Episode #284: Where Structured Interdisciplinary Concepts Started, with Dr. Jeff Brucia

If you’re frustrated with dentistry, you're not alone. Today, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Jeff Brucia from F.A.C.E., an institution where the greatest minds in dentistry gathered with frustrations of their own to seek out the best solutions. The result was an interdisciplinary approach to learning, and F.A.C.E. could be exactly what you need! Don't spend two-thirds of your career doing things you're frustrated with or doing them the wrong way! For motivation on continuing to do the very best in your practice, listen to Episode 284 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Be motivated to think first and do second. 
• Predictability at the highest level is important. And patients want predictability!
• F.A.C.E. is not for everybody. It is for the most committed learners. 
• Many dentists spend most of their career doing things they’re frustrated with.  
• Continue to motivate yourself to do the very best. 

Quotes:

• “When I signed up for the [FACE occlusion program], I'd been out of school five years. And [Tom Basta] thought I was too young. In fact, he was not going to allow me to take the program five years out of school. And why? Why would you turn away a young dentist? And he said, ‘You haven't made enough mistakes. You haven't seen enough failures.” (14:21—14:44)
• “You've all experienced doing a single second molar crown, the same way you've done it 10 other times. And on the 11th time, everything goes wrong. Well, why is that? So, what F.A.C.E. tries to do is answer those questions and bring predictability to it.” (26:11—26:30)
• “How can I sit a patient down at every level-three program and prep from beginning to end diagnosis, treatment planning, full-mouth preps, impressions, mountings, case delivery? How can I do that time, after time, after time on a living, breathing, patient the most advanced dentistry in the world with 20 people in my space? Because it works.” (42:12—42:42)
• “Managing patients’ expectations is all about understanding the predictability of what you do.” (53:35—53:42)
• “Successful dentistry builds practices more than anything else.” (54:21—54:27)
• “A successful practice is one where you keep all your patients.” (55:38—55:42)
• “Take a good look at your practice. What's working? What isn’t? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years? The majority of people that come through F.A.C.E. are in their last trimester of a dental practice. They have chosen to practice their last period of time doing the best dentistry in the world. And you know what they all say? ‘Why didn't I do this earlier?’” (56:48—57:15)

Snippets:

• Dr. Brucia’s background. (04:09—06:52)
• The origins of F.A.C.E. (07:55—12:05)
• “You haven't made enough mistakes.” (12:23—15:32)
• Think first, do second. (15:57—17:32)
• Dentistry’s need for accurate instrumentation. (18:05—20:42)
• Dr. Peter K. Thomas. (21:21—22:49)
• Dr. Charlie Stewart. (22:59—23:45)
• The importance of predictability. (24:29—30:34)
• Dr. Peter Dawson’s ice skating analogy. (30:51—35:25)
• Facebow versus earbow. (35:55—40:18) 
• Dr. Brucia’s frustrations in dentistry. (40:19—43:38)
• The importance of airway. (43:55—50:39)
• The future of dentistry. (51:06—59:27)
• How to get involved with F.A.C.E. (59:54—64:07) 

Reach Out to Dr. Brucia:

http://facedentistry.org/