I continue my conversation with Patricia Fairbairn.
A: So, you taught the final years for a couple of years.
P: So, I really enjoyed the teaching so I then transferred out from the dental service to the University of Adelaide.
A: So, when you tutor them, you tutor them on the basic skills, but you have to teach them something more.
P: Well treatment planning was the biggest issue. I thought they should have a basic treatment planning skill by the time they get to final year but they didn’t listen to the patients they talked at the patients. But to get them to listen we had to sit down and really think about it. Think about what the patient family life was like. Go into diet.
A: What came next?
P: Then I was asked to be the fourth year coordinator for general practice. I got them to really look at infection control. I asked them to got to all the piecing studios. Find out what their infection control is like. And did they advise the clients if they had problems with their teeth or gums or did, they do a medical history and that was interesting.
P: Because the students came back absolutely horrified. So that was interesting and helped with infection control.
A: What came after that?
P: Well then, I worked with a psychologist and we had the students in acting scenarios. With patients who would come in: angry patients, scared patients, chatty patients and we teach them how to get medical histories by just talking to them. And I found that very interesting as well.
A: So can we go back in time. Which sort of students went on to specialise?
P: Most of the students weren’t talking about specialties in the final year. Some of them were obsessed with earning lots of money. Mainly the young men. Going to the Gold Coast.
A: Is the Gold Coast where you make money?
P: Evidently. I would often advise them to do a public service job for at least a year. To not work under pressure. In the UK a graduate had to work in a one practice for a salary. Now what I have found talking to graduates here is a good mentor can really help if they don’t, they tend to flounder and the dropout rate from dentistry is quite high.
A: Really. After they graduate.
P: They decide to change careers.
A: Really.
P: Yes. About ten percent finish up after ten years being “landscape gardeners”.
A: Virtually no-one in my year went out of dentistry. We all stayed.
A: I have found that the way to make money is to do what is best for the patient.
P: Yes.
A: The way to make money is forget about money and just do what is best for the patient.
P: That’s right. I also think it depends where you are though. You need patients.
A: Well, you have to have some bricks to build a practice.
P: A lot of people in the general population don’t have the right attitude to dentistry. You get one set of teeth per life time. You can’t have a new set of teeth like a new car. My favourite saying was: How many times do you get your car serviced a year? And what does it cost? It costs a lot less to service your mouth if go once a year.
A: I’ve also found that if they come in for a check-up and they enjoy it and you talk about their dog or their football team they will come back in six months. They will enjoy it.
A: Get in the routine of enjoyable regular check-ups but one visit in ten years that goes badly.
P: Well, it will go badly. It is a hard thing to teach students that. They don’t understand how their magnificent bridge needs to go in a patient. It comes back to people skills. Most patients don’t know when they receive an amazing restoration.
A: That’s true.
A: Dentistry is like hairdressing. You know a good hairdresser because they talk to you and listen to you and they do what you want them to do. You can see. With dentistry you don’t see what is done.
P: You also have to be aware of your own limitations. Students don’t know what they can do and can’t do.
A: You remind me of a dentist I worked for in South Africa. One day I was listening to him and he said to the patient I’ve got no idea what to do. He was being honest and the patients loved him. I thought. That’s the way to go. I’ll copy him. If he didn’t know what to do he’d say: I’ll refer you. They will be better than me.
A: So, you taught the final years for a couple of years.
P: So, I really enjoyed the teaching so I then transferred out from the dental service to the University of Adelaide.
A: So, when you tutor them, you tutor them on the basic skills, but you have to teach them something more.
P: Well treatment planning was the biggest issue. I thought they should have a basic treatment planning skill by the time they get to final year but they didn’t listen to the patients they talked at the patients. But to get them to listen we had to sit down and really think about it. Think about what the patient family life was like. Go into diet.
A: What came next?
P: Then I was asked to be the fourth year coordinator for general practice. I got them to really look at infection control. I asked them to got to all the piecing studios. Find out what their infection control is like. And did they advise the clients if they had problems with their teeth or gums or did, they do a medical history and that was interesting.
P: Because the students came back absolutely horrified. So that was interesting and helped with infection control.
A: What came after that?
P: Well then, I worked with a psychologist and we had the students in acting scenarios. With patients who would come in: angry patients, scared patients, chatty patients and we teach them how to get medical histories by just talking to them. And I found that very interesting as well.
A: So can we go back in time. Which sort of students went on to specialise?
P: Most of the students weren’t talking about specialties in the final year. Some of them were obsessed with earning lots of money. Mainly the young men. Going to the Gold Coast.
A: Is the Gold Coast where you make money?
P: Evidently. I would often advise them to do a public service job for at least a year. To not work under pressure. In the UK a graduate had to work in a one practice for a salary. Now what I have found talking to graduates here is a good mentor can really help if they don’t, they tend to flounder and the dropout rate from dentistry is quite high.
A: Really. After they graduate.
P: They decide to change careers.
A: Really.
P: Yes. About ten percent finish up after ten years being “landscape gardeners”.
A: Virtually no-one in my year went out of dentistry. We all stayed.
A: I have found that the way to make money is to do what is best for the patient.
P: Yes.
A: The way to make money is forget about money and just do what is best for the patient.
P: That’s right. I also think it depends where you are though. You need patients.
A: Well, you have to have some bricks to build a practice.
P: A lot of people in the general population don’t have the right attitude to dentistry. You get one set of teeth per life time. You can’t have a new set of teeth like a new car. My favourite saying was: How many times do you get your car serviced a year? And what does it cost? It costs a lot less to service your mouth if go once a year.
A: I’ve also found that if they come in for a check-up and they enjoy it and you talk about their dog or their football team they will come back in six months. They will enjoy it.
A: Get in the routine of enjoyable regular check-ups but one visit in ten years that goes badly.
P: Well, it will go badly. It is a hard thing to teach students that. They don’t understand how their magnificent bridge needs to go in a patient. It comes back to people skills. Most patients don’t know when they receive an amazing restoration.
A: That’s true.
A: Dentistry is like hairdressing. You know a good hairdresser because they talk to you and listen to you and they do what you want them to do. You can see. With dentistry you don’t see what is done.
P: You also have to be aware of your own limitations. Students don’t know what they can do and can’t do.
A: You remind me of a dentist I worked for in South Africa. One day I was listening to him and he said to the patient I’ve got no idea what to do. He was being honest and the patients loved him. I thought. That’s the way to go. I’ll copy him. If he didn’t know what to do he’d say: I’ll refer you. They will be better than me.
