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Some say Plato was the original snob traceable back to his Socratic dialogue, "The Republic", where his views were clearly expressed that countries should only be ruled by philosopher-kings. A presentation by early philosophers, whether for their scholarly allure or, as one author referred to it as liken to "chocolate for the ears"? This never fails to generate interesting conversation while avoiding the golden rule of never discussing politics and religion during a relaxing dinner.The quotes of philosophers of the medieval times are as timeless as the ether that surrounds us from quantum to the extreme cosmos. Albert Einstein once expressed his doubts of the true qualitative evidence of quantum physics based on causality of entanglement and certainty. In one of his many sharp rebuttals, he questioned, if no one is in the forest and a tree falls, what certainty is there that there was a sound? Reality is unquestionably real. Necessity is the mother of inventions. This is a classic and as WIKI describes it from a speech by Leo Melamed "Today, I will speak of change, of need, but mostly of "necessity, the mother of invention". Victor Hugo succinctly expressed it in 1852 in his History of Crime: "A stand can be made against invasion by an army; no stand can be made against invasion by an idea." Hugo did not invent the thought, rather he inherited it from a long line of literary stars beginning with the original version Mater Artium Necessitas an undated anonymous Latin saying of ancient Rome. The Latin poet, Pesius Flaccus, was the first known author to use it in literature, circa 50 A.D. He put it, "the stomach is the teacher of the arts and the dispenser of invention." The saying took one form or another throughout the ensuing history of great literary thought until some 1500 years later when Leonardo Da Vinci wrote, "Necessity is the mistress and guardian of nature." William Shakespeare in his Julius Caesar wrote, "Nature must obey necessity," and the English dramatist, William Wycherly, in 1671, said it in the form we know it today. However it is said, it is no less true. Necessity will produce the indicated invention." I recently saw a dental bid (apron) which caught my eye with the sharpness of that of a seagull making a bull's eye capture of a minnow some 30 feet above the surface of the lake. The apron read "I am going to sue you". Giving that now is the crazy period of print satire, it still caught my attention as I pondered what would be the genesis of such a statement. Most of us have had our share of lawyer jokes, however this dental bib carried a sinister and certainly a direct message. This is not to say that dentists have been sitting on their hands and not spending good money to create a more inviting environment. Large sums are being channeled through advertising agencies and some dentists have even moved to promote their services through their own blogging sites. However the marketing mix has failed to penetrate the pulp of a culture that has largely seen dentistry as PRN (pro re nate), a latin term that pharmacists understand as "when the need arises". The strong message that sticks out here is as captivating as an Egyptian Ankh decorating the door as an all night 7 -11. and as appealing as trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The term impulse buying certainly would not be an appropriate expression of how the public at large sees the dental office. Fear is still the average response after 25 years of my anecdotal interviews. In case this analysis is misunderstood, let me clarify the situation. There is enough critical mass in populated towns and cities for dentists to practice and enjoy a comfortable life dealing with schedule appointments and the odd acute situations to fix a broken denture or even a painful acute root canal that has recently flared up. However this passive agenda is mindful of the giant auto industry of North America before Japan decided to move in. With a healthy dental research manufacturing Industry showing off their duly approved products each year, it appears that the public at large have not embraced their appointments to the same extent as other statements of vanity. The move to that level of "must-have" has yet to mature. From liposuction to lips, from bunions to calf muscles, from-laugh lines to brow lifts, have all been surgically modified, yet simple diastemas (spaces between teeth) and mandibular prognathism (over bite) are so noticeably off the radar even among prominent and powerful individuals in the Western world. This therefore begs the question, "why is there still such fear to visit the now upgraded and relaxing atmosphere of your dental office? As necessity is the mother of invention so then complacency leads to problems. (Hazelden). MacDonald's and Apple Mac ("I" products) were capable of holding on to the big one that did not get away. Botox and silicone have followed suit with their huge grab of disposable income. These companies have been able to carve out a market directly in contract to "pro re nate" where dentistry is generally directed more and more at the almost identical target market. A detailed comparison, shows a similar core competence -- namely a fashion statement directed at the youth market. Dentistry is no less a pure science than neurology, yet one can hardly deny the growth or the expansion of the clinical use of Botox and silicone which are not absolutely free of discomfort. However it would be difficult to win an argument that Botox and silicone have not been successful at selling their products inspite of some period of discomfort. They, like I-pods have been successful at gaining market share of disposable income while general dentistry is treading water dealing with regular appointments, acute or emergency situations while loosing more than their share of disposable income target for vanity. There lies the veneer that covers the complexity which defies all principals of marketing gurus. Successful marketers are governed by the five "P's" of the marketing mix. These are :PRODUCT, PRICE, PROMOTION, PLACE and PEOPLE. These principals all seem to be in place, yet any recent graduate dentist will tell you the tattoo office next door always seem to have a full waiting room although such visits to these cosmetic offices which are growing exponentially, in spite of much more pain for longer periods of time, to which no dentist would subject a patient. The Roman monks of the middle ages who wore the cilice belt studded with sharp metal barbs, which when drawn a notch tighter delivered the necessary penance and discipline before entering the house of God. This was their discipline or corporal mortification as they chanted ,"Ahhh pain is good" as the barbs drew blood. Let me again assure the general public at large, dentistry is a very lucrative, stable and highly profitable profession where appointments are mostly taken; in any typical day for many general practitioners of dentistry, it could be accurately classified as unremarkable. Were it not to have to work around the odd drop-in emergency and acute situations, the flow of traffic for regular check-ups would be as exciting as watching a sterilizing instrument go through its cycles. Most dental offices are on auto pilot. Situations which rarely occur and classified as a panic environment may be what some peers would classify as operator error. These foreboding episodes can range from separation of an endodontic file, an anesthetic needle to the term known as "pumping" of local anesthetic in less than the recommended time of 60 seconds. Certainly there are time when the test of one's diagnostic skills freezes any dentist like the bright xenon lights of their BMW catches a deer of guard at night. There will be times when the recognition, identification, and treatment of certain perio (gum disease) could cause some stress, because of the need to avoid the possibility of systemic secondary infection. Systemic antibacterial therapy to prevent grave and possible fatal conditions such as meningitis, pericarditis, rheumatic fever, pneumonia, and even septicemia infections. However all practitioner are trained hopefully for such eventualities. While botox and silicone have suffered their share of adverse publicity, they pale in comparison to any of the above episodes faced by a general dental practitioner. However the almost addictive search for vanity still maintains an intriguing appeal. Some experts say dentists are basically conservative and feel any "push" will be met with the typical answer . . "let me think about it". Then why does one get the impression that general dentistry is not on target and that [dentistry] is less successful on selling a closure of clinical cosmetic diagnosis? The above is in no way intended to reduce the seriousness of a clinical diagnosis to a situation that may be interpreted as a frivolous cosmetic vanity. After world war II, marketing was a simple exercise. It was straight forward job. Management gave orders; "we have a warehouse of widgets". your job is to go out and sell them. As marketing moved to a graduate degree with more universities focused on business disciplines in financial accounting, Laura Allan of Queen's University Executive MBA moved to an exact science where the 5 "P" of marketing took on a new direction. Perception is reality. lf customers do perceive what they are purchasing is exactly what they must have, then the marketing mix would have been a success. Current graduates in business and marketing use this mix. The patented "whitening for life program" is aimed at just that concept. Sell the patient on what they want. Eventually any other clinical diagnoses will be more readily accepted. Dentists and hygienist may have to adjust, step back to see the big picture from the patient's point of readiness. Emergencies will continue because of their very nature -- emergencies. Regular check-up will also continue because everyone has a guilt feeling if the bare necessities of plaque removal is being neglected. However what will drive a fearless and closer relationship is that both patient and dentist will experience a win - win situation. "On my last visit a tiny pill as placed under my tongue and I felt nothing. real cool". Comments to author. href="mailto:localanesthetics@yahoo.ca"
M.Sc. PharmD. CCPE.
http://www.anestheticnews.com%3c/a / http://www.anestheticnews.com%3c/a
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