At what point should we shy away from the difficult?
A colleague once asked me at what stage I got to the point where doing implants at the back of the lower jaw, close to the inferior dental nerve became routine and stress free.
I answered with “I’ll tell you when I get there”.
I haven’t got there yet.
The other day I did a really difficult case, assisted by Angela in the practice of remedial treatment on a patient for implants in the lower jaw which was not perfect when it was finished but we knew when we started it wouldn’t be.
After 23 years of this I should be able to smash it out the park without thinking about it every single day (you would think) but that (at least in my practice) is not how it works.
So, coming into that case the other morning I was aware of it, nervous is not the right word but I had a heightened sense of awareness and anxiety related to providing the treatment.
The patient was fully prepped though and knew they might walk out the door with not a single implant in but in the end it went better than I probably could have expected and was delighted that the patient has been well looked after.
It begs the question of ‘should I even bother with these cases anymore or should I just pick cases that are straightforward and simple, that are always likely to work and never likely to cause a problem?’.
I think for me at least, the answer is obvious.
When it all becomes routine I’ll either step up or step out.
Blog Post Number - 2790
Leave a comment