How to become a successful dentist.

Everyone wants to be successful in their life. Dentists are no exception. We all strive everyday to make a name for ourselves, to achieve a stature in the society that only a few can enjoy.

But if you have closely observed, like all other spheres of life, in dentistry too, you will find dentists who have made a name for themselves and there are others who have a very average life and professional success.

Is there a secret sauce that makes the dish of professional success a possibility?

I believe while there is no fixed magic formula but there are certain qualities which if you can inculcate in your personality, the chances of you attaining that elusive dream of being a famous dentist, about whom everyone talks about, will become brighter.

These qualities are not something that you have not heard before from either your parents or your seniors, but somehow in the race of life these take a back seat.

So what are these qualities that many of the successful dentists posses?

1) Be a Lifelong learner :

Dentistry is an ever evolving field. Every year a new gadget or a new technology will come and disrupt the way a certain procedure is performed.

Now if you will keep on treating your patients the way you have been doing for years while your peers learn the application of new technology or install the latest gadget in their clinic, you will definitely lose patients in the long run.

For example, use of intraoral scanners, that day is not far when every good clinic in the city will have to be equipped with an intraoral scanner and when that day comes and you are still using old methods of taking the impressions like alginate or putty, your patients will definitely shift their base.

2) Respect everyone :

As a dentist you will never be able to judge where is your next patient coming from.

Never ever, and I mean seriously, never ever disrespect anyone.

Do not lose your temper on petty things. Remember your patients judge you and your behavior before they can judge you as a clinician.

In last 10 years of my practice I have received referrals from the guard who stands out side the building where I practice. From the grocery shop owner, where I buy groceries from, the laptop repair guy who sent one of his clients who was in tooth pain. You just don't know.

The world is very small and these days with Facebook and other social media apps it has become smaller. So please make sure that you conduct your behavior in a way which is suitable for a doctor.

3) Punctuality :

Always respect the time of your patients. Never be late for appointments. People have a very low threshold for waiting these days.

You will create a very bad impression about yourself and your clinic if you are someone who is weaker when it comes to managing the schedule.

4) Always be true to your word :

See it is your job as a dentist to thoroughly examine the dental problem your patient has entered in your clinic with and offer the viable treatment options at a cost which is reasonable and justified to your skills and experience.

However once you have done that-given an estimate of your treatment charges-never try to ask for more or change the quote in between the treatment. Your patients will feel cheated upon and when it comes to the matters of money defamation occurs faster.

Be transparent right from the very beginning, always take into account that things will not go according to the plan and you might incur some additional expenses, so rather than increasing your fee when treatment is going on, always include that assumed fee right at the beginning of the treatment and then give an estimate.

This way you will always have peace of mind and you will not get irritated when things do not go as planned and you incur additional costs.

These are few of the qualities which I have observed in many successful dentists. I have tried to imbibe them in my personality over the last ten years and I hope you will try to do the same.

There is no fixed formula to succeed in life but we can always learn from others and not reinvent the wheel.