The Art of Confrontation in Dentistry

Difficult conversations are hard but much needed in a dental practice if you want things to go smoothly. It seems a paradox but it's not: confrontation is part of healthy conflict resolution. Confrontation situations can be described as conversations where you are worried about an emotional reaction (either from you or from the other person). Mastering confrontation is difficult and most people have difficulty expressing how they feel in a straightforward and frank manner that resolves conflict. But you can overcome this if you positively reframe confrontation. In this episode, we talk about healthy confrontations. Confrontation does not mean shouting at someone or being rough or hurtful. It means being authentic while preserving the relationship. It usually requires a combination of assertiveness and care — firm compassion - because you want to create clarity and understanding. One insight: prepare for confrontation and make sure you are emotionally ready. Before a difficult conversation always check: do you want to achieve something positive or do you just want to be right? Are you able to listen in an attentive way to the other’s position? Have you clarified your mind so that you know what you want to say? If you want to learn more about this and how to master leadership skills in dentistry take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/⁠ We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

Bruno Seabra is a Dentist with a mission: helping dentists be better professionals through dental photography. In this conversation, we talked about: - Why taking good dental photographs is important to a dentist's career development; - Fundamentals to make dental photography; - How to start documenting your cases; - How to get consistent and predictable photos - Why should all the team learn about photography (and not only the dentist); - Storing and organizing photos; - The power of in-house dental photography; Insight: Patients don't like photos without lips. About Bruno Seabra: Master's Degree in Dental Medicine from FMDUL Guest Assistant at FMDUL since 1999 in the Imaging Department Exclusive Clinical Practice in Oral Rehabilitation Photography Course at the Portuguese Institute of Photography Photographic Studio in Lisbon – Light Up Studio Postgraduate Marketing ISCTE Postgraduate in HealthCare Management from NOVA SBE Trainer in the area of ​​Imaging, General Photography and in Dental Photography , Marketing and Leadership. You can connect with Bruno on Instagram @bruno_seabra_photography or visit his website https://www.lightupstudio.pt/en We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

In team communication ”PLEASE”, “THANK YOU” and “SORRY” are three of the most important words. Especially in Dentistry where you spend your day working directly (or indirectly) with other people. Please is a respectful request for cooperation; Thank you shows gratitude; Sorry embodies the courage to take responsibility for our actions; Insight: Often overlooked, these simple yet powerful words play a pivotal role in shaping an optimistic mood and environment in a dental practice, and more compassionate dental communities. As part of this community, we urge everyone to recognize the profound impact of these words on human language and their ability to shape our interactions positively. We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/⁠ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

The performance of a dental team can depend on many factors, but clear communication can make all the difference and should be a priority in a dental practice. In an ideal world, team meetings should be held regularly, but let's face it: it's not easy for everyone to attend. So why not implement a system with clear guidelines for written communication? Written communication is an easy way to improve any team’s communication, and allows both professional and practice to record, store, and access notes, instructions, and other written resources. If you want your team to be more productive and successful, you should encourage effective written communication at your dental practice. In this episode, we’ll discuss the differences between synchronous and asynchronous communication, the benefits of asynchronous communication, and why dental teams should move toward asynchronous communication. We also talk about the WhatsApp group culture, used as a communication tool nowadays. Insights: - If it's not written it doesn't exist. - Dental practices already communicate asynchronously with their lab, they just need to establish the same protocols of communication in the team. - In the end, being specific is a form of kindness. Book Jorge André mentioned: Rework – Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/⁠ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

In this episode, Jorge André shares his journey of almost 4 years, writing the 3 part scientific article "Clinical guidelines for posterior restorations based on Coverage, Adhesion, Resistance, Esthetics and Subgingival Management - the C.A.R.E.S. concept." published in the International Journal of Esthetic Dentistry. All 3 parts are out by the time you're listening to our conversation, go look it up. Let's dive into the process of making it! "I got the email today that our article came out. Clinical guidelines for posterior restorations based on Coverage, Adhesion, Resistance, Esthetics, and Subgingival Management - the C.A.R.E.S. concept. Part I which just came out puts out the thought process and goes deep in partial adhesive restorations. This first part is a nerdy read, long text, and many schemes but we had no other way of explaining how we see this. Part II coming out in 3 months focuses on posterior crowns with a risky attempt to organize types of vertical preparations. Part III comes out in 6 months dealing with extreme situations in posterior compromised teeth (subgingival management, fractures, ferrule, extrusion, etc) and posts. I don´t know how we pulled this one, but getting a 3 part article in the IJED @ijedentistry today means we must be doing something right. This has been cooking for the last 3-4 years. Thank you to the reviewers who have positively improved this work and the authors of the total 3 articles for their friendship and inspiration and without who this would never happened - Paulo Julio Almeida, Rui Negrão, Pasquale Venuti, Joao Vinha Oliveira, Teresa Taveira, Ana Sezinando, Luis Afonso, Raul Costa, Hugo Costa Lapa, Nuno Sousa Dias, Joel Bastos and Ricardo Henriques. I need to mention two of them in particular - Pasquale for always trying to seek the truth and providing a fundamental influence in restorative dentistry and vertical preparations in this decade. And Teresa, whose early work on her MSc at King´s started us in this journey and who, very early in her career saw something in me and, against everyone's advice, chose to work exclusively in my practice even when she had few patients and when no one would give a crap about me. Today she is one of the most sought-after clinicians in my practice. Finally, for all the closer ones who know how much these little ways of expressing myself mean to my existence - thank you, I love you!" - Jorge André Cardoso Insight: Go and read every single thing on a specific topic that you are interested in, get inspiration from people who wrote something about it, and then see if something is missing about that subject, if there is a point of view that someone missed or if there is something you feel that you can make a difference there. It doesn't have to be something big. This is usually a feeling first, it’s not something you search for like marketers do when they do split tests: You feel you have something that needs to be shown and shared. We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/⁠ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

Kaejenn Tchia is a young Australian Dentist and the face behind The Limitless Dentist @thelimitlessdentist In this conversation, we get to know Kaejenn, his journey, and his amazing work bringing awareness and advocating for mental health in Dentistry. We talk about burnout, the stigma of asking for medical help in a burnout situation or seeking psychotherapy within the dental industry, the main struggles of recent graduate dentists that can lead to burnout, and what someone can do if spotting a young dentist (or not so young) struggling. If you just graduated in Dentistry be sure to follow Kaejenn on Instagram @thelimitlessdentist Insight: It still takes courage to be transparent and vulnerable in a community that demands a lot of perfectionism. We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

Negotiating for work conditions in Dentistry should be a collaborative process, where Dentists and Dental Clinics can gain something. For this to happen both parties need to be flexible in their approach, and willing to compromise and adapt. In this episode, we explore how Dentists can negotiate for better working conditions, keeping in mind that: - Experience counts; - Good work conditions don't always equal money; - Sharing the same values is essential; - Understanding the person across the table (and their constraints) is important; Insights: 1. Photograph your work. Start documenting your cases. If you have a portfolio of your work to show, this will help the clinic owner to believe your worth (and to better understand why you deserve what you are requesting). 2. Negotiating a job offer and negotiating a salary are not the same. Don't get fixated on money. Focus on the value of the entire proposition: opportunity for growth, working hours, location. Here's the link to the episode "Importance of Initial Patient Examination in Dentistry" The link to the episode "Get Your Finances in Order": https://youtu.be/sh84ZDOkhPo?si=1eyWwiEMHmyTaMra We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

Is Dentistry science or art? Prof António Mata tells us it's 100% science and explains to us why. This is episode 3 of a 3-part special series on Evidence Based Dentistry with Prof. Dr. António Mata. In this last episode: - The challenge that teachers face to reach and motivate students nowadays; - How old generations need to adapt to new generations; - Leadership in Dentistry: Why all dentists are leaders; - Human connection as a key component in Dentistry and leadership; - How to not become a slave of leadership roles; - Is there a crisis in Dentistry? (The link for the article "Dentistry in crisis: time to change. La Cascada Declaration" https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/adj.12546); - The role of prevention in the future of dentistry; - How to meet your destiny as a dentist; Articles, evidence, research - let us be honest for the general dentist this is intimidating - we fear we might not be up to date, we feel that we may be less of a professional we "should" be. Prof António Mata is here to shed some light on this and give us some hints on how we can be more prepared and feel more confident in our daily clinical practice. About Prof Dr. António Mata: - Doctor in dental surgery by the IUEM in 1996 - PhD by the University of Central Lancashire in 2003 - PhD by the University of Oporto in 2004 - Full professor at FMDUL - Coordinator of the research unit FCT- LibPHYS-UL - Chairman of the Evidence Based Dentistry Center at the FMDUL - Over 100 publications You can find Prof. Dr. António Mata on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-anto... or on Instagram @profantoniomata We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

Episode 2 of a 3-part special series on Evidence Based Dentistry with Prof. Antonio Mata. We start with a hot topic: is all clinical research useful for making clinical decisions? Despite the quality, most of the clinical research has no use for clinical decisions. In this second episode: - Research waste concept; - Factors contributing to this waste; - Publication pressure; - What will drive the quality and the usefulness of research in the future; - The importance of external validation of clinical research; - Open access research platforms; - The role of social media in sharing information for EDB users; - The goal of the systematic reviews; - Popularization of knowledge; - Big Data disruption; and it's impact; - Personalized medicine; - The entrance of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Smart health; - The future of AI in Medicine: can the machine replace the doctor? Articles, evidence, research - let us be honest for the general dentist this is intimidating - we fear we might not be up to date, we feel that we may be less of a professional we "should" be. Prof António Mata is here to shed some light on this and give us some hints on how to be more prepared and feel more confident in our daily clinical practice. About Prof Dr. António Mata: - Doctor in dental surgery by the IUEM in 1996 - PhD by the University of Central Lancashire in 2003 - PhD by the University of Oporto in 2004 - Full professor at FMDUL - Coordinator of the research unit FCT- LibPHYS-UL - Chairman of the Evidence Based Dentistry Center at the FMDUL - Over 100 publications You can find Prof. Dr. António Mata on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-anto... or on Instagram @profantoniomata We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠

This is episode 1 of a 3-part special series on Evidence Based Dentistry with Prof. Dr. António Mata. Articles, evidence, research - let us be honest for the general dentist this is intimidating - we fear we might not be up to date, we feel that we may be less of a professional we "should" be. Prof António Mata is here to shed some light on this and give us some hints on how we can be more prepared and feel more confident in our daily clinical practice. In this first episode: - Professor António Mata shares his journey in dentistry, what is he trying to contribute to dentistry, and how he got to be so close to research and Evidence Based Dentistry (EBD); - What exactly is Evidence Based Dentistry, it's misconceptions and why is it so important; - The "5 A's"to intervention: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange; - The difference between EBD doers and EBD users; - Why for different patients, we might need different treatments for the "same" problem/situation; - The legitimacy of having different solutions for the same patients if these solutions are driven by our own expertise, clinical practice, and/or settings; - External factors of pressure in clinical decisions; - How important experience is for clinical decisions and how EBD influences experience; Insight: Evidence Based Dentistry will never leave you alone or isolated in your everyday dentistry practice. About Prof Dr. António Mata: - Doctor in dental surgery by the IUEM in 1996 - PhD by the University of Central Lancashire in 2003 - PhD by the University of Oporto in 2004 - Full professor at FMDUL - Coordinator of the research unit FCT- LibPHYS-UL - Chairman of the Evidence Based Dentistry Center at the FMDUL - Over 100 publications You can find Prof. Dr. António Mata on LinkedIn here or on Instagram @profantoniomata We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Leave a comment or connect with us on social media. Your comments and messages will help us to know you and our profession a little better so that we can offer real value in return. And, if you like it, please subscribe! Take a look at our Conscious Leadership Course here: ⁠https://softbites.online/ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@mindful.dentistry⁠ & ⁠@andredolf⁠