Craftsmanship

Posted Sep 20, 2018

Dentistry is where medicine and carpentry intersect. The doctor is a craftsman as well as a surgeon. Surgery is defined as cutting body structures to cure disease and/or mend injuries. Dental fillings and crowns are surgery. A surgery that involves measuring, cutting/drilling, gluing, shaping, polishing…the same steps a carpenter or cabinet maker does on a daily basis. In fact, many dentists are woodworkers and model builders in their spare time.

Today, insurance companies and the marketing industry are doing their best to make every dentist appear the same. Are all carpenters the same? Any craftsman for that matter?  No. And dentists are no different.  We all exist on a bell curve of quality, from great to good to barely acceptable.  A license to practice only means a minimum standard was met (and after graduation, some start slipping under that standard).   Luckily in the US, most are on the good to great side of the bell curve.

Seek out a dentist that sees themselves as a doctor and a craftsman. One that takes pride not only in their diagnosis, but also in the service and product they deliver.