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In our clinical practice, we come across many situations daily, where good communication is key for case acceptance and happy patients. Today, I want to talk about the importance of some communication tools we can use as clinicians to reach out to our patients effectively and give them the best possible treatment.
It’s crucial to have competent communication skills and systems in place to get through to patients about what’s going on in their mouths. You should be able to communicate the risks and benefits of different procedures skillfully and ultimately get case acceptance with your patients. Without case acceptance, you will never be able to build your books.

This week, I want to centre the discussion around a quote by Jim Rohn, which reads – “You are the average of the five people you hang out with the most.” As fresh graduates who’ve just finished dental school and entered clinical practice, it’s quite easy to become disconnected from friends and colleagues, and isolate ourselves with work. I want to highlight the importance of having a supportive group of friends or mentors in your life, to help you get to where you want, in your clinical career or just life in general.

A couple weeks ago, I gave a listen to Angela Duckworth’s Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. It was an amazing book and I’m hoping to summarise it in this blog for you.

Dr. Angela Duckworth is a psychologist and the Founder & CEO of “Character Lab.” In her book Grit, Dr. Duckworth explains how she decided to interview successful people from all walks of life; from navy seals to national spelling bee champions to professional athletes to successful entrepreneurs. The answer she was looking for was simple; what does it take to be successful? Within any profession, why are some people more successful than others? What quality decides success; is it talent, is it effort or is it a combination of the two?