Making patients want treatment

A dentist asked me recently how to make patients who are not interested in orthodontic treatment, become interested and accept treatment.

Interesting question.

My first comment is that in the vast majority of cases orthodontic treatment is optional. That is, most orthodontics is done for the sake of appearance, not health. This is in contrast to "routine" dental care where there are often health reasons.

When viewed in that light the dentist's question becomes this: "How do I make someone who is currently happy with how they look, unhappy with how they look?"

My opinion is that would not be a nice thing to do.

All I would do is ask a simple question: "How do you feel about the look of your front teeth?"

If the patient says "fine" then that is the end of it – no discussion of orthodontics is needed. If the patient says "I don't like how they are crowded together" then you can discuss orthodontics.

The same comments also apply to teeth whitening. If the patient likes the colour of their teeth then that is the end of the story.

There is plenty of dentistry out there to be done. Don't try to make people dissatisfied with their appearance just so you can get to do an orthodontic case.