The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Dental Patients

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey is about how to live by timeless, natural principles to achieve the most in your life and career. These principles can be applied to all areas of your life, including achieving great dental health.

Be Proactive is an important first step. You are living in an age of great advancements, where there are many options available to improve your smile and your overall dental health. Take the time to find a dentist who will share with you options so you are well informed. Then you can decide what is best for you. Do you want to whiten your teeth with 1 hour teeth whitening or place veneers on your front teeth or use clear aligners that fit over your teeth to straighten them? Each of these options are great, but which one is the best for you to achieve that knockout smile? Only you can decide after collecting all the information.

Begin with the end in mind is the next step. You need to decide what it is that is important to you. Is it a beautiful smile, optimal health or replacing missing back teeth so you can chew better? Then communicate that to your dentist and get her feedback on which option will help you achieve these results.

Put first things is the principle that means a solid foundation is important before you build a beautiful smile. So what does a solid foundation for great dental health look like? The gums and bone that surround the teeth have to be healthy and strong. Then the smile will remain beautiful for many years to come. Just as a house without a solid foundation will not hold up for many years, neither will a beautiful smile without healthy gums and bone. The muscles that surround the jaws need to be in balance and harmony. Missing teeth need to replaced with implants to provide a solid rooted foundation.

Think Win/Win – A beautiful smile gives you self confidence to do more and to be more at work and at home. Great dental health, with balanced muscles, provides more energy and vitality to achieve your goals. Healthy gums, bone and teeth provide great overall health so that you have a lower incidence of heart disease, lung disease and diabetes. Great dental health is a solid foundation for great overall health.

Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood – You should find a dentist who will listen to you about your dental health and what is important to you about your dental goals. Then your dentist can explain to you the options that are available to achieve your beautiful smile and great dental health. If you are being told what to do, before being asked what you would like to happen, you may not be experiencing the principle “Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood”.

Synergy allows 1 + 1 to = 3. With great dental health, when you are in Physiologic Balance, where your muscles, jaws and teeth are working in harmony, you get additional benefits of better posture, better sleep, an inviting smile and great overall health. It allows you to have more balance, strength and flexibility so you can do more. Synergy = Excitement + Enthusiasm + Energy.

Sharpen the Saw – With great dental and overall health comes more vitality. Take the time to enjoy your beautiful smile and the added benefits of increased confidence. Use that time to enjoy more sports, recreation and time with your family.

Your body is an interdependent system where balance, strength and flexibility lead to overall harmony. Our knowledge now allows us as dentists to treat our patients on more than a tooth by tooth basis. Instead of your body using energy to compensate for imbalances, you can now use that energy to achieve your goals, dreams and aspirations. Working together with your physician, dentist and the Neuromuscular support team, you create a synergy that uncovers new possibilities.