Part of my job is to seat down with patients and do an intake interview as to why they are in our office and see what it is they are looking for and how can we better help them get what they want.
I can say that I do love what I do and eventhough this is something I do not do full time is something I truly enjoy when I get to do it.
First I want to tell you that eventhough everyone that step in our office have a common purpose, everyone’s story is very different.
I often ask why do I work in a field that people hate. But at the same time I can relate to them because I have been in their shoes. The more I think about this and the more I tell myself not to take it personal still makes me wonder why? Why do you still come for help when you hate us so much? Yes “hate” such a strong word. They hate us, people tells me all the time “I hate you”, “I hate the dentist”.
The more questions I ask, the more I get to learn and hear that behind that strong word there is a story.
Today I am going to use the name of Pepe just to not mention the real name of the patient for confidentiality purposes.
Pepe came to the office after not being at the dental office for 25 years. Pepe was petrified of the dentist. Last time he remembers when he was at a dentist office was at 16 years old. Why that was the only time he remembers? Well, let me tell you why. It was the day he had a BAD EXPERIENCE. He was getting his wisdom teeth extracted and felt every little movement the dentist made while working on him, but he was numbed, he couldn’t understand why. That experience itself made him “hate us”. This awful experience prevented him from going to the dentist and he went to see a dentist just when he was having a problem and would ask for the teeth be extracted so he didn’t have to deal with anything else.
Remember when I mentioned earlier that everyone always have a story. I wasn’t to convinced that was the full story. Just by the look in his eyes. I am never afraid to ask questions, it always takes me to the bottom of things. My family always make fun of me because I sure ask a lot of questions. I am also not embarrassed to accept the truth but it is necessary to ask.
Well, I decided to ask him about his country. Pepe had an accent so I wanted to know where he was from. Pepe replied that he was from Iraq and that he has been in the states for 2 years now and he loves it.
Pepe is married. Has three children and is a journalist. He deals a lot with the public. Pepe was bullied when he was a child at school because of how his teeth looked. He feels absolutely embarrassed and he would like to be able to eat healthy because he would like to live a lot of years. I went back to his childhood and I wanted to know what it was like to be made fun of. He replied it was not fun, but that made him tough. He was able to hide all of those emotions and later in adulthood didn’t care. Ok, but why didn’t he care? I find that hard to believe. There is a reason he is in my chair today. Right?
I’m very excited for Pepe. I am not sure if he would pursue anything with us. He came for a free consultation to see what his options are and get some prices. He wanted to discuss with his wife if treatment in our office is something he can afford before getting any commitment. I don’t care if he goes to another office to seek dental care. I want him to purse his happiness and that consist of a new smile. I hope he comes back to us, but I also keep in mind not everyone can afford us.
Now let me tell you one thing I am supper proud of, and that is Pepe. Pepe showed me his vulnerable side and as a man I respect that. I let him know how proud I am of him for making the decision to come to our office. I know that was a big step for him.
If you think that bullying does not affect people you are wrong. People have feelings and if you are reading me today please don’t make fun of other people. I encourage you to not put people down. Be more compassionate. This is Pepe’s story. He wants to eat well and smile big and be proud of his smile. He wants to replace his missing teeth with implants and have a fixed prosthesis. I hope I get to see Pepe again. I also hope you do not get to be that one person that made fun of Pepe in school.
If you want to have a nice smile, eat better, get a new job, gain more confidence, date, be in pictures, and have a better health style please seek help there are a lot of people like me, actually there are a lot of people like us while we get to be accused of being bad, rough and careless, the reality is that we are very nice people with a wonderful heart trying to help you get the smile you deserve.
God Bless You
Janitza
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