(sigh) I had a patient like this today. It was kind of comical but annoying at the same time. I'm starting to burn out.
I am starting to see my patients that I saw six months ago. I'm so happy to see a regular recall patient because it means three things. Their exam, probing depths, and xrays are up to date. Thats a very BIG thing. They are definitely alot easier to clean than say a pateint that hasn't been in an over a year to thirty years. Its also nice to see a familiar face and to catch up on what they have been up to.
In the dental world its my patients that make or break my day. With that said, I think it is insane to believe that people's habits will change no matter how encouraging you are. There might be an exception every now and then but for the most part . . . nothing changes. (sigh) So I have surrended and accepted that I should just keep doing my part at the office and leave it up to the patient if he or she wants to take care of their teeth. I use to get frustrated when they would come back and I would see that nothing about their oral condition has changed . . . but not anymore. Insanity and hygiene go hand in hand. I found this quote on insanity.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~ Albert Einstein
3 comments:
I feel this way as a teacher sometimes too. . .BUT, don't give up, Bev. You can and do affect change! Maybe not with everyone, but you ARE making a difference. I've been flossing regularly all summer. . .because of you!
Try to pace yourself, and don't take the bad patients too hard. We can't afford for you to burn out! You're too good!
geesh, way to lay on the hygiene guilt. now i'm gonna really start flossing :) see ya soon.
I've never been your patient, but because of your wonderfully gross post some time ago - you know, the one about spreading the gunk from your teeth onto a cracker, *gag* - I now floss a heck of a lot more than I used to.
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