At its core, dentistry is about people.

Sure, it’s about teeth. It’s about how patients’ oral health affects their overall health. It’s about relieving pain. It’s about educating the next generation about oral health, and hoping they pass that on to the generation that follows.

But mostly, it’s about people.

That’s the idea that’s behind Patterson Dental’s focus on Patient Experience, Practice Lifestyle℠. What is Patient Experience, Practice Lifestyle? It’s Patterson’s promise as a comprehensive partner: enabling dentists to make their patients happier, their staff more fulfilled, and their work lifestyle more satisfying.

Part of Patterson’s promise is offering innovative and industry–leading equipment and technology. Both are growing inimportance as patients place additional value on the in–office experience. Practice staff members’ lives can change with timesaving, game–changing equipment and technology. To Jennifer Canizaro, office manager at Endodontic Specialists in New Orleans suburb Metairie, La., technology is key to practice and staff growth.

“I like to be on the cutting edge of everything,” Canizaro said. “When I started as office manager, I made equipment and technology a priority.”

Like many practices, it’s always a goal of staff at Endodontic Specialists to make the patient experience as comfortable as possible. The impact on patients is readily apparent. “When they come in, they’re very apprehensive. They’re sometimes in tears, very nervous,” Canizaro said. “When they leave, we say all the time, I wish we had a recorder at the checkout desk because they say, ‘Oh my gosh, this was such a nice environment, you have the best equipment, this was so much easier than I thought it would be.’”

Similar moments occur in practices nationwide every day. Those are the moments that energize dentists and staff members and remind them of why they’re in this industry. Patterson Dental President Paul Guggenheim believes focusing on patient experience can help generate those moments more frequently. Patterson customers see it every day. By keeping a focus on enhancing the patient experience and practice lifestyle, dentists have the power to change lives of both their patients and their staff.