Four basic core principles to doing it right

My Dad always used to say, If you are going to do something, do it right. I think many of us came to The Dawson Academy like I did to do it right. We started by taking the core curriculum lecture and hands-on courses and followed those with more topic specific courses. We proceeded along our journey to provide our patients with the best possible long lasting dental care, but getting to that point is not always as easy as we’d like.

Unfortunately, it is easy to get sidetracked along the way and loose sight of the end result. It is not that we don’t want to do things the right way, it can just become difficult and confusing. It is not enough to just take courses, the key to success is putting into practice what we have learned. If not, nothing will change.

Four basic core principles to doing it right

If we follow these core principles, I know we will achieve the results we envision and become successful. These principles are nothing new and are the foundation of the core curriculum. The important part is that we actually have to put them into practice. I know from my own experience that success came when I started implementing what I learned. Change can be hard, but if you truly want to get to the next level it won’t happen by itself.

Here are what I believe to be the four key core principles we have to be committed to in order to reach that next level:

1. All patients get a thorough comprehensive examination with all necessary records.
2. We follow the 16-step functional/esthetic checklist when working through our treatment planning options.
3. We visualize the treatment plan and plan for success through the 10 step wax-up process.
4. We then provide the proper treatment to our patients to ensure functional and esthetic success.

If any of these concepts are not perfectly clear, maybe it is time to take a refresher course for clarification. In the near future we will have online presentations on these topics to make review easier. Try it on your next new patient and put into practice what you have learned. The reward will be in the end result for our patients.  I truly believe that if we are committed to the above principles, we will, as my Dad said,  Do it right. Good luck!