KENNETH E. MYERS D.D.S.

LIsten Friends and You Shall Hear….

Ken Myers DDS — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:10:14 +0000

It was a beautiful crisp spring evening and I was sitting alone relaxing on a bench in front of the Château Frontinac high above the St. Lawrence Seaway in Quebec City. I truly enjoy this beautiful city and the majestic view up the St. Lawrence is one of my favorites. When you are there, you are in a city that was once a fortress of safety for French settlers three hundred years ago. Towering stonewalls, bunkers and batteries of powerful black cannons surround a maze of old buildings lined along narrow cobble stone streets. This city was the home of battles that eventually shaped North America. In my solitude, my mind wondered back in time and I began to listen with my imagination to what these battles would have been like. I could hear the large steel cannons firing shots down on the great tall masted battle ships below as they protected the scared settlers living within these sacred walls from the invading armies sailing up the inlet from the Atlantic.
Its funny how are minds will allow us to hear such imaginary sounds when we truly listen, but yet, so many of us have trouble just listening and hearing what is around us in normal day to day life. Somewhere along our skill development path, many of us lose the gift of listening. And the reality is, in order to be successful at what we are trying to accomplish, we have to relearn and retain this skill. I have been working hard at this since Mary Osborne came to C4 and helped me realize how terrible I was at listening. To complicate matters, the person I listened to the least, was myself.
Over a five-year period I worked very hard to improve my dental skills and judgment to develop a comprehensive care practice. I had gone through the paradigm shift of believing what occlusion meant to successful dentistry and how it made treatment easier. The need for a large practice had gone to the wayside, since we are now doing better dentistry on fewer patients and it was those asking for help. Then why, did it always seem like a battle to keep things under control? Part of the answer came from Mark Peters, who was also one of my C4 instructors. He told me to listen to my temperament. In other words, what was Ken Myers telling himself what he wanted out of his practice and life? And now, since I have begun to listen to my heart muscle and stomach lining, the control of the practice continues to improve. However, there is a lot more to it than just listening to yourself.
I have also focused my attention on listening better to my staff. We may complain that they seem to whine about trivial things, but usually they have a broader meaning behind their words. And when I have taken the time to listen and talk to them, they frequently open up to me about issues at home and not the office at all. You may be surprised to hear this, but your staff’s respect and need of you often extends beyond the office walls. This is where part your leadership is derived from listening and not speaking.
Then there was Fred, who taught me a huge lesson on the gift of listening to our patients. Fred came to my office by referral because he did not see eye to eye with his previous dentist. And I think I know who was not listening to whom. Fred presented for our new patient evaluation, and I asked the simple question; “What can I do to be the best dentist I can be for you?” He then proceeded to tell me about his new physician who listened to him and cared, his family who never listened to him, and a plethora of other issues for the next 40 minutes. I hardly said a word. When we started to talk about his dental health, I just sat there and nodded in agreement, because he had already been educated about his dental problems. When Fred was finished, he knew I had listened to every word, answered every concern, and he scheduled the initial phase of a full mouth rehabilitation. And, all I did was listen. I truly believe that many of the patients I never brought above the line were because I too, was probably not listening to their wants and needs.
The gift of listening extends well beyond the life of a dental practice. I would say that many of our family disagreements are caused by one or both spouses not listening to what the other has to say. Or, we may not explain ourselves in a manner that makes it possible to listen to each other. As parents, we so often say to our children; “just a minute” or “will you just listen to me; I’m busy right now.” When in reality we need to stop, take time to sit down and listen to what they have to say. If we don’t start listening to them at a young age, it will teach them not to say what is on their mind, and it will teach them the same bad habits on not listening that we have developed. Children need our listening skills equally as much as they need our verbal skills. Too often they don’t have anybody to listen to them so they can develop self worth which they need as they grow and mature.
The art of listening is not a new concept that has arrived with the millennium. However, as the world ever becomes faster paced, its importance to our success in life may be increasing. L.D. Pankey used the word “know”, to try to express this same thought process. “Know yourself and know your patient” were part of his application of the cross to dentistry. In reality, he was simply stating, listen to yourself and listen to your patient. This may seem like a small task to accomplish, but it is a very important key to our successful journey because it will unlock doors around you that you never knew were even there. Behind these doors may be some of the answers to the questions and frustrations we continue to encounter. So, listen friends and you may hear…

I am not too sure we get it….

Ken Myers DDS — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:35:26 +0000

I am presently returning from a reunion of a non-for-profit dental organization who took the ideas and ideals of a particular icon in the dental industry, L.D. Pankey, and for over 30 years the efforts of many tried to teach us the importance of being the best person you can be, treat people the best you can, and to learn the best techniques and knowledge available in order to be the best dentist you can be for those you treat. To be honest, they succeeded in this goal. Unfortunately, I think like all organizations from government, business, religion, and education the visions became too internal and we lost the view of the big picture. I would be amiss to not include the similar mistake of the individual. To be honest, it was the global self-centered mentality that created the mess we find us all today. Thus, we find us in the battle of lessons learned verses the continuation of self-centered aspirations.
It has been my recent discussions with the young adult that has truly begun to bring clarity to me the depth of the problems we face and how we really aren’t facing what needs to be accomplished to fix the issues at hand. Imagine the loss of hope and dreams when these young people begin to look and the prospects of heading out on their own, and the obstacles in their way. For those who choose to end their education after high school, there simply are not any jobs that will allow them to grow in life. They would like the labor jobs that allow them the option of a goods days work for a good day’s pay, and then they have their personal time. For those who want to learn the trades, the available avenue for them has been limited by the anemic growth of our economy and opportunities. The four-year college graduate has taken on the responsibility of the high cost of their education to better him or herself. Now they have discovered the options available to them are barely enough to live on let alone pay back the loans they have accrued. And finally, those who head off to graduate schools continue to add the debt burden to the point where once they enter the work force at a delayed time in their life, the dreams of making a difference in society and living a “better life” is gone with debt, regret, and guilt of their life decisions even before they have a chance to start.
So, what happened? The word that seems to come to mind to answer this is just plane “greed”. When I use the word Greed, I am not only talking about money, I am talking about greed in power, recognition, life-style, perceived entitlements, and selfishness. As I stated earlier, just about everyone or organization became selfishly greedy, and it has finally caught up to us in global per potions, that until we accept our mistakes, will not be fixed.
In general, people have reached their limits, frustration has started to mount, and we see the debates beginning to hopefully lead us to at least a beginning resolution to our problems. However, it will take a lot of letting go, to turn this weight of limitation we created into windows of opportunity. Do I have all of the answers, no I don’t, but I can share where my thoughts are beginning to take me.
Let’s begin by eliminating promises we cannot keep as a society to each other, and let the individual take on more personal responsibility. We need to realize that as times change, our lives may also have to adapt to our surroundings, learning to live with less and stop thinking that “stuff” will find us happiness. In the same token, we need to realize that life is a journey of growth and discovery without a nirvana, so slow down and enjoy the ride. Happiness cannot be bought and is heavily reliant on emotional and physical health. And, ultimately, the realization that life is eternal neither at the beginning nor near the end.
Government needs to stop thinking that they can fix all of the problems and that their role is to take care of the individual rather than the masses. Its analogues to taking the leash off of a dog in a field, and letting them run free, but with defined boundaries. Let democracy let fall those who fail us, making room for new energy and ideas. And let government realize the regionalization of its influence leading to tolerance of other peoples in other regions of the world and their own matters.
Responsible economics needs to be driven by competition on a global scale without government intervention, regulation, and taxation. This in turn will spurn the ingenuity that leads to growth, productivity and opportunities. And if greed grows too large, let the corporations fall with their mistakes so there is room for the fair and responsible.
Education needs to rediscover its roots in the basics of reading, writing, the sciences and mathematics. Higher learning is more about the growth of the individual verses the pomp and circumstance, the need to be perceptually the best, unsubsidized by government and controlled in scope by the same ingenuity of competition and openness of free market. Again, let those who fail their responsibility make room for new opportunity without the protection of beurocratic force fields.

But with the human spirit , there always comes hope and next we will discuss where our hope will take us.

The Odd Lone Clock (part 2)

Ken Myers DDS — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:51:15 +0000

When I was recently talking with a new patient I asked if he was satisfied with the appearance of his teeth. Smugly he stated; “At 55 years old, I don’t think I really worry about how my teeth look.” Then I asked; “Do you think at 80 or 85 years old, you will care if you have your teeth?” “Of course” he said blatantly. As I leaned closer I softly spoke; “do you realize that is 30 years away. And how your teeth look is more than likely directly related to how they are functioning which may influence how long they will last.” This was an instance where the patient used time as a negative against himself, but I used time as an educational point to prove that his present age was not the issue.
Time management is not a great success of many of us today. Society has led us away from controlling this ever important factor in our lives. Just think back on your childhood and compare it to what many of us do to our kid’s schedules today. This begins a vicious cycle that will be difficult to break, but inevitable, something will do just that.
I know of an orthodontist who sees 90 plus patients a day. His schedule is packed, stress is high, his staff is on edge, and a lot of the joy of his practice seems to wean. He talks of being able to “finish up” financially at an early age. However, I know that when his youngest child graduates high school thirteen years from now he will be 60 years old. I sure don’t see him leaving for Florida in his mid 50’s while his youngest is still in high school. I am not too sure what the race is, but my constant advice to him is; “why don’t you slow down, and enjoy the ride!” Even my kids bring me back to the reality of the fact that there isn’t any rush or race in life. Take your time to enjoy every minute. Even in relationship to my dentistry, although I have completed the Pankey Scholar program, I felt that this was a new starting point and not an end or destination of my personal career journey. I always like to say, that dentistry became a lot easier when I realized there wasn’t a “dental nirvana” that I was in a race to reach. Even outside of dentistry, I have several friends who felt a need to “take a year off” around the age of 40 due to early burnout. Only to have difficulty getting back into the job market when they felt ready to resume their hectic work schedules.
As a mentor to other dentists, I find this factor of time a key point of many of our discussions. Not only for the obvious dental reasons, but also for such things as finances (you cannot have it all today), growth of the practice, skill development, relationship building, and who they are in the dental and local communities. I would always like to place things on a time scale and prefer that they do things the right way, and not the quick way. Maybe that is my point complaining about everyone trying to sell us the quick road to success. Usually all those lessons waste time and cost a lot of money. The control of finances and the influence of time is a lesson that everyone cannot learn too early.
If all of you could please take the time and try to relate this important aspect of life to yourself, you will see that how the lack of time control can affect so many parts of your lives. I urge all of you to go out and get your own odd clocks without a beginning nor end, grasp the precious time in your hands, control it, use it with wisdom, never let it get away from you and never be in a rush to cram as much into it as possible. Realize that if everything else is taken away from you then time is all that you would have. And remember, to be the best you can be often takes a lot of time. Most important of all, save some time for yourself, you deserve it.
Good luck and hey, if any of you need time to talk, just call and I’ll make some.

The Lone Odd Clock (part 1)

Ken Myers DDS — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:24:52 +0000

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

On the wall in my operatory rests a lone odd clock. Most anyone who enters the room will notice that the clock only has one hand…the second. With each click of the clock time passes, but it really appears to have no end nor does it even appear to have a beginning. After a period of time, many would ask, isn’t that clock missing something? I would have to answer; “no.” Of course, the clock does have the purpose of timing various procedures we do. I may point out that it is the same clock my attorney uses to time his billing. But in reality the clock represents a big part of me. It is not a fancy clock by any means. In fact, I believe it costs less than five dollars at the local store, and was easily manipulated by myself to have a useful purpose. Unlike most dental equipment “sold” to us today, the cost/benefit ratio of “the clock” for timing everything from impressions to etch application is a thousand fold. Useful, practical, cost efficient, and cheap. Not too much different then yours truly. I would even bet any of you that this small little clock can, per dollar, out produce the marveled 100 thousand dollar time saving lab machine touted by a large dental supply company. This is because the true lesson in the clock for us is, time. And that, my friends, is the key to many of the successes or failures so many of us can never seem to understand or take control of.

The day I took the hands off of this clock was more than likely without knowing, the first time I took control over a very powerful component of my life, my time. Without a minute or hour hand, the clock really doesn’t give much more than a short period in which to focus. It is easy to manage the first few times the second hand goes around a full circle when timing short procedures, but after that, it all starts to run together. When you loose track of the time, you loose control, and when we loose control of time, everything can begin to falter.

I have a belief that much of what happens in our life is directly related to our ability to control time. This was a hard lesson to learn, and a very hard lesson to teach. Our schedule, knowledge, money, quality of work, family, friends, balance, and most any part of our lives is time related.

As an example let’s start with the new patient. If you do not spend the up front time with this person, then you do not know who they are. If you do not spend the clinical exam time, you cannot find out what dental problems they have. If you do not spend the time studying this clinical information you cannot determine their needs. If you do not spend the time educating the patient of their needs they will not allow you to fix them. If you do not take the time to do it in a proper fashion, then the final outcome will be affected. And the list goes on to even the reality of how much all of this time spent is worth. But, by controlling all of these time related factors, you will have the ability to do better dentistry in a timely and cost efficient manner that opens more time for other things that you can do.

“The Lone Odd Clock” (part 1)

Ken Myers DDS — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:16:05 +0000

The World Is Out Of Harmony, Part 2

Ken Myers DDS — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:16:18 +0000

If you were to ask any band or orchestra member how to get the group in harmony or “in tune”, they would say the first step is to listen to your own music first, and see how it fits with those around you. Americans do have a fascination with this self listening, as they continue to look for answers around them in the booming self-help industry. If you were to Google self-help, you would receive over 300 million hits in a split second. Unfortunately, as much as we want people to give us answers to help us feel better, not many can give then to you as well as you can yourself. If we want to get back to a state of order, it needs to start from within.
To begin with, SMILE! I know it sounds silly, but a little cheer can go a long way to help make people more comfortable. Some people think I might be crazy living in the Northeast, but I smile at everyone. And believe it or not, they smile back. If you’re really brave, add a hello to the smile and see what happens, especially with strangers. Second, open your ears to listening. I know that I spend more time with my staff at lunch lately listening and discussing their worries and concerns. These individuals look up to you and you can help guide them as they open up about their own hardships.
This same task should be true for your family. Kids today are overwhelmed with their schedules and they too feel the stress of the constant media blitz. We have made an effort to limit what is on the television or radio in the home and what our children are exposed too. However, we also use the dinner table to open discussions and we individually go around the table before dinner and say something we are thankful for or a positive daily experience.
Another group affected who can have a direct affect on you emotionally and financially, are your patients. I would be surprised if many of us have not felt the economic challenges our patients are dealing with both from a practical and emotional level. They too have a high respect for you, need your ear, but may often be afraid of the stress you as a health provider might create in their lives. If they respect you and don’t want to “let you down”, they may hide facts from you, put off treatment because they are afraid to tell you of the hardships that are leading them to these decisions. Patients may think you “might not understand.” If you create open discussion, some of the concerns such as financial constraints could be worked out in such a manner that they would proceed with their needed treatments. Possibly, treatment could be spread out over time, better utilization of insurance or alternative treatment options over no treatment at all could be investigated, Again, most issues can be resolved with an open ear and communication.
This discussion could extrapolate on, but the most important thing to remember is, everything is going to be OK. Starting with your own efforts in simplificaton, you can make a difference. Think about and decide the most important aspects of your life and begin your focus there. We all need to create a level of order in our own lives. Control your finances, cut out the extraneous activities that create stress and focus on the basics, expecially your family. Scale back your energy use, give generously to those in need, turn off the media so they don’t dictate your attitudes and most importantly, be a leader with a heart and smile for those around you. If we all take these little steps we can get through these disjointed times and bring back the sweet sound and feel of “Harmony”..I promise.

The World is Out of Harmony

Ken Myers DDS — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:45:06 +0000

Recently, my staff was having lunch together discussing the media issues of the day, when my assistant looked at me with a very pensive face and stated in sadness: “The world is out of harmony.” A quiet pause came across all of us and the silence enforced how unveiling her statement was. Truly since the turn of 9/11, the tension we all feel in our daily lives has been growing. I often discuss at our off staff meetings how whenever we start to get into a “cruise control” mode that things slowly start evolving from order towards disarray. In other words, there always seems to be a natural tendency for disorder and it takes a lot of effort to keep things on track. It takes constant attention to detail to ultimately keep life in an organized state. Think of your desk, your dresser, your closet, garage, etc…the list goes on. Unfortunately, as easy as it may be to manage this disarray on a small scale in our own lives, there are issues that we often do not have much control over and it adds to the burden. Unfortunately, this recent apparent loss of control in the world around us has created a tremendous amount of increased stress.
Through my personal observation every generation has had it’s difficult times. Think of the wars and world economic issues that occurred during the twentieth century. Again, there was always a driving force towards disorder. Many of the driving forces are created by Man himself, (yes, of evil nature). Today, terrorism, the wars it has created and the divide between more civilized societies offers daily bad news.
Daily, we are inundated by the timeless media streaming of the worlds events. Yes, as author Thomas Friedman would say; “the world is getting flat.” I would even say the world continues to also get smaller as it gets flatter. Political turmoil in the world and political turmoil in our nation. Energy crises in the world and energy crises in our nation. Financial crises in the wold and financial crises in our nation. The constant negativity can be unbearable to the extent that most of us have now reached a level of added stress that has made us very unsettled. Yes, my friends, unfortunately, the world is out of harmony and we are all part of the band.
(to be continued…)

What is the New Patient Experience?

Ken Myers DDS — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:41:49 +0000

Getting to know you

A very important aspect of the new patient experience is having an opportunity to get to know you as a person before directing our efforts on your dental needs. We believe here that we treat people and not just teeth. It is also a time for you to get to know us as individuals, which is the first phase of developing trust in who we are and what we do.

The Dental History

Many of our expectations in life can be based on past experiences whether positive or negative. Our hope is to have an understanding of your feelings on dental treatment and how the past has influenced your dental condition both emotionally and physically. How do your rate your present condition?, what are your expectations of treatment?, how do you feel about esthetics?, what are your financial concerns? These along with other questions will help us understand your feelings toward dental treatment for you.

Getting to know your teeth

This part of the initial exam can be described as a co-discovery of your present dental condition. From the soft tissue cancer and periodontal exam we examine for abnormalities that need to be addressed. The muscle and joint exam will be the initial phase of looking at the functional component of your mouth. Finally, we will look at the condition of your teeth from both a functional and caries point of view to see if there are any specific needs for treatment.

Study Models

Very often we take study models on our new patients who either have major restorative needs, esthetic concerns, or functional issues. By mounting these models on a artificial jaw called an articulator, we can look from all angles to see how your mouth function as a system. It is very important not to think about dentistry as a commodity based treatment (i.e. tooth by tooth) as the mouth works as one unit and not as individual teeth.

Intraoral Photographs

On all of our new patients we take a series of intraoral photographs that have several purposes. Initially, it gives us a “snapshot in time” of where you are now. These photographs are digitally stored and often used as a reference point to see the changes in your teeth over time. Secondly, they are used to study in order to have time to develop your treatment plan. And finally, they are used to educate you on your specific condition and needs at the consultation appointment. In many ways photographs are the most important diagnostic tool we have.

Dental Radiographs

A complete series of radiographs is taken for diagnostic purposes. Although we may use radiographs you have had taken in the past, the age and quality of these radiographs strongly influences whether we need to suppliment them with our own. IT IS IMPARITIVE THAT PREVIOUS RADIOGRAPHS ARE BROUGHT TO THE INITIAL EXAM IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO AVOID NEW ONES.