Why Dentists Are Scared to Try Anything New

Episode #402 with Dr. Zach Sisler

Change can be daunting. But you owe it to your patients, your team, and yourself to continuously learn and evolve. Dentists are afraid to try new things, and Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Zach Sisler to share three reasons why and how that fear can be conquered. If you give up on trying, that's the end of the game! To get into the mindset of trying something new, listen to Episode 402 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Gain confidence to be willing to try new things.

Seek out knowledge to find a way to succeed.

Don't be afraid of failure and rejection. Just try.

Be objective with rejection. Don't take it personal.

Trying new things leads to self-discovery.

You miss 100% of the shots you never take.

Quotes:

“The reason that this is important is because when I first came out of school, I was super hungry. And I mean I took every course under the sun. I wanted to try everything. I wanted to really ramp my practice up. And then, I think once you get to a point where things are going somewhat smooth and you do have some good systems in place, you almost get on this autopilot. You're like, ‘All right. Well, I could just coast here. I could just relax, ride this out for the rest of my career and be done.’ But realistically, I think we owe it to our patients, we owe it to our teams, and ourselves as well, to not become stagnant.” (7:53—8:33)

“I feel like there were three ways, as I look back, in why I wouldn't try something new, or why when I talked to other dentists, they don't want to try something new. And the first one would be, ‘I don't know how to do that.’ I'm like, ‘Okay. What don't you know?’ ‘I just don't know how to do that. I don't know how to do that procedure, so I refer that procedure out.’ I'm like, ‘Okay. Well, there are courses all over that you could go and actually obtain the knowledge to learn how to do this, and then maybe you keep more stuff in your office.’ Or maybe you decide that, ‘Hey, I tried this and I actually like doing it. Maybe I want to dive deeper into that and find more CE on that and learn more about that, and then apply more of that to my practice.’” (19:32—20:18)

“To me, the knowledge excuse is kind of a cop out. There are plenty of avenues, whether it be a course, whether it be a mentor, whether it be reading out of a textbook or journals or whatever. You can find knowledge to apply. So, that's kind of on you if you're not willing to at least seek out some of this knowledge to find a way to succeed.” (20:19—20:46)

“Reading is very much a weakness for me. I don't enjoy it. I struggle to get “through” books. They really have to capture my attention. And so, I set a goal. I was going to read 12 books last year. I was like, ‘I'm going to read a book a month.’ And that's a lot for me. But as I started reading, I found what I liked, and I found what I didn't like. And I found what captivated me and kept me really engaged, and I found books that like, ‘Ugh. Man, I don't want to pick up another one like this.’ But had I not at least even set the goal, had I not even tried that, I wouldn't have known what I liked and what I wanted to read more of and what I wanted to learn more about.” (22:35—23:19)

“To me, [reading] was starting something new and realizing how to dive into it and really what I liked from it. And I've done the same thing in dentistry too. I did a lot of CE on TMJ and liked it, initially. And then, when I started treating it, I realized it’s a complex onion with many, many layers, and I dove deeper down that route and saw what I wanted to take and what I wanted to utilize. And then, I did airway CE and I learned, ‘Okay. This isn't something I love, but I know people who do, and I'd love to get my patients in their passionate hands. They're really all about that.’ And then I found, as I started going down other avenues, that I really love esthetics. I really like implants. I really like those sorts of things. So, it helped me evolve as I was going along. And now, I'm like, ‘Okay, I'm becoming a more well-rounded dentist,’ in that sense because I went down some of these pathways to figure out what worked and what didn't.”  (23:51—24:53)

“I think a lot of times, when I talk to other dentists, they’ll say, ‘I'm kind of scared to do that. I'm scared I'll mess up. I'm scared I'll fail at doing it.’ And my response is always like, ‘Yeah, but what if it goes right? What if it works? Then, it could be awesome.’ And they're like, ‘Yeah, but what if it doesn't?’” (26:49—27:10)

“A lot of times, people are so scared of the failure component that they're not even willing to get in the game and try [something new].” (29:14—29:20)

“Success can be a very, very lousy teacher. When everything is good, if everything is always going good, and everything you touch is gold, and everything goes along smoothly, and you always run on time, and you never run into a single snag, how do you ever learn that you could be better? You already think you're the best there could be. But failure is what teaches you, really. Success is a lousy teacher; failure is a great teacher. Because when you're in the midst of a failure, you have to really analyze things, and look at it, and figure out ways around it to get out of failure and to get back to the success. So, it sometimes, in a way, makes success even a little bit more sweet, because if you've gone through the hard times to make it to the good times, it’s actually more rewarding.” (29:25—30:17)

“Nobody likes rejection. Whether you're a dentist, whether you do practice management, whether you're a server at a restaurant, nobody likes that. But there's always the element that any time I make a decision, rejection is an option, or failure is an option. So, I present treatment to a patient, there's always a chance they can say no. And early on in my career, oh man, I would take that so hard. It’s like, ‘They don't like me. I did something wrong.’ It’s like, no. You know what? Maybe it just doesn't fit in their life right now. You've got to stop taking it so personally and see it from a more objective standpoint.” (32:18—32:59)

“I'm at least going to get in the game to have the option to be rejected rather than just sit on the sidelines and never actually know if they would've said yes. Because when it comes to treatment planning, I think that's where a lot of dentists start to hang themselves up like, ‘Oh, that patient will never say yes. Oh, they’ll never want that. I'm just not even going to bring it up.’ I'm like, ‘No, you're just a little scared of rejection, because you don't know who wants it.’”  (33:32—34:00)

“The third [reason dentists don't want to try new things], I think, is that it’s beat into our brains as dentists that whatever we do will never be good enough. So, they're like, ‘What's the point in trying? It’s never going to be good enough.’” (36:39—36:51)

“If you're negative enough, you can always talk yourself out of trying anything.” (42:00—42:03)

“If you're going to try something new, I would just say shoot your shot and don't be afraid to try. Because, yeah, there's a chance you're going to miss. But hey, there's also a chance you're going to make it. And what's the old John Wooden quote? You miss 100% of the shots you never take. So, I'm at least going to throw the ball up in the air and see if I can make the shot rather than just never try, because it could turn out to be something really, really great. But you've got to be willing to take that shot.” (46:17—46:48)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:01 Dr. Sisler’s background.

2:06 Building a great dental practice while building a great family.

5:01 Dr. Sisler’s dental and workout schedule.

7:12 Why this is an important topic.

9:27 How to try new things when you're at your max.

10:23 Ways to free up your schedule.

13:25 Teach assistants to take photos.

15:02 The learning curve for teaching assistants to take photos.

18:51 The first reason dentists don't want to try new things.

20:47 Try new things to become well-rounded.

26:40 The second reason dentists don't want to try new things.

27:11 Don't be afraid to fail.

31:14 Dentists are afraid of rejection.

36:22 The third reason dentists don't want to try new things.

42:37 Sometimes, done is better than perfect.

45:41 Last thoughts on why you should try new things.

46:48 Dr. Sisler’s contact information.

Reach Out to Dr. Sisler:

Dr. Sisler’s website: https://www.drsisler.com/ 

Dr. Sisler’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmilesBySisler 

Dr. Sisler’s social media: @dr_zachsisler

Resources:

Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Die With Zero by Bill Perkins: https://www.diewithzerobook.com/welcome

Dr. Zachary Sisler Bio:

Dr. Zachary Sisler is a native of Kingwood, West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University, where he received an undergraduate degree in chemistry in three years. He continued his education at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. During his time at dental school, he explored the field of dentistry by completing externships and honor programs in oral surgery and endodontics. As a further testament to his dedication, he was honored with the following awards: Simon P. Hullihen Scholarship Award for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, American Association of Endodontics Student Achievement Award, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Student Award, Whip Mix 2010 Hanau Prosthodontic Award, Delta Dental Student Leadership Award, and the Quintessence Book Award for Restorative Dentistry.

Since graduation, Dr. Sisler has immersed himself in countless hours of continuing education. Dr. Sisler has attended lectures and hands-on courses at the prestigious Dawson Academy, where he has learned how to properly and predictably restore complex cases, not only from a functional standpoint but cosmetic as well. Dr. Sisler was asked to become an associate faculty member of The Dawson Academy, and while continuing his own continuing education pursuits, dedicates time to teaching dental professionals the concepts of complete dentistry.

Dr. Zachary Sisler, DDS, AAACD, has earned the Accredited Member credential in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), joining an elite group of dental professionals who have successfully completed the accreditation process in The Academy. He is one of 417 to achieve this status of cosmetic dentistry in the world.

Dr. Sisler has a strong passion for dentistry and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects, particularly cosmetic dentistry. He holds memberships with the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Pennsylvania Academy of General Dentistry, Pennsylvania Dental Association, Harrisburg Area Dental Society, American Equilibration Society, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.