As a student, I existed in a bubble, unaware that the academic grind wasn’t the “real world.” We were trained to be masters of the craft:-surgery, diagnosis, and treatment planning were our holy trinity. Yet, we overlooked the true “boss” of the operatory :-Patient Communication.
Reflecting on my college days, I realize we often failed our patients. Not in our handiwork, but in our humanity. We treated them as case studies rather than people. We forced them to recount their pain for the nth time to a rotating door of students, often forgetting the basic respect they deserved as they sat in our chairs, vulnerable and anxious.
We had one outlier,a professor who treated every patient like royalty. He would walk in, offer a genuine greeting, and ask about their day and their comfort before even glancing at a chart. Back then, we were cynical; we thought he was “doing too much” or wasting time. Now, working in the fast-paced world of corporate dentistry, I realize he was the only one who truly had it right. I find myself striving every day to be more like him.
In a corporate environment, time is a luxury. Patients are busy, stressed, and often terrified of the doctors,primarily because most patients have at least 3–4 friends or family members who are doctors.
I’ve learned that while a perfect crown or a precise extraction is necessary, communication is the bridge to trust. A skilled doctor with a reliable, empathetic voice isn’t just efficient, they are on a different level entirely.
I hope the next generation of dental students doesn’t have to wait until they graduate to learn this. Technical skill gets you the job, but communication is what makes you a doctor.
MBH/AB