Every one of us wants to strive to be the best in our profession. In order to achieve being the best we need to follow the societal norms considered as the ingredients to be the best. Hence being the best only becomes relative to one’s own perception and the perception of the society where they reside and practice.
In this quest to be the best most of us orthodontists try to achieve quality education, highest orthodontic qualification, a posh clinic, and modern treatment modalities with up to date machinery. Experience adds to success with efficient projection and recommendations.
Orthodontists need to be able to address so many dimensions while treatment planning. One of the most important factors within the whole system is the actual person we are treating. Most of the qualified orthodontists in this era are well equipped in all these categories and pull out excellent results in difficult cases. In this evolution of achieving higher standards to be the best, I feel that we should be considering a forgotten dimension, which I call “the personal touch”. In this era where time is short and we have forgotten the personal bond which family physicians used to have not only with patients but their entire family. Listening to their problems and customizing their demands is important. We all treat the non-cooperators, the poor brushers, the rude ones, the late comers, etc. While they all make our treatment planning challenging, the real challenge comes when that special bond is created making the patient feel special and happy. When every patient becomes special for you, you become special to the patients. That is the best feeling ever and that is when you have achieved the quest of being the best. Once any orthodontists achieves this feeling, it comes to mind that were the societal norms of being the best important? Well, don’t confuse yourself, as that was hard work which is important to be successful.
The hunger to be on top of the profession is natural and the finish line keeps moving and changing. Protocols evolve and so do the standards. This keeps us motivated to keep striving for the best.
Professor Haroon Shahid Qazi