YVONNE'S STORY
I have been Dr. Schalm's wife and dental hygienist for over 20 years, and I have just come back to the office to care for my patients after I was told by doctors that I would not get better from my Lyme infection. After seeing 20-plus doctors, I found out something that I did not care for...
Who really cares about me and my health? Every appointment was the same. Sign-in, fill out these forms, show us your insurance card, and sit down. After waiting an average of 45 minutes to 1 hour, a staff member would call my name (always mispronouncing it), weigh me, ask a few questions, take my blood pressure, and then I would wait again for the doctor. While explaining my symptoms, the doctor would never look at me; he would instead be typing on his computer. After I was done explaining my symptoms, the doctor would say that he knew nothing about the symptoms and recommend me to the "best doctor" he knows. I went to dozens of "best doctors." I paid my bill and went on to the next one. No one cared. Not one doctor sat down and thought about my case until my husband finally got fed up after I was told I would eventually die from this disease. I lost my ability to walk, talk, see, hear, and remember my alphabet, numbers, and objects. I would have multiple seizures each day and tremendous pain.
My husband, Dr. Schalm, finally took the bull by the horns and poured himself into research. To make a long story short, he worked with some of the top researchers in Lyme disease and cured me. He cared when no other doctor would. I was just a number. Did you know that many dentists are the same way? They actually have a daily "production" goal. Not our office. Never have, never will.
As a dental practitioner you must treat the patient and make recommendations for their health, not for numbers' sake. Our office cares about our patients. We have seen the small children in our practice grow up and have their own children. They are not production numbers to us. We care about their dental health, as well as their whole body health. There have been so many times my husband just talked to a patient, asked questions and was able to help a patient receive proper care for a medical problem he/she had. It just takes a caring doctor to make a difference. I wish I was treated the way we treat our patients. Unfortunately, I found that 20-plus doctors really couldn't care less about what I was going through. Our philosophy is to treat patients the way we would want to be treated.