Steering into trouble

Some time ago I watched a quite inexperienced dentist working with patients.

This dentist had pretty big gaps in their skills — particularly in the areas of endodontics and crown and bridge. But, they were good with extractions.

What I saw time and again was that dentist steering patients towards extraction. Their often-used tactic was to wildly over-estimate the odds of failure, the cost and the difficulty of saving a tooth. Then the moment the patient wondered if the tooth should come out the dentist enthusiastically embraced that option.It struck me as unfair. Very unfair.

As dentists we all have preferences. But, it's our duty to give honest assessments of the odds of success and then let patients decide. If we have a deficiency in an area we still need to give the patient that option and if they choose it then refer.

Or, even better, build up skills in deficient areas by attending course.