{"id":882,"date":"2019-01-21T16:10:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T16:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=882"},"modified":"2019-01-21T16:10:51","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T16:10:51","slug":"two-way-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/two-way-street\/","title":{"rendered":"TWO-WAY STREET"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The word is\nout \u2013 taking care of your oral health is better for your whole body, including\nyour mind. However, statistics still indicate only about half of the population\ngoes on a regular basis. For those that do go, most patients usually stay with\na dentist unless there is some kind of personality conflict or philosophical\ndiscrepancy in the perceived need for treatment. How do you know if another\nopinion is right for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes\nto larger purchases, such as a car, a house or even home improvements, it\u2019s not\nuncommon to get a second or third opinion\/quote. We use the information we\ngather to make a more informed decision about where and what we are going to\nspend our money on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 When it comes to our health, it usually\ndepends on the nature of the issue. More complex issues in medicine, such as a\ndiagnosis of cancer, an unknown diagnosis, or other major medical issues in\nwhich we have to make decisions about significant treatment, tend to stimulate\npeople to get more than one opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Routine dental\ncare is generally not that complicated. However, there are many different ways\nto do the simplest things in dentistry. The method is a function of the\ndentist\u2019s beliefs and training. It is relatively uncommon for a patient to get\na second opinion for this type of maintenance dental care. Although there is\nsome subjectivity as to what different dentists might deem as \u201cneeding\u201d to be\ndone, patients usually base their decision on their perceived need. Often\ntimes, this perception of need comes from the dentist\u2019s ability to communicate\nthe reasons for treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patient\u2019s\ntrust in their provider is a big factor. If a patient trusts and genuinely\nlikes their dentist, they may not necessarily do or want to do what the dentist\nwants them to, but they are comfortable enough with the relationship to make\nthe decision without the need for another opinion. It is when there is a lack\nof trust, a personality conflict, or the inability of the dentist to properly\ncommunicate with the patient effectively, that often stimulates the desire for\nanother opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\nimportant factor, which falls in the communication area, is that the patient is\ngiven choices. Patients always have the right to choose what treatment they\nfeel is right for themselves. If choices are given and the treatment is\neffectively communicated to the patient, they have a better ability to decide\non the direction to proceed that is right for them. If a dentist presents\ntreatment options and the patient decides to do nothing, that is the patient\u2019s\nchoice. It is when treatment presented aligns with the patient\u2019s perception of\nneed or desire, that the patient moves forward with treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fees tend to\nbe a less common reason for patients to seek another opinion. Fees for\ntreatment can definitely vary between dental offices. The problem with seeking\ntreatment based on fees is that the same treatment in two different offices\nwith different fees can also vary in the level of expertise and precision in which\nit is done. As a consumer, you have very little control in your ability to\nevaluate this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do have\nthe ability to know whether you feel comfortable to make an informed decision.\nRegardless of the situation, if you need more information to make the best\ndecision for yourself, get more information. If you feel pressured to make a\ndecision, don\u2019t make it until you feel comfortable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndoctor-patient relationship should be an open two-way conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair\nmaintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to\nhealth-centered family dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to\nsee written about or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The word is out \u2013 taking care of your oral health is better for your whole body, including your mind. However, statistics still indicate only about half of the population goes on a regular basis. For those that do go, most patients usually stay with a dentist unless there is some kind of personality conflict or philosophical discrepancy in the perceived need for treatment. How do you know if another opinion is right for you? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":888,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions\/888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}