Let’s Start Slowly This Time
Dr. Clara Lee「歯のおはなし」64回
As of this October, my husband and I will have been married for 20 years. Hard to believe but time does go quickly when you’re having fun! It was a lot more fun in the beginning though. In those 20 years, many things happened such as buying a new home, new jobs, a new baby, another new baby, and all these things can be stressful to a marriage. I’ve heard that in the US, about half of the marriages end in divorce. Wow.
In the early years, I’ve wanted to be the best wife and mother I could be but that’s too much to do all at once. Would I be the best cook? Would I be the best homeworker helper for my kids? Would I have the cleanest house? Would I be the perfect date on my husband’s business dinner? It got really stressful to try to be the best at everything on the list. At times I would be over tired and cranky and then that wouldn’t be good for anyone.
A few months ago, I had a patient that hadn’t been to the dentist in over 10 years. His breath was stinky, his teeth were dirty and his gums were red and painful. After he had a full exam, x rays and a good cleaning, I went over all the things he needed to change to prevent these problems. I was excited for him because this would be a big step towards a healthier mouth for my patient. As I explained all the things I needed him to improve, I could tell that it was too much information all at once. I stopped, apologized and told him we can work on this together a little bit at a time. Each time he comes in for another visit, we would work on the next step. Pretty soon, he was a regular patient and his mouth was back to normal. I’m glad I didn’t throw all those instructions at him all at once.
Like trying to be the perfect wife and mother, it was too much and impossible to do all at once. I realized that I am not being the best at anything if I was stressed out. This new year, I asked my husband and both my kids to name the top 3 things they needed from me as a wife and a mom and I would try my best to at those things instead of running around crazy trying to do everything perfectly. This year, as your dentist, let’s work on things a bit at a time together. Step by step, we can achieve great things!
（次回は２月第２週号掲載）
〈プロフィル〉Dr. Clara Lee ニューヨーク大学歯学部卒業。ニューヨーク大学ブルックデール病院でチーフレジデンス修了。13年以上に及ぶ臨床経験は一般歯科、コスメティック、インプラントを含む。インビザライン認定医。Waterside Dental Care院長として古山医師と共に、多くの日本人患者さんを治療。Dentistryをこよなく愛している。
記事提供：Waterside dental Care（Tel：212-683-6260）
