Worry

Worry is a protracted or recurrent act of the mind, which always fails to result in a constructive solution of the question and usually ends in confusion, fatigue, and emotional instability. You can concern yourself about an important problem, if this means merely a careful consideration in an orderly manner, leading eventually to an acceptable conclusion. Even when the conclusion happens to be contrary to your wishes, it may be accepted as a conclusion and thus worry can be avoided. Such an effort is constructive, whereas worry is always destructive.

The ordinary dictionaries describe worry as feeling or expressing a great deal of care and anxiety, manifesting unrest or pain, fretting, chafing, being anxious or fearful. Since all of these reactions are undesirable from the point of view of their effects on the body, worry is a most undesirable characteristic.

Many people insist that they never worry. These are the people who have learned to reason themselves out of anxiety over situations in which they find themselves. The process is known as “rationalizing.” Other people developmental tranquility or peace of mind by accepting a belief which eliminates from consideration anything displeasing to them. Such a process is not rationalizing, but may achieve the same effect if the person can shut out completely any problem that disturbs him. Most people find peace of mind necessary if they are to accomplish their responsibilities in the business world or in the home.  If one does not have such peace of mind there is a constant feeling of insecurity, a constant fear of a threat to life itself or to the life situation of the person concerned. As a result, energy is squandered and the reserve of the nervous system is exhausted, so that the person becomes tired, worn, distressed and may have what is commonly called a nervous breakdown.

When worry appears to this extent, the effects manifest themselves on different portions of the body. If the worry is related to the heart the person feels palpitations, extra and light beats of the heart, and similar manifestations; such a person may focus attention unduly on the pulse or the blood pressure or some other factor related to the circulation. If the nervous condition brings the focus of attention on the stomach and ~ bowels there may be constipation, diarrhea, or other manifestations even more serious.

Many a person endeavors to escape from worry by fleeing into an addiction to drink, to drugs, to sedatives, to gambling, or to other practices that are known to be against the best interests of humanity. The escape is only temporary, and the trouble returns just as soon as the liquor or the drugs have worn off. There is no doubt that a restful night’s sleep, a vacation, indulgence in outdoor sports, or even the theater or the movies may be utilized to better advantage as means of
escape from the reality of worry.

Emotional Disturbances

Most people have minor emotional disturbances that are not recognized but, because of their effects on the general health, have medical significance. Many people in industry, in labor, and in public life get along, although they suffer at all times with difficulties of adjustment to  their environment. An analysis of the people who come to doctors’ offices .revealed that from 30 to 60 per cent come as patients primarily because of complaints due to emotional disorders, which are reflected as physical disorders. Treatment is not fully satisfactory unless it takes care of the mental as well as the physical factors.

Our population has become an aging population. People live much longer than was common fifty years ago. As people get older they tend to develop more emotional experiences, and this has greatly multiplied the need of psychiatric help. According to the available figures one out of every twenty people will need advice or guidance from an expert for severe emotional illness at some time during his lifetime. This is indicated by the fact that more than one half of all the veterans in veterans’ hospitals are psychiatric patients. Thirty-seven per cent of releases from the army for medical reasons were for psychiatric disorders. A total of 51 per cent of all medical separations from the military service were due to personality disturbances. In addition, people who are mentally disturbed constitute about one-half of all of the patients in hospitals in the United States.

While modem medicine has much knowledge of psychiatric conditions, far more still remains unknown than is actually known. Methods of treatment developed in recent years include the successful use of the tranquilizing drugs (see below), electric shock, psychoanalysis, the use of occupational and recreational therapy. Since the number of competent experts capable of treating such patients is insufficient, study is now being made of the treatment of mentally ill patients in groups. This is called group psychotherapy.

Mental Hygiene In Business

Suitable adjustment of workers to their surroundings is important in establishing a smooth-running condition in any business or industry. Ask the average business man if he needs a psychiatrist in his business, and he will think you are mentally disturbed. Psychiatrists, most people believe, spend practically all of their time finding people who need to be confined in institutions because they are wholly irresponsible.

Most large industries have employment interviewers, who have knowledge of the positions to be filled, of the persons in the department, and, therefore, of the kind of employee who will fit best and serve most satisfactorily under the circumstances. Most employment interviewers can recognize easily a prospective employee who is so far “off the beaten path” from a mental point of view as to be unsatisfactory for any job. No one suggests that employment interviewers should be replaced by psychiatrists or psychologists. What a businessman wants is a worker who can respond to the particular problems and procedures of the job for which he is employed. The boss seldom wants to be troubled about the general personality of an employee or the question of how he gets along with his wife. Nevertheless, that very situation may be important in relation to the quality or amount of work. Problems may arise which are due to it neurosis or psychosis in some employee whose mental condition has not been recognized.

Mental hygienists are convinced that training ought to be made available to employment managers or to the workers in the personnel divisions of industries. Workers are frequently transferred into personnel departments because they appear to be able to get along well with other people -but  sometimes because they are hard and skeptical. Generally they work out their own techniques, whether for the handling of personal problems or for the selection of new employees.

Already there are plenty of reports of instances in which employees who failed to respond acceptably to their executives were given scientific study and thus saved for the organization. We have learned how to modify the attitudes of parents and to improve their relationships with their children. Similar tactics are needed for executive businessmen to improve their relationships with their employees.

Mental Defect

Among the great unsolved problems of modem medicine are many of those associated with mental disease. People still fear the sudden appearance of the “loss of the mind”, or the birth of a child apparently without normal mental ability. Over 3,000,000 children are born in this country every year. Actually from 150,000 to 200,000 of those born will eventually be committed to hospitals for mental disease.

Much can be done to prevent or overcome many of the conditions that disturb the mind. With modem methods of treatment, improvement can even be secured in certain forms of complete mental breakdown. Problems of mental defect and of mental diseases are not only approached by putting the patients in institutions but also by applying some of these new forms of treatment.

Parents, teachers, and those organizations concerned with the supervision of children must realize the importance of recognizing strange behavior at the earliest possible moment. Children who are mentally retarded or who are slow in their mental development should be submitted to expert advice as soon as possible. These children will be brought into social and economic competition, and the contrast with normal children, coupled with pressure from forces behind them at home and even from their association with competitors, may result in a reaction and in the formation of attitudes which lead to permanent disturbances. There are many causes of mental breakdown and many classifications of mental disturbance. Research has been intensified on dementia praecox, in which the so-called insulin shock, metrazol shock, and electric shock treatments are being tried. Modem medicine also offers new forms of study, including analysis of the mental processes, leading to recognition of the underlying factors in mental disturbances.

The wise man need not fear such a catastrophe. He should know that scientific methods of diagnosis and treatment are now available.

As a dental marketer, you should find helpful ways in promoting your business. In your practice, you should get more dental patients. For this, you need to have a recommendation from a dental practice management consulting adviser. In this article, dental practice management consulting adviser Ed O’ Keefe would like to give you the ways to achieve success in your dental marketing business. What the dental practice management consulting adviser recommends is for you to follow these ways all the time in your business.

1st Recommendation: Sub-Niche Your Practice

The first recommendation that the dental practice management consulting adviser would give you is to sub-niche your practice. You can start by promoting other services. In the adviser’s case, they are promoting an “Invisalign” for patients who needs whiter, stronger teeth. He asks his patients what their ultimate goals are, and he has Invisalign as a solution to help them get straighter teeth. But if they want to get straighter, whiter teeth right away, then they can present the whole treatment plan to the patient immediately. So start by sub-niching your practice. Go after your patients with dental problems and have dentistry as the solution for them.

2nd Recommendation: Go For “Lead-Generation”

The second recommendation that the dental practice management consulting adviser would give you is to “lead-generate” through advertising your services. With this you can actually help people identify you as a good dentist by overwhelming them with “before and afters” proof, wherein you can educate them through DVD’s, powerpoints, and online. You can educate your dental patients through seminars, local workshops, or online.

3rd Recommendation: Open The “Floodgates” To Your Dental Patients

The third recommendation that the dental practice management consulting adviser would give you is to open the floodgates to your dental patients. A lot of doctors,with their associates, open the floodgates to their new patients; and the patients just keep coming in to their dental practice. Then 1 out of 10, or 2 out of 10 patients that came in are going to want cosmetic dentistry or more of high-end restorative dentistry. Remember, your objective here is to get that dental patient in your business.

These are the ways that the dental practice management consulting adviser would give you as you go with your business. First, start by sub-niching your practice, then “lead- generate” by advertising, and then opening the floodgates to your new dental patients. Go with these recommendations, and you’ll gain more patients in your practice, and become successful in your business!

In a very real sense, the world right now is highly technological and progressive, both socially and physically. Socially, we now have cellular phones and Internet connections, which we can use to communicate with any part of the entire world.  Physically however, the world is quite polluted.  As the pace of our lives progresses, we need to be ready for what the future might bring.

Along with the technological developments which most people are cashing on in these days, we see a rapid growth in health insurance companies. This growth displays a real effect in the lives of people. Is the world really in such a bad state that these health insurance companies are taking the leap in aiding the health insurance plans of their competitions today?

If we examine the world in the real sense, there are many diseases that only became prevalent in the fairly recent past. Most of these diseases are curable, but some are not. AIDS, HIV, HERPES, etc., are some of these. It’s a good thing to invest in health insurance plans that will help us in our health needs.

As far as necessities go, acquiring a health insurance plan is a way of administering to our future needs. We do not know what will happen tomorrow, so if we invest in a  health insurance plan now, then we can be prepared for any future health emergency. Life in that sense would be easier. Given the way the world is  today, it is a necessity to have adequate health insurance plans.

Health insurance companies offer a variety of health insurance plans. Consumers need to study the companies’ policies before making a final choice. Every health insurance company has health insurance policies. These companies offers health care, dental, pharmacy, disability, long-term, group life, short-term, student, behavioral, etc.

Practically speaking, a person may benefit from health insurance plans through the aid of health insurance companies. These companies are within reach and are very much willing to administer to our health needs. A person may choose  which company would fit him best, depending on his financial status and physical condition. There are certain factors that may affect the premium such as age, general health, habits, and insurance cost. These factors are general. There are certain companies which offer a low premium and also offer saving tips on such transactions to aid to the consumer.

When talking about benefits, investing in health insurance plans are really beneficial. If we do not have any health insurance plan, then we have to pay for everything ourselves. Most of the time, we do not believe how much we are supposed to pay, and we are just shocked with the high amount. If we have health insurance plans then we need not worry about it, because the health insurance company pays much of the bill. It will be a big help on our part, in that, our burdens for potential emergencies has been lessened. The benefits are long term. That’s why, if we will not be slack about choosing health insurance, then we will reap the benefits. Furthermore, we have to be very wise concerning it. We have to be responsible.   

Dental Spa Cosmetics Inc. is proud to introduce its line of dental spa products specifically designed for unique and caring dental practices by a dedicated team of dentists and cosmetologists. Souriretm dental cosmetics are an exclusive collection of cosmetics uniquely selected to be compatible with the dental office and treatment procedures so as not to interrupt professional care while at the same time introducing a positive and rewarding personal experience. Used with the Sourire Stress Management System and Accessory Products, patients can not only feel better during their visit but actually look forward to their next visit with you rather than stressing for days.

As a practicing dentist for over thirty years I have basically seen it all. I used to practice with 14 staff, 4 lab technicians and a whole bunch of stress. Today, I practice with 7 staff, three days a week, have a 7 figure income and also face far less stress each and every day thanks to the Dental Spa Environment. Let me help you create just such an environment in your office. Here are the Steps you need to follow in order to start prospering from the benefits of Dental Spa Cosmetics and Sourire.

Before you begin your dental spa journey you need to sit down with your staff and make sure that everyone is on board. Without the support of your staff, this new and exciting adventure just will never happen. When talking with your staff you need to ask yourself the following question, “How can my staff benefit from this new practice environment?”  Just to help out a bit, dentist to dentist, here are some of the answers:

·         The dental spa environment is just a better place to work. Patients that are more comfortable and less anxious are easier to treat. The person in the office that tends to bear much of the brunt of this patient anxiety is the staff. Removing even a small amount of patient stress will make your staff’s day better and more productive.

·         The more your staff knows and learns, the more productive they become. The more productive they become, the more important they are to your practice. The more important they are to your practice, the more they can and probably should earn. Just a suggestion…..

·         Dental Spa Cosmetics has a very generous Affiliate’s Program that can be shared with staff. By distributing some of the commissions to staff you can obtain their support for this new program almost instantly.

·         Applying makeup is just fun.

·         Doing something different is just fun.

Let’s Start the Sourire Experience!

Step 1.  An Attitude Change

Whenever you start something new there will be naysayers who will look at you as if you are bit nuts. Why does a dentist need to have a spa? Things have been going pretty good so far, why do we need to change? (So says your staff). Well, the answer is pretty simple. If things have been going so great that you don’t need to change, you won’t. But I’m guessing, with over thirty years of experience, that things can always be better. More pleasant days, more appreciative patients, more relaxed treatment visits, more engaged staff and maybe even more money and increased referrals. So, if you are looking to make a change you need to have an attitude adjustment.

Start thinking that this is the start of a new and exciting adventure. That today is the start of a new practice; a new Dr. (put your name in here). Start being a leader and get your staff involved in the planning. Ask for their help but make them understand that there is gold at the end of the dental spa rainbow and that they will participate in that financially and emotionally every single day.

Step 2: An Environment Change

Now this may be a bit tougher. You and your staff need to sit down and take a look at your office. Every nook and cranny; every chair, wall, floor and ceiling. You are what you look like! You do tell a book by its cover!

A whole bunch of clichés but they are clichés for a reason, they’re true! You never see a spa that looks run down, depressing and, well, like a typical dental office. They are always places to come to in order to relax and get rid of the day’s stresses. Your office needs to represent your new philosophy and appeal to your patient’s senses. It needs to look beautiful, smell good, sound relaxing, feel smooth and silky (this is a tough one) and taste, yes that’s right, taste great. We’ll get to that later on but suffice it to say that if you have a place to put out coffee and teas, you can also provide some nice tasting cookies, cakes and muffins or even better, fruit.

The first place to start making a change in your patient’s dental experience is in your reception area. First impressions do count. Spend a couple of bucks to make your office a pleasant and inviting place to visit. Normally this only involves minor changes but whatever changes are necessary will pay you back multiple times over the coming years.

Start with your reception area.

Does it look and smell like a typical dental office or is it more like a spa reception area or your very own living room at home?

Do your patients have to sit and wait in a depressing “waiting room” or are they welcomed into your home with only a minimal time waiting for their appointment?

Dental Spa Cosmetics can help make a change almost immediately, with very little cost, with our Aromatherapy products, Air Fresheners and Essential Oils.

Wonderful DVDs of the Great Barrier Reef (Coral Sea Dreaming) are also a cost effective way to spice up a boring treatment room. If you have a TV in your reception room why show depressing scenes from CNN when you can run a beautiful, calming video. You can also add baked goods from The Sourire Bakery as well. They smell and taste great and will be a wonderful addition to your new spa practice.

Treatment Room Decor

Once they leave your reception room do you have a comfortable place for the patient to sit prior to the start of treatment? Is the room private? Can you recreate a spa type feel while maintaining the true treatment requirements? This can even be a treatment room but some minor changes may be required to make it look more like a spa room that an “operatory”.

Start using Spa Music throughout your office space to appeal to your patient’s sense of hearing. We’ll talk later about introducing Souriretm Stress Management but for now replace the elevator music with simple spa music. Of course, you can get the kind of CDs were talking about online at our website, http://www.dentalspacosmetics.com.

Step 3: Introduction of Spa Services

Ok, you’ve had an attitude change, your office is looking and feeling like a spa and you’ve started to appeal to your patient’s five senses. That’s right. It’s now time to think about the actual treatment process. The Spa Concept will only work if you can work as you normally would….sounds simple but introducing this kind of practice change needs to fit into the daily functioning of your office. You need to continue to practice in an efficient manner while at the same time making your patient’s feel like they are in a totally different world…the spa world.

Souriretm Cosmetics and Stress Management was designed to be used efficiently during a typical patient’s visit. I would, therefore, like to break this introduction of Souriretm Spa Services into three separate steps. You can start by introducing Spa Services into just one of these aspects of dental treatment and then, when you and your staff are comfortable and patients are begging for more, introduce the remainder.

1.    Avant Traitment (Before Treatment)

a.      The spa feeling started in your reception room with fresh coffee and tea, homemade cookies and cakes from the Sourire Bakery, comfortable seating, wonderful sounds from Sourire Music Selections and beautiful visions from Coral Sea Dreaming each appealing to one of the five senses. Or something like that to start. Remember to start slow and don’t burden yourself or your staff with too much at one time. All good things will come in time so be patient and start slow. It’s real easy to make small changes such as adding fresh coffee and tea and then progressing to fresh flowers, homemade (don’t really have to be homemade, just look homemade) cookies and cakes, fresh fruit and the like.

b.      Think like a patient. They are sitting drinking their coffee or trying to read a magazine and they hear their name. The adrenalin starts to flow and the hair on the back of their neck rises. They envision some bizarre kind of dental torture akin to the vivid scenes in Marathon Man or The Dentist. Let’s change their minds once and for all! Start thinking like a patient and they will respond by treating you as a person and not just another dentist or dental office. Be concerned about their fears and concerns and make every effort to divert their attention away from the things they fear and towards things they want and need. Remember, to your patient the actual dentistry is probably the least important part of the visit…..

c.       Instead of seating your patient on time, take them in 15 minutes early and seat them in a treatment room (or another Spa room if available) and begin the Souriretm Experience. This unique process involves as much or as little as you feel comfortable delivering. Let’s give you an idea of what we mean:

                                                              i.      As your patient is seated make sure that the room doesn’t smell like a dental office. Use Sourire Aromatherapy or Essential Oils to mask the odor and set the stage for a more spa like experience.

                                                            ii.      Give your patient the option of either a Stress Reducing Biofeedback Experience with our Stress Eraser or Sourire Meditation.

1.      Biofeedback has been used for years to assist people in learning how to relax, fall asleep more easily or just provide a moment of reduced anxiety. It is a learned experience and a technique that can be taught and learned by almost anyone. The benefits are enormous and go way beyond the dental visit. At this time, if your patient has chosen biofeedback, instruct them on the use of the Stress Eraser provided by Dental Spa Cosmetics. (Another shameless plug I know) and watch relaxation occur before your eyes. You can even provide a take home device (either on loan or as a sale item) to your patient to extend the treatment at home.

2.      If your patient prefers a meditation experience you can instruct them that you will be providing a calming meditation experience that will relax them and remove any anxiety that may be present. Place a headset on their ears (hopefully acoustic in nature to block out all extraneous noise) and insert the Sourire Serena’s Garden CD provided by Dental Spa Cosmetics. This CD starts with 10 minutes of meditation instruction and then provides an additional 50 minutes of pleasing and relaxing music.

3.      Last but not all least is the application of soothing, good smelling and skin appealing cosmetics to both women and even men. There is nothing more calming that the application of moisturizers and masks such as Sourire’s Spearmint Energizing Mask or our Mandarin Balancing Toner while sitting and listening to soothing, calming music. Is this a dental visit or am I sitting at a spa? Get the idea….

                                                          iii.      All of the above should be applied by staff and definitely not take away from treatment time. This is a Before Treatment experience designed to de-program your patient from the events that transpired prior to their arrival at your office (traffic, kids screaming, boss ranting and raving) and their preconceived notions of what they believe to be a normal dental experience and instead create a new paradigm, one of comfort and relaxation. The patient should enter the treatment part of the visit with a different attitude and a different level of expectation. It’s now time for you and your staff to meet those expectations by providing the next Step in the Sourire Experience.

2.    Traitment - During Treatment

a.      During treatment the Sourire Experience continues. Your patient can still listen to the music they were enjoying during their Before Treatment Experience and additionally have other types of Sourire Cosmetics applied to make this part of the visit more appealing sensually. Possibly Sourire’s Shiitake Green Tea Eye Gel or Gotu Kola Calming Gel, both designed to enhance the dental experience. You can also place our Gourmet Lip Balm instead of that yucky Vaseline used so often in most offices. After all, you’re not just one of those offices anymore!

3.    Après Traitment – Post Treatment

a.      OK. The visit is about over. You’ve drilled and filled and the patient has been listening to soothing music, smelling the wonderful fragrances of Sourire Cosmetics and they are ready to leave. It’s time now to let them leave with a Smile.

b.      Take a moment to apply either a moisturizer such as Grape Leaf Liposome Moisturizer or our Licorice Root Moisturizer. Take a moment to apply Mandarin Balancing Toner to provide a soothing and rewarding end to a great dental visit.

c.       As your patient is leaving, offer them a sample of our Lip Plumper. Every woman today wants fuller lips and what better place to find that then their dentist’s office?

d.      Now for both patient and staff, and even yourself, treat your hands to Nourishing Hand Crème to reduce the abuse caused by the drying of gloves and multiple hand washing.

e.      Provide your patients with a beautiful Sourire Gift bag with samples of the cosmetics used during their visit and possibly other products you feel they would enjoy instead of a typical calendar, pen with your name or a bobble head doll with your face on it. Ask yourself, which would you prefer and how would you react to such a gift. Would you talk about it at home with your family? Would you mention it to you business associates or friends at lunch or at a meeting?

f.        As they leave allow they to “spritz” themselves with one of our Sourire Fragrances for both Men and Women or apply one of our Smile Enhancing Lipsticks which were designed to enhance the tooth whitening process.

Step 4: Practice Benefits

 I would imagine that by now you can see the amazing benefits that will accrue to you, your staff and your practice by introducing the Sourire Spa Experience to your practice. Changing the way patients think about their dentist, their dental visit and their dental treatment will:

·         Increase referrals of patients looking for something better than what they have had in the past.

·         Reduce stress in your practice and your life making each day a bit better than the last and allowing for a more effective and efficient treatment visit

·         Reduce cancellations and disappointments dues to fear and anxiety

·         Create a more pleasant environment for staff which will increase productivity

·         Incentivize staff to promote spa products which can then provide passive income to the practice.

·         Send your patient home with a Sourire Gift bag so that they can become your Missionary, telling their friends, family and business associates about their amazing Sourire Spa Experience.

We hope you will find this brief step by step introduction of the Sourire Experience to be helpful as you start this new and exciting adventure into exceptional patient relations. Please feel free to call upon us at any time should you have any questions or suggestions.