutes. Keep your eyes closed and, after a minute, open them. Do not stand up immediately.

The goal of this exercise is to be able to focus your attention on your attention, to be aware when your mind has wandered, and to be able to bring your attention back to your stomach as soon as you realize you mind has wandered. Practice this exercise until you are comfortable bringing your attention back to your stomach, the focus of your attention. Once you can consistently become aware when you mind wanders, and you can bring your mind back to what want to focus on, start focusing your attention on any current task instead of your stomach rising and falling. For example, if you are preparing a crown and become aware that you mind has wandered, bring your attention back to the crown being prepared. If you are interviewing a new patient, and become aware that you mind has wandered, bring your attention back to the interview with the new patient.

The ability of consistently keeping your mind on a task you are currently working on offers many benefits. We can increase the number of tasks that can be accomplished. Task control and more successful outcomes are common. We can feel more connected with others and have a greater awareness of what another person is thinking and feeling. And last, but not least, it offers us a feeling of well being that results from doing a stress reducing meditative type exercise throughout the day.

These benefits provide incentive to continue efforts to increase our attention focusing ability. This exercise truly affords us an opportunity to Do Everything Better.

Good luck!

References:

1. Mansky, M. A Question about Those Connections. Dental Economics. August 1998
2. Csikszentmihalyi, M. Flow. The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row; 1990
3. Egendorf, A. Personal communication
4. Fiore, Neil "Working in the Flow State" A New Realities Nov./DEC 1989 Page 25-29

December 30, 2004 in Writings | Permalink | Comments (0)