HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

“MAKE LEVERAGE OUT OF YOUR LIABILITY”

by Dr. BAK NGUYEN

In the first chapter, we dove right in the middle of the subject, how to succeed in the dental chair. If you boil it down, it all comes down to COMMUNICATION and TRUST.

The surgical skills and science, those you all got from your time in dental school. You wouldn't have a license if you didn’t satisfy the highest of standard.

COMMUNICATION

That we covered in the previous chapter. It is not about the fact and the science alone, but the intent and your understanding of your patients needs. What you think they need is often different from what they feel they need.

It is not about marketing or wording, but your state of mind as you are communicating with your patient. Be genuine, be kind and be patient, they do not know what you know. You do not feel what they feel. Take the time to address that, and you are on the right track to connect genuinely with your patient.

Take my advice, put aside the technic, the influence, the marketing, those really worked, but they are not you and worst, they won’t sound genuine.

“Expose yourself, take the time, and communication will not be a craft or an art, it will be the extension of your soul.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

CONFIDENCE

This is the real question. How to build or boost your confidence as a dentist? Some of us are born with confidence as second nature. They look secure, know what to say and what to do and are a natural leader. They do not have any doubt.

Trust me, this is nothing but an image, a mirage. Some times it was there on purpose, and some times, it’s how they look despite themselves. Being one of them, let me tell you that we all have our doubts and fears.

“No one is immune to doubts. But one can learn to keep his doubts under control.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

To keep your doubts under control, that’s the key. The secret to do so it in three steps:

• First, you need to understand your function in the situation. What are people expecting from you? With that function and goal clearly defined, you are standing on solid ground. As a dentist, we are problems’ solvers.

• Secondly, be upfront about what you know and what has to be verified. Notice that I said what to be verified, not what you don’t know. In the first case, you are simply humble enough to take the engagement to stay open and to learn and adapt. In the second, you simply stated your boundaries.

• Thirdly, take all the means at your disposal to fulfil your function. All the means, don’t hold back.

By doing those three steps, you will always stand on solid ground as a dentist. The problem often occurs when we are hesitant and are nuancing everything.

Then, all that the patient will perceive is our indecision. In other words, your insecurity and your doubts. No one will be trusting a dentist doubting, on that you can take this as cash! You won’t either.

This is the silver line in our profession, how do you maintain confidence without being arrogant? By putting the confidence over your function, not yourself. For as long as you are sure and confident about what to do to help and to heal, you are in the green.

If you think that you know everything and that the world revolves around you, this is where you have deviated from the track. Most of us suffer more of a lack of confidence than an excess of confidence.

“Know your function and who you are serving.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

They might call you doctor, but you are serving them! They will listen to your advice and instruction because you serve them. You are in authority, but they are your boss. If you can see things for what they are really, you can build your confidence with insurance.

Confidence doesn’t mean to know it all. Confidence means that you know who you are, what you can do, and what you have to ask for assistance. Be upfront and transparent with your patients, they will just appreciate the humanity and the vulnerability of your character.

You are no superman, you are a doctor. That’s all what they were expecting from you, a kind, honest and genuine doctor.

“Make leverage out of your liability.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

I wrote that quote in many of my books. It was meant for business’ and champion’s mindsets. But guess what, how do you think that I came up with the quote and concept? From my 20 years+ in the profession, serving as a dentist.

As a dentist, every time that we engage with a patient, we are at risk of being sued. In our legal system, one is innocent until proven guilty. In the medical system, it is often the reserve, the burden of proof often falls into our laps. In other words, it is for us to prove that we did everything by the book and that we are above reproach.

Often, that system is what keeps many of us in the shadow of our real potential. Yes, we show up at continuous education seminars and keep our skills and our craft to the best of our abilities. But we are trapped within a safe box. That makes sense when we know that since we are dealing with patient’s health and life, we do not have the right to error.

This is all very confusing and does not help at all the boosting of our confidence. Well, I learned to do otherwise. I learned to embrace the fact that I am liable and on the hook for everything that I am, do and say in front of my patient. I do not hide from it. They feel it and salute my courage.

When you think of it, I didn’t do anything else than to state the obvious: that I am liable. But since I was the one saying it, what they hear is that I am responsible and will be there until the problem is solved, to the best of my abilities and beyond.

“Embrace the facts and transform your liability into responsibility.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

Despite what you are thinking, this is no marketing or mind game. Accept that you are liable and that you will be there to support your patient and they will love you for it. You would sign a dentist that will give his heart to serve you!

And then, grow from that love. I had to share with you my story here. Many times over, I have disclosed in my books that I became a dentist to honor and please my parents. Since I did struggle much to find my path and to cope with my ambitions.

It was the connection that I shared with my patients that saved me from total failure. They trusted me and gave me love ad friendship. That’s how I coped. For more than 16 years, I served them from Mdex, from my dental chair.

My confidence is built and grown from the love of my patients. Today, I am a recognized cosmetic dentist, one that people recommend and look forward to. I succeeded despite myself.

I succeeded because I did stop and ask the question. Until my patient is satisfied with the result, I keep looking an alternative. Since I am not in love with the technic nor the surgery, I do not have any problem to find a better way to solve the same problem.

That openness allowed me to raise questions that my peers took for granted. The thought process and the thinking was a breath of fresh air to most of my patients.

“I succeeded as a dentist because I put my pride aside.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

Actually, I had my pride since I left my Hollywood dreams aside 16 years ago. So I dedicated all of myself to serve my patient to the best of my abilities and with what was available on the market.

I wasn't satisfied with what I could find around, so I started to travel across the United States to gather more technics and sciences. Doing so, I was at the front row of the evolution in cosmetic dentistry. Travelling, I also found a way to cope with my new life as a dentist… not a filmmaker.

“I am prideless and confident. That’s a dangerous mix of efficiency.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

Seriously, what I am trying to tell you in here is to leave your pride behind. Know your function and know your strengths. Bet on your strength and do not try to hide your weaknesses. This is the way to be confident and prideless.

It might take months and years to build up your confidence. Take the needed time, some things can’t be rushed. I am addicted to Momentum, and I am telling you to take the needed time to build up your confidence.

Once confident, no doubt can jeopardize you entirely. Actually, once secure and confident, you will feel safe to be open to study each of those angles that doubts are bringing on the table. Some you will quickly discard, some other, you will find a way to learn from and to improve your craft.

You are not perfect that is more than okay, it is expected. Don’t try to pretend otherwise. From our formation and training, we’ve been trained to aim for perfection. Usually, that’s the lie, since perfection does not exist. Even if you have found the exact recipe, no two situations are perfectly alike, and you will have to readjust.

Aim for harmony instead. Adapt yourself and your craft to the situation and the circumstance, and you will always find a way out! That’s how and why your patients will be loyal and love you.

To all of those afraid of losing your clientele to a competitor, ask yourself why would your patients leave? It is not a simple thing to simply change dentist. They have to be unhappy with you to leave for someone else.

Well, too often, we tend to blame the others when the main issue was within. Doing so, there is simply no chance for us to improve.

On top of it, this is another negative side effect to that kind of thinking. We are seeing each other as competitors and rivals. We are defensive, closing ourselves up, and have a hard time to connect and to share.

Now that we understand how insecure a patient can feel going to a new dentist, we know that the premise was a lie. We are no competitor.

While the reason was false, the consequences are all but too true and destructive. We are isolating ourselves one from another. This is the worst way to grow a community and confidence.

I encourage you all to rethink most of your thinking about each other, about yourself, about our profession and our patient. Remove the false labels, actually, remove all the labels and stop judging yourself and people.

I forced myself to say YES to everything for 12 months. Doing so, I stopped judging everyone, starting by myself. You have no idea the unnecessary burden that we pull just by judging and labelling.

And by the way, what is pride? Pride is talking all of your strengths to protect something weak inside. In business, there is a saying to NEVER PUT MORE GOOD MONEY OVER BAD MONEY.

In other words, stop doubling down our a losing hand. That’s exactly what you do if you let your pride in control.

Free yourself and open up. Be prideless or at least, stop betting on that losing hand. Build your confidence from within, from the awareness of your function and what you bring on the table. If you do not bring much, now would the perfect time to start.

We are the elite, we just need to be reminded of the selection and training process we’ve been through. So be confident to succeed. Be open to learn and be kind to serve. This is who we are.

This is MILLION DOLLAR MINDSET applied to dentistry. This is HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST.

This book is not about understanding THE DIFFERENT FACETS of what it means to become a DOCTOR IN DENTAL MEDICINE

Dr. BAK NGUYEN