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Celebrating Gratitude: Our Best Patient Experiences
12 Plays2 days ago
About the Hosts:
Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor are dedicated dental professionals specializing in creating meaningful impacts beyond traditional dentistry. As hosts of "Beyond Graduation," they explore the nuances of early career challenges and successes, recounting vivid patient stories that highlight their dedication to advancing dental care. Dr. Craig brings a blend of residency experience from prestigious programs in South Carolina, with a particular flair for connecting with patients from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Sartor complements this with her extensive background including practical training at the Dawson Academy and service in veteran-focused dental care. Together, they provide invaluable insights into patient-centered approaches and professional growth in the field of dentistry.
Episode Summary:
In this enlightening episode of "Beyond Graduation," Drs. Savanah Craig and Ronnetta Sartor delve into the memorable patient encounters that have shaped their dental careers. The episode is a refreshing break from routine discussions, as the duo focuses on the positive, meaningful experiences that often overshadow the challenging aspects of a dentist's daily practice. The episode draws listeners into a heartfelt conversation about the impact of patient interactions and the significance of those moments in forging stronger practitioner-patient relationships.
Through riveting accounts, the dentists share stories ranging from humorous encounters, like Dr. Sartor’s experience with a veteran clown creating balloon animals in the clinic, to life-altering scenarios, such as Dr. Craig’s intuitive action that led to an early cancer diagnosis for a patient. These stories underscore the varied nature of patient care in dentistry and emphasize the importance of empathy, attentiveness, and constant learning. Central to the discussion is the reminder that beyond clinical skills, dentists play critical roles in the broader healthcare landscape, reinforcing the importance of professional curiosity and patient education.
Key Takeaways:
- The significant impact of positive patient interactions and their role in enhancing the dental practice experience.
- Insights into how attentive and empathetic patient care can lead to life-changing outcomes, such as early disease detection.
- The importance of maintaining a record of positive clinical experiences as a source of motivation and reflection.
- The diverse nature of patient encounters, from heartwarming stories to unexpected and humorous moments in the clinic.
- Recognition of the broader healthcare responsibilities that dentists assume beyond traditional oral care.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- FutureDentists: @futuredentists
- IgniteDDS and IgniteDDS Coaching: @ignitedds and www.ignitedds.com
This episode of "Beyond Graduation" offers a profound look into the nurturing side of dentistry, shining a light on the invaluable experiences that define patient care. For more inspiring stories and professional insights, be sure to listen to the full episode and stay tuned for more engaging and enlightening discussions with Drs. Craig and Sartor.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Beyond Graduation' Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
I really hate the dentist and i sure didn't think I'd like a Yankee dentist, but you're pretty good for both of those. And I said, that was the best compliment I could have ever seen.
00:00:11
Speaker
Way back when I was in residency, we would we partnered with the VA. And I turn around and he has a um balloon animal made for me. Some of my very favorite patient interactions that I hope stay with me forever.
00:00:26
Speaker
one is from residency. Join Dr. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years and our careers.
00:00:38
Speaker
There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. Welcome back everyone to another episode of Beyond Graduation. i am Savannah Craig and with me as always. i am Renetta Sartor and it's good to be back with you guys.
Reflecting on Patient Gratitude
00:00:54
Speaker
So this week, we thought we would talk about um some of our best or most impactful or positive patient experiences.
00:01:05
Speaker
um It can be super easy to get in the weeds, and we see hundreds of patients a month, but the tough ones, the hard ones, are always going to stick out. It's easy to overlook the positive impact we're having on the people around us. So we thought we would...
00:01:26
Speaker
try to shed some light on some of the good and positive experiences we've had throughout our careers. What's your thoughts on all of this, Renetta? ah think it, because as we're recording this, it's January. So, you know, everyone's new year, new you um type thing. But um having finished the year 2024 recently 2025,
00:01:51
Speaker
and stepping into twenty twenty five I think most people have done a lot of reflecting, and I think it's a really good way for us to start 2025 just reflecting on what we're grateful for from our patients and using that to be our guiding light as we move forward with patient
Memorable Clinic Experiences
00:02:12
Speaker
care. So what would you say stands in your mind as maybe the best or top three experiences um that you've had with patients?
00:02:24
Speaker
Yeah. So like I was telling you before we started recording, i started in residency actually keeping a list. um It's just labeled things that went well in clinic today because I started it in residency, but I continue forward with it now.
00:02:42
Speaker
And it's anything from just older patient is super excited to have his smile back for his grandkids, anywhere to you know immediate implant and sinus bump with great soft tissue development in 1.5 hours. So it's anything from clinical stuff to just things that I'm proud of. And when things get hard, it's nice to be able to look at this. And it's funny to look back at...
00:03:11
Speaker
what was super positive and impactful in residency to now. So I, i it makes me very happy to look back on those things.
00:03:23
Speaker
But I think some of my very favorite patient interactions that I hope stay with me forever, one is from residency, and you'll you'll get a kick out of all of this. So we love South Carolina, but as you can hear from just the podcast, Renetta has a really cool accent, and I do not.
00:03:47
Speaker
And South Carolina... People are very proud of where they're from and they love they love South Carolina. So being from Pennsylvania slash Ohio, that was a fun ah challenge that I didn't expect in residency.
00:04:06
Speaker
I expected people to maybe be upset that I was... ah concerned that I was young, maybe even that I was female, but I had a patient who on a pond first meeting says to me, are there no good Southern dentists around here?
00:04:22
Speaker
geez. Oh, okay. um And my instinct to gain his trust was to really turn up my Pittsburgh accent and make fun of myself. So yins and gum ban, and we just went at it from there.
00:04:42
Speaker
and eventually I earned his trust and we did so much implant work. And by the end of the year in residency, he looked at me and he said, you know, we were saying our goodbyes and you're going to have a new resident and all of those things. And He said to me, i really hate the dentist, and I sure didn't think I'd like a Yankee dentist, but you're pretty good for both of those.
00:05:08
Speaker
And I said, that was the best compliment I could have ever received.
00:05:13
Speaker
You
Joyful Patient Interactions
00:05:14
Speaker
won him over. I won him over on so many fronts, and he brought me boiled peanuts. That was my first time I'd ever had boiled peanuts. And I did not like them, and I was like... You didn't? I did not like them, and I was...
00:05:28
Speaker
Telling our attendings, I said, I don't know if this was a gift or if he meant like if this was backhanded because i and they were not good.
00:05:40
Speaker
Oh, man. That's one of my favorites. I think you you brought up a lot of valid points, right? like Because I can't say that I've had anyone um say that they wanted a northern dentist or anything like that. Well, look where you practice.
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah, that's very true. Very true.
00:06:04
Speaker
But with that being said, i think it's always those stories of someone who's really, really, really afraid of the dentist or has some sort of negative um experience in the past or just have a negative outlook on you as a person.
00:06:19
Speaker
Or where you're from. Right. And you can't help where you're from, right? That just ends up being those stories that stand out most.
00:06:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it was, again, the best compliment I could receive. And people are going to write it and not believe that story. But you know that that is true. You know, without a doubt that there are people like that in the great state of South Carolina. yeah Oh, yeah.
00:06:47
Speaker
yeah. They're some of my favorites. I think one of the funniest, one of the funniest things that's ever happened. So way back when I was in residency, we would, we partnered with the VA. a ah um um So we would see VA a patients like every sixth week, um four week, we would go and just do dentistry, whatever they needed.
00:07:12
Speaker
And I remember I had to extract a tooth on this veteran And I did not know when I walked in that his side gig was that he he's a clown. Like he does parties and all this stuff.
00:07:28
Speaker
And so why would you know that? Yeah, I didn't know. So like I'm turning, I'm talking to him and I've got my back turned, you know, getting stuff to put numbing um jelly and stuff in. And I turn around and he has a um balloon animal made for me.
00:07:42
Speaker
And this went on the entire, the entire appointment. So at by the end of the appointment, we got a tooth out successfully and everything. I probably had about 10 balloon animals.
00:07:54
Speaker
And it this wasn't a long appointment. He was really quick. I was very impressed. Like, and so I remember just walking around asking who had children, you know, the, the people that worked at the VA. And I was like, here, take this home to him. Cause what was I going to do? But he worked so hard on them, but like he was doing these things in like a matter of seconds. Cause you know, and you're not as fast. I mean, I wasn't as fast as I am now and efficient, but yes, he, and I was just like, wow. And he was just so proud of himself and so happy to make the different things for me.
00:08:28
Speaker
um Yeah, we had a good, we we hugged it out at the end because he made probably my my entire VA experience. That's so funny.
00:08:39
Speaker
Because what, at maximum, the whole appointment was probably an hour? at maximum, it was an hour. ballooned animals per hour. And also you're pulling his tooth. So he um he's busy during part of that time.
00:08:54
Speaker
Yeah. So it will be like if i if I turned or I stepped to my assistant to get something. And I didn't even know where he would pull it from.
Holistic Dental Care
00:09:04
Speaker
so it was just it was just like, wow, this is this is great.
00:09:08
Speaker
And his chair is back. And he's just doing his thing. and I'm like, I wonder if he like... does this on a regular like if he's just sitting home like talking to someone if he's just like multitasking instead of knitting or crocheting he's just keeping his hands busy at um i wish i had his card i would want to like hire him for some events i bet he is probably the best clown ever If you know veteran clown in South Carolina, please reach out to us.
00:09:39
Speaker
We need this reunion to happen, internet. We do. We do. We do. I mean, and yeah that was great. That's so funny. I mean, there are always strange interactions happening at any time in a dental office, but that one's so wholesome. Yeah.
00:09:55
Speaker
It sure is. Because he was, yeah, it was, i mean, I can't not look back on it and not feel the joy that you know, he had joy in making these animals and I had joy just turning around and saying, oh, there's another one.
00:10:13
Speaker
And the joy that we like, you know, it was just. You took care of him. he took care of you. And I gave them to parents to give to their children.
00:10:23
Speaker
it just got home. The gift that kept on giving. It at kept on giving. So that was a joy fest for sure. That is so funny. And I, I love that. I've never heard this story from you until right now.
00:10:38
Speaker
got to react in real time oh gee I just snorted did you that I did that was incredible that story deserved that honestly wow wow I'm stunned I love that wow that's a good one that's such a good one um what other good ones do you have what other good ones let's see I think all on a day-to-day basis, just stories of patient coming in, being in pain and being able to relieve their pain. Yeah.
00:11:19
Speaker
That was one of the things that made me realize how great the need was in dentistry um to begin with. like I started with my shadowing process and stuff.
00:11:35
Speaker
When I was in undergrad, I went to a free clinic just to volunteer, and that's where I met my mentor. And so on a day-to-day, I get those same feels, being able to get patients out of pain when they're in pain.
Dentist's Role in Healthcare
00:11:49
Speaker
It's one of the most satisfying things we do, i think, is you're in pain. i can take this tooth out. Let's make it happen. More recently, it's been, so you know, last what spring, i finished the Dawson mini residency. So um but at the end of the year, it was kind of cool because I used all of the things that I learned and I had a patient,
00:12:16
Speaker
who had excessive wear and erosion on his teeth. Yeah. um And we checked all of the boxes. He didn't have sleep apnea, which was great and or any of those things. So we got down, we had to get down to the bottom of where all of the erosion was coming from.
00:12:30
Speaker
And he had a tahine habit. Yeah. Um, and so it can be really acidic. And so I was like, okay, well, if we're going to, if you're going to spend all the money and make the investment in doing this, we're going to have to transform the way that you eat and how often you, you use that because we could transform your smile and then eventually end up, you know, losing it again.
00:12:57
Speaker
yeah And it won't be as easy next time to fix it as it will, it as it is this time. So yeah. Not that it's easy to fix it this time, but. Right. Because it definitely took a process.
00:13:08
Speaker
um So that was a pretty cool one to just see the journey my journey through the curriculum, but then putting all of the pieces together to be able to help this patient and transform his smile. And I saw his wife earlier this week and she said, oh, he's just so happy um with his new smile.
00:13:27
Speaker
And he's smiling all the time now, which he didn't used to want to smile. Yeah. And he's um he's one of the funniest people um that comes in the office. So it's really, and he's got a great smile um and great personality. Yeah.
00:13:42
Speaker
But um I asked, I was like, well, is he staying away from the Tahin? And she was like, yes. She was like, I don't even, I haven't even seen him do it like since y'all had that big talk. So just transformation from educating and all that. is We're talking like Tahin the spice. Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:58
Speaker
who How did you figure out that that was the the habit? Just asking about diet and if he puts anything on his food. that's That's such an interesting question because I hit so hard on the beverages and, you know, acidic beverages, sugary beverages that maybe you're not thinking about, but...
00:14:17
Speaker
That's a sneaky one. And he's um yeah he's pretty good at like making it and stuff too. Okay. um So it could have been some of his recipes were worsening it too. And then sometimes too just cultural yeah um type things. Just as you know, is it anything that you like to eat that you and your family like to eat or anything you like to cook?
00:14:42
Speaker
um So it wasn't like a, I mean, clearly I said that we we just, and we're not all the way finished, but the cosmetic part, the part that most people see, we're finished with it um before the end of the year.
00:14:55
Speaker
Very cool. That's exciting. One of the... most impactful stories for me most recently is I had a patient that had not been to a dentist in a long time, had a lot of broken teeth, expected to come in for dentures.
00:15:17
Speaker
They knew that that's where we were heading. um And on their intake form had mentioned, i have this lump under my tongue that i also would like looked at. And we take a very full series of photos and x-rays on every patient. And there was quite the mass under this patient's tongue. And just from the pictures, I knew that this was not good.
00:15:41
Speaker
um And so I... you know ended up really giving a shout out to my team who took these really detailed photos so I knew what I was walking into ahead of time and was able to call the oral pathologist that we refer to and get an appointment for the patient the next day because I really deep down knew that this was a malignancy.
00:16:02
Speaker
um And so I was able to walk into the room with a plan for the patient and an appointment and hit home that this was, yes, eventually we'll take care of these teeth, but this was a greater issue and concern.
00:16:18
Speaker
and Obviously, I had sent the patient off and got pathology reports, and it was cancer, tongue cancer. um And, you know, from there, you don't know what what happens.
00:16:31
Speaker
But the patient's family member was in for a cleaning, and actually, I was in sedations, but they waited until I was done to thank me for... saving their family member's life because the the cancer had not spread. They had done a full head and neck dissection, um obviously resected a lot of their tongue, but it had not spread.
00:16:54
Speaker
And the the family member had said, had you not have had an appointment in your hand and gave it to them, they told me straight up, they were never going to tell us and they were never going to go.
00:17:05
Speaker
Wow. have it looked at um and so it was just so emotional and the patients doing a you know it's a long road for sure but they are here and it didn't spread and the family member was just so so so grateful And I just feel in those moments, like I blacked out in that moment. I have no idea what I said, honestly. i you know, and I, I'm just so glad that I had followed my gut to make that appointment for them. Right. yeah And made that call because as their family member has said, they would have never told anybody and things would have got a whole lot worse.
00:17:45
Speaker
probably a lot a lot quicker. Right, right. um And the scariest part to me is they had been going to their PCP about this lesion for a while, couple of months, and they kept putting them on antibiotics and saying it's an infection.
00:18:02
Speaker
But, I mean, it was it's all the signs of oral oral cancer, indurated, hard. So I thought for sure it had spread a lot further than it had. So that was a blessing.
00:18:14
Speaker
and know I know. then that's a great is a great win all around. Right. For the patient first. But a win for you even to doesn't feel that way. you know, win that you followed your gut and did everything you could to get this patient the help that they needed.
00:18:33
Speaker
And then all the way down to your team for listening to the patient and getting all of the necessary information to just make it a streamlined price process for for you and the patient to be able to get this treated. So that's a great one. That's yeah that's a great gratitude story of gratitude and gratitude.
00:18:55
Speaker
You know, you you never want to tell someone that it's cancer, but it it all worked out. And I did. I thanked my team so much because i don't think I would have been as, and don't know the right word, strong in my conviction of this is what this is and this is where you need to go. And we're not even going to talk about your teeth right now because this is something more serious.
00:19:18
Speaker
Had I walked into that room unaware, huh I think even just like my face, I think I would have portrayed more more panic and uncertainty to the patient, but I was able to take a few moments and collect myself and call the pathologist and have a plan when I met that patient. So I really shouted out my team so much that they...
00:19:40
Speaker
Listen to the patient. They, you know, trust transferred that to me. They had the images that I needed to walk in prepared and it made all the difference in the world. Heavy.
00:19:51
Speaker
That is heavy sometimes. Yes, it is. But I think it brings up a valid point that um in this case, your patient was going to see her their primary care doctor, but it's so many other patients out there that as then as we are the healthcare provider that sees them the most.
00:20:13
Speaker
yeah. oh Yeah. And it puts things into perspective because I bet now on having, you know, you haven't had that experience, not that you didn't before, but I know every new patient is getting oral cancer exam.
00:20:27
Speaker
Absolutely. And, you know, your patient's a record. I'm sure you're doing it at their hygiene appointments as well. Or if, you know, we take take things more seriously after their experiences like that and err on the side of better safe than sorry with making those referrals.
00:20:44
Speaker
Yep. It's crazy
Listener Engagement and Gratitude
00:20:45
Speaker
out here. Anything from balloon animals.
00:20:50
Speaker
That's very true. I think this is a good way for us to wrap this episode up. um Such a great story. And I'm sure we could sit here for days and days and days and talk about all of the the ways um we're grateful for this profession and all the ways that patients and their families have showed us gratitude reminded us why we started this profession. in a Anyway, we would love to hear from you all. I know if I have balloon animal stories and Savannah has, you know, her story, I can only imagine some of the the best and worst case scenarios that you guys have experienced that have um made you so grateful to be a part of the
00:21:35
Speaker
profession and just giving back to you in ways that are indescribable. So let us know, reach out to us. um You can find me on Instagram at Dr. Underscore Sartor. And me at Savannah Craig DDS. yeah Until next time. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
00:21:58
Speaker
Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DDS and at Dr. Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching. We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.