INFORMATIVE ARTICLES
Enhancing a Cosmetic Implant Result With Periodontal Plastic Surgery
By Robert A. Levine, D.D.S.
and Zola Makrauer, D.M.D.
(Contemporary Esthetics and Restorative Practice, Pg. 32, July/August 1998)
 Our goal as periodontists is to create a periodontium that is not only healthy, but esthetically pleasing. Like an artist painting a picture, the periodontist, in conjunction with the restorative dentist, can help create a smile that is a thing of beauty.
The desire for cosmetic outcomes and cosmetic improvements has become a major objective for patients seeking dental care. With today's state-of-the-art techniques, we are able to routinely provide a predictable result that satisfies the emotional needs of our patients and fulfills us as practitioners. Levine and Shanaman recently described how being able to successfully translate routine clinical procedures (what patients value" versus what patients need") has been an obstacle in the past for many patients receiving this elective care.
 Value -vs- Need (Benefits of Treatment)
What we have learned through behavioral studies, clinical practice, and common sense is that, as clinicians, we are taught to emphasize techniques that can confuse or steer patients into not receiving needed care because they do not understand how the benefits of treatment apply to them specifically. Emphasizing benefits of treatment over procedural techniques, as well as keying into patients' values and beliefs in an environment of mutual trust and respect, enables us to achieve not only a high acceptance rate to recommended treatment, but also good patient compliance.
Key Motivators
 Understanding our patients' key motivators is extremely important in understanding our patients' true desires with care. Self-preservation, improvement of esthetics, looking younger, improving function, and limiting costs are just a few Motivators for patients to receive care. The ability to link the benefits of treatment to these key motivators is what establishes closure and case acceptance. This enables our patient to become a "cotherapist with shared responsibilities...
**(To receive a copy of this article in its complete form, please Email: info@drlevineimplantsperio.com and include the article title)
|
