Dentaltown November 2021 - 46

Law #2: Make time to learn in the practice zone
Does a high-wire act practice their new trick on a
wire 60 feet above the ground with no foam pit? I sure
hope not, or they'd eventually have problems. It's been
proven that all of us suffer in performance when we try
to practice something new in the " performance zone. "
The performance zone is just what it sounds like: the time
when we are performing, and not practicing.
The practice zone is the place where mistakes are
not only allowed, but encouraged. This is where, like an
amazing chef, we get feedback and improve what we're
doing. Think about operative clinic when you were in
dental school. Nobody told you to go pick up a handpiece,
go into clinic and drill your first Class I on a live patient.
You had ivorine teeth to practice with in the lab.
So, if the practice zone is where we get better, why
do so many doctors throw their assistants into the
performance zone-with a live patient-to get better at
clinical photography? Maybe they've taken a course or seen
a video on clinical photography and want to put these new
skills to use. Great! Take a working lunch or make some
time after the day is over to practice, practice, practice.
Only when one has excelled in their photography in the
practice zone should they move on to the performance
zone and regular patients of the practice. If you jump
into the performance zone and never take the time to
practice in a learning environment, performance
will always suffer and the images will never be
what they could be.
Treat your photography skills the
same way a high-performing professional
sports team would treat their
players, and give everyone lots of
practice at a time when outcome
isn't so important.
Law #3: Be intellectually honest about your images
This is a tough one. Dentists are smart people who
have achieved a lot. Naturally, it can be difficult to look
at one's work and consider it subpar, but that's truly the
first step toward getting better. I've received dozens (if
not hundreds) of messages over the years from doctors
who assured me that their images were " perfect " and
they didn't need much help. To date, I've seen only one
set of images sent to me that didn't need some sort of
improvement. That's OK, as long as we're willing to
learn to get better.
Like aligning teeth, our patients have a right to our
best treatment, and images are no different. The funny
thing is that for most doctors, getting from " decent " to
" exceptional " only requires a little bit of tweaking of
technique and a bit of practice. If that's the case, then
why do so many doctors struggle with getting exceptional
images? It's because they don't know how to objectively
measure the outcome.
When was the last time you got in your car, stepped
on the accelerator, took a trip and never once looked at
46 NOVEMBER 2021 // dentaltown.com
the speedometer? Did you drive on the highway
and simply say, " This seems like the right speed " ?
Of course you didn't. Your speedometer is an
objective way of measuring your subjective
feeling of speed. So, how do we objectively measure
a subjective photographic image?
Define some criteria by which you can rate images
and score each one. Some examples of things you
could evaluate in an image of the lower arch could
include:
* Is the arch centered?
* Is the entire arch visible?
* Is one looking straight down on the
arch?
* Is the tongue not covering occlusal
surface?
* Do you see a dry arch?
* Is the lower lip out of the way?
* Is only the mirror image visible
(not other teeth)?
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Dentaltown November 2021

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