What are Your Three Wishes?

Let’s say that you are walking along a gorgeous sand beach in Southern California when you spot a shiny silver pot, half buried in the sand. Your curiosity gets the better of you so you stoop to pick it up. It looks like some old relic from a faraway land. In order to appreciate your find more fully, you brush the sand off of the pot and polish it up a bit with the hem of your shorts. Suddenly…

A billowing cloud of steam pours out of the pot’s spout and you are standing in front of what appears to be a genie! As in the tales of Aladdin, you are granted three wishes. But there is a catch. This is a wish-specific genie. This genie will only grant wishes relevant to your business as a dentist. (I don’t know. Just go with me here. Maybe he had an awesome experience with a dentist when he was a little genie.)

What would your three wishes be? Here’s what I would wish for my dental business.

1. I want the schedule to be consistently full with current patients as well as new patients, but never so full as to overwhelm, frustrate or affect our ability to provide the best possible care.

2. I want patients to fully understand and be proactive in following through on recommended treatment, whether it is as simple as oral hygiene recommendations or as complex as a comprehensive treatment plan recommendation.

3. I want to positively impact my local business community and work collaboratively with them on reaching out to community members in need who may be financially, physically or emotionally challenged.

You know what was really interesting as I created my genie wish list? None of my wishes really require a genie! All three of my wishes are attainable at some level. So, even on those days when I THINK that I need more than I have, it turns out that maybe I’ve got it pretty good after all!

Maybe my only wish is to be walking on a gorgeous sand beach in Southern California!

Claudia Anderson, DDS