So I got this email awhile back, from a guy claiming to be a dentist, and I believe that he is. Why do I believe it? Because it illustrates perfectly what is wrong with dentists who don't "get it". This email is condescending and pedantic, uses the bludgeon of fear, and presumes idiocy and cowardice on the part of the patient. Personally I wouldn't want this dentist giving me a manicure, in part because his spelling indicates a lack of interest in education (the email arrived with the header "Found your blog while sufing" - I guess he meant "surfing"), but also because this is the kind of dentist who treats his patients like cash cows and not human beings.
So, "RSM", if you're reading this, maybe you could try opening your mind a little, listening to your patients instead of lecturing and insulting them, and doing unto others. But no, that's not likely to happen. Sad. Your type will be extinct eventually, as younger, smarter, more gentle and forward thinking people enter the field.
Dear Dental Hell,
Seems to me when you finally learn how to clean your teeth properly at home everyday you will have no more reason to whine about the evils of dentistry. Try going with no teeth for a while and I think you’ll start to change your tune. You were given a gift of teeth, and you won’t appreciate them until their gone. About that same time you will start to appreciate dentistry too, but your not there yet Bud!
RSM DDS
