The Power Card

Life & Perspective  —  Myers Dental Mentoring LLC

The Power Card

What card games can teach us about the moments that force our hand

By Dr. Kenneth Myers  |  Myers Dental Mentoring LLC

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For those of us who love to play cards, we know that in several card games the strongest card in the hand is a trump card. Basically, it “trumps” — or beats — all of the other cards. More often than not, a player may play the trump card before it is your turn, and it forces you to change your plans or your move in hopes that you don’t lose.

Life is often full of these “trump” cards, because whatever that trump may be, it forces you to change your move or your plan so you don’t lose. I use this term often in my dental practice with my patients. My hope is to help all of them keep their teeth a lifetime. However, either they often don’t hear me or choose not to listen, or other circumstances in their life force them to avoid suggested treatment. Eventually, something will happen that forces their hand. It could be that a suspect tooth fractures, they develop an abscess or infection, old dentistry fails, or pain develops from a previously suspicious lesion.

“The trump card has been thrown.”

Whatever it may be, the patient looks at me and now agrees it is time for treatment. I often just look at them with concern and state, “The trump card has been thrown.” The worst thing I could say is, “I told you so,” because they already feel guilty enough — or worried enough — to take care of the problem. They know that the trump has been thrown. The best course of action is to review what we had been concerned about, what happened, and now what we are going to do to fix it. The good news: with today’s dental treatment options, most anything can be fixed for full function and stable health.

I would like all of you to think about the various things in life we avoid that we should address — because of the excuses we talk ourselves into. It could be that diet, exercise, calling an old friend, dealing with finances, or maybe that suggested medical or dental treatment. But no matter what the avoidance may be, don’t wait for the trump card to be thrown. It just makes life more worrisome, more difficult, and more stressful.

So play the hand you have been dealt — and watch out for those trumps.

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Dr. Kenneth Myers  |  Myers Dental Mentoring LLC