In this episode of the Fearless Dentistry podcast, Dr. John Gordon interviews Kandice Swarthout, a registered dental hygienist and founder of Inspired Education and Wellness Limited Partnership. Kandice shares her journey from dental hygiene to mental health counseling, driven by her interest in psychology and addressing dental anxiety. The discussion highlights the intersection of mental health and dental health, focusing on the alarming issue of sex trafficking. Kandice emphasizes the importance of recognizing trafficking signs and providing support to victims. The episode underscores the need for awareness, education, and proactive involvement in combating sex trafficking within the healthcare community.

Show Highlights:

- Introduction of Kandice Swarthout as a guest on the Fearless Dentistry podcast

- Kandiac's journey in dental hygiene and mental health counseling

- Intersection of mental health and dental health

- Connection between childhood sexual abuse and dental anxiety

- Kandice's work in a jail and encounter with victims of human trafficking

- Signs of trafficking and the complexities of trauma bonding

- Tactics used by traffickers, particularly targeting young girls

- Impact of trauma on individuals who have been trafficked

- Importance of reporting suspicions of trafficking, especially involving minors

- Resources and practical ways for dental providers to help trafficking survivors

Chapters:

Kandice's Journey (00:01:11)

Kandice shares her career journey from dental hygiene to mental health counseling and education.

Discovering Mental Health and Dental Health Connection (00:05:15)

Kandice explains how a counseling internship led her to understand the connection between mental health and dental fear.

Understanding Human Trafficking (00:09:12)

Kandice delves into her experiences with women in jail and the realization of human trafficking in her community.

Signs of Trafficking (00:10:55)

Kandice explains the clinical signs of trafficking and how dental clinicians can identify potential victims.

Challenges of Leaving Trafficking (00:18:37)

Kandice discusses the difficulties victims face in freeing themselves from trafficking and the reasons they may stay.

The recruiter's tactics (00:21:46)

Recruiting tactics and common grounds, including social media, for traffickers targeting vulnerable individuals.

Online predators (00:22:52)

The prevalence of online predators and the tactics they use to recruit and target vulnerable individuals.

Trafficking stories and tactics (00:23:52)

Real-life examples of trafficking, including stories of recruitment within schools and the tactics used to manipulate victims.

Understanding trafficking laws (00:24:52)

Discussion of laws regarding trafficking, including the definition of a trafficked person and the need for reporting.

Challenges in stopping trafficking (00:25:19)

The complexity and scale of trafficking, including the challenges in completely eliminating it.

Raising awareness and recognizing signs (00:26:00)

The importance of raising awareness and educating individuals on recognizing and responding to trafficking situations.

Preventing recruitment (00:27:11)

Methods used by traffickers to recruit individuals, including targeting teenagers and the importance of educating and protecting young people.

Impact on vulnerable individuals (00:28:04)

The vulnerability of young individuals to trafficking and the need for education and awareness to protect them.

Recognizing trauma and its impact...

In this episode of the Fearless Dentistry podcast, host Dr. John Gordon chats with Dr. Aditi Agarwal, an experienced dentist and the co-founder of Practice By Numbers. They delve into Dr. Agarwal's journey in dentistry, the inception of her analytics and communication software, and its impact on her practice. They discuss the importance of understanding business metrics, offering financial flexibility to patients, and the effectiveness of follow-up systems in enhancing patient care and boosting referrals. The conversation provides insights into the tools and strategies that can help dental practices thrive.

Show Highlights:

• Dr. Aditi Agarwal's experiences in dentistry and the challenges she faced in her practice
• Development of Practice By Numbers, a software for practice analytics and patient communication
• Importance of connection with patients in dentistry
• Financial options for treatment acceptance
• Significance of a skilled follow-up system in maintaining patient relationships
• Dr. Agarwal's journey in creating the software for her own practice and its expansion to benefit other dentists
• Impact of the software on improving case acceptance rate
• Role of financial options and membership plans in treatment acceptance
• Automation of follow-up reminders and post-op instructions for positive patient experiences
• Emphasis on the importance of connection with patients, financial options, and skilled follow-up systems in dental practices

Links and Resources:

https://practicenumbers.com

Welcome to this solo episode! I recently returned from a conference in Phoenix, Arizona, and I have a lot to share with you over the next few weeks. You might ask why a 72-year-old retired dentist still goes to conferences! The truthful answer is that I am a constant learner, relentlessly reading and studying to add more arrows to my quiver in my role as a mentor to others. From the recent conference, a big takeaway for me is the importance of connection in dentistry. Explore this topic with me today!

Show Highlights:

• Humans are neurologically designed for emotional and physical connection.
• Your patients’ visions of the smile (and lives!) they want—and how to connect with them to help them
• “Fearless dentistry” is about taking a visionary mode for the future of your practice.
• Your vision gives motivation and an unstoppable purpose. (Example: Jeff Bezos)
• Learn to apply the 80/20 principle.
• The #1 thing for your practice? Learn and master the art of great communication.
• There is a seed of greatness and a hero inside you!
• How I realized my seed of greatness in one magical moment in April 1988—and it changed my life (I’ll be sharing this story in a future episode.)
• Your assignment is to answer these questions: Am I willing to sit back and visualize possibilities and opportunities in the greatest practice I can possibly imagine? Am I willing to start down that path?

Links and Resources:

FearlessDentistryPodcast.com