Patch Blog: The Shocking Truth About Dentistry And Reggie Bush

The Shocking Truth about Dentistry and Reggie Bush

So this past year we invested all kinds of dough in new equipment and technology, some of which wasn’t even on my nerdish continuing education radar only 2-3 years ago.

But who knew Reggie Bush and silky smooth hands would carry the day…and for only a few hundred non-tech bucks?

I’ve spent some time thinking about the Reggie development and even though the last two blogs have elicited exactly ZERO comments on Arcadia Patch I’m reaching out to you guys for a little help (I’m gonna share my own opinion but it’s always cool hearing from relatively normal non-DDS types.)

First off, let’s establish there isn’t one single former bruin younger than my Uncle Harold who could pull off anything close to resembling the “Reggie Effect.”

Organizations with no fight song that model themselves after undersized mammals and lose fifty to nuthin just don’t turn out the kind of folks who can dump Kim and the Kardashians.

Since our office makeover last summer, my Reggie Bush-autographed football has become the star attraction, closely followed by our paraffin hand care machine, with the Pete Carroll/Old Hypocrite-signed helmet a distant third.

The Reggie Ball used to occupy a spot high atop the patient files just under the ceiling right next to the Old Hypocrite’s helmet. And that’s where all the really cool stuff goes when you’re surrounded by a bunch of detail-oriented women who would eBay Reggie’s Ball in a heartbeat just to spend the loot on still more shoes and bags.

The Reggie Ball now resides in treatment room #2 just off to the left and at eye level as you’re lounging in the massage chair waiting for the paraffin. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, young or even older than me; if you’re super-intelligent or listen to talk-radio 24/7, everyone seems totally impressed and wants to talk about the Reggie Ball (think I’m gonna take the dang thing to spin class and maybe one of the indoor biker ladies will finally say hello.)

And here’s why my two non-dental investments were so freakin brilliant: I actually listened to my gang of purse shopping shoe collectors. I’d never heard of paraffin treatment and they said I could keep the Reggie Ball just because of the Kardashians.

When I’m smart enough to listen to women who aren’t in the middle of buying shoes, I always seem to start reflecting. Maybe there was more to the Reggie Ball than I suspected?

When my mom and I were making our way through Mom’s journey and the maze we know as healthcare there was a desperate need we both shared. We needed some sort of eye contact that said, “Everything’s going to be alright because I really care.”

The people who made a difference did little things that reassured us both that Mom wasn’t just another number. Nurses who brought a comforting touch and a smile, the folks who brought their beautiful gentle dogs to the hospital, and the Doc who came out to the waiting room to greet us provided some human medicine that was way more powerful than they probably realized.

In healthcare, I think patients are often screaming inside for the opportunity to just break the ice, relax a little, and then begin the business of having a conversation that will impact the quality of their lives. Why not take the time to smile, be interested, and listen?

I’m not sure if Reggie’s Ball is worth more or less since he returned the Heisman Trophy. But if one patient has been even slightly less intimidated or slightly more relaxed out of a casual conversation with a new doctor, the ball will stand tall in treatment room #2, right next to the new LED light, the digital radiography, and the diode laser.

Sometimes providing true care isn’t all about the newest, fastest technology; maybe it’s also about spending a few quality non-clinical minutes. And who knows; maybe Reggie’s Ball works in mysterious ways?