Kemp Orthodontist | Franklin, Brentwood, Nashville, Williamson County, TN | Braces

“All relationships need cultivation.”  I think we can all agree with this quote from John C. Maxwell’s book Winning with People.  Another wise quote from Mr. Maxwell states, “It is more rewarding to resolve a situation then to dissolve a relationship.”  At our recent seminar, Gary Johnson had the members of each doctor’s office break into groups and answer this question, “What things can cause a relationship to deteriorate? “ Some of the answers we came up with are –

• Apathy
• Lack of effort
• Taking the other person for granted
• Unresolved conflict
• Stop listening/Stop asking

If we know what can deteriorate a relationship, then the next question we must ask ourselves is, “What does it mean to cultivate a relationship?”  John C. Maxwell gives us six things to focus on.

1. Commitment
2. Communication
3. Friendship
4. Memories
5. Growth
6. Spoiling Each Other

Voltaire noted,“If the first law of friendship is that it has to be cultivated, the second law is to be indulgent when the first law has been neglected.

What a rich lesson.  I plan on practicing the gardening principle.  How about you?

The #1 principle of connectivity that Gary Johnson discussed in the recent seminar is “We Must First Understand Before We Try to Be Understood.”  This principle certainly rang true with me and my staff.  How many times have you been having a conversation with someone only to find your mind wandering while he or she is speaking? When he or she finishes talking, you then find yourself thinking, “What did he just say?”  If we are honest with ourselves, we all have had this happen.  Listening is a challenging skill.  It requires considerable effort and focus.  Gary asked each office this question, “What things do great listeners do?”  Some of the ideas we came up with were:  to establish eye contact, to let the other person know you are listening by a nod, to repeat back what they said, and to let them know you care.  Two key points that really hit home with me are “Listen to Understand Not to Respond” and “It is more important to be interested than interesting.” What a challenging seminar!  In my next blog I will talk about Principle #2: “Remember, Hurting People Hurt People.”  

My staff and I had the pleasure of hosting the renowned motivational speaker, Gary Johnson, for a third seminar held Friday, January 20, 2011.  This seminar was all about “How to Communicate and Connect with Your Staff and Patient: The Three Key Principles to Connectivity.”  Gary’s session on Friday was based on concepts from two great books:  Just Listen by Dr. Mark Goultson and Winning with People by John C. Maxwell.  Dr. Goulston is a highly respected expert on connectivity.  He trains all types of companies, including FBI hostage negotiators.  Mr. Maxwell is an acclaimed author and leadership expert.

Each dental office that attended our seminar was given the book Winning with People.  My staff and I are currently reading Maxwell’s book and will pick up Just Listen next. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing with you excerpts from our seminar.  I hope you will find them helpful in building and growing your own relationships.

One of the auxiliary appliances that Dr. Kemp likes to  use along with braces is a Rapid Palatal Expander (RPE).  The RPE is a wonderful appliance to use for patients whose upper jaw is narrow, protrusive and crowded. The Rapid Palatal Expander gently widens the upper arch (palate) by stretching the center palatal connective suture.  Once the palate is widened, the suture knits together with newly formed bone.  The Rapid Palatal Expander is prescribed usually prior to completion of growth.  A parent or the patient adjusts the RPE every other day as instructed until the palate has been widened enough. The RPE is an excellent appliance especially to help change abnormal growth patterns.  Please follow this link Rapid Palatal Expander to read more about the expander on our website.

Mouth guards are one of the least expensive pieces of protective gear available.  They can help prevent or minimize tooth and jaw injuries.  At Kemp Orthodontics we recommend that a mouth guard be worn any time the teeth could come into contact with a ball, a hard object, another player or the ground/pavement.  Kemp Orthodontics purchases mouth guards from a leading company in the industry.  These mouth guards are designed to fit comfortably in place adapting to your teeth and appliances.  They cannot be swallowed or dislodged on impact and conform to NCAA guidelines.  There is a assortment of colors to choose from.  At Kemp Orthodontics we are all about protecting  your beautiful smile.  

If our wisdom was measured by our teeth, there wouldn’t be many wise people.  Only about 65% of all human beings develop wisdom teeth, also known as third molars. Of that population, a high percentage of people will need to have their wisdom teeth extracted for one or more reasons. For instance, some wisdom teeth never actually come in, or erupt. They remain impacted in the jaw and must be extracted. Another group of people will have wisdom teeth that come in sideways or in a variety of problematic manners. Like impacted teeth, these malformed teeth will need to be extracted. Also, some wisdom teeth simply are too much teeth for that person’s mouth, causing crowding and shifting of the other teeth. These wisdom teeth need to come out because there just isn’t room for them. Finally, even when the teeth come in without causing problems within the mouth, their presence often leads to problems with infections and decay because of food particles that get trapped behind the wisdom teeth and cannot be reached by regular brushing and flossing.  At Kemp Orthodontics we work closely with your dentist to make a wise decision about your wisdom teeth that will help you to achieve the optimal result and lasting beautiful smile.