Mary Osborne has worked in dentistry for over forty years as a clinical hygienist, patient facilitator, and consultant in dentistry. She has served as a member of the Visiting Faculty and as a Foundation Adviser at the Pankey Institute. Mary is an internationally known speaker and leader of workshops and seminars to improve patient care and communication in dentistry.
Mary Gives us a fresh perspective on ways to connect with our patients and how to help patients make healthy choices regarding their overall health.
I am happy to admit that Mary, in lot of ways, has changed my life as a dentist also.
Mary’s favorite quote and why:
“Every patient carries their own doctor inside. They come to us not knowing that truth” – Dr. Albert Schweitzer – the Nobel Prize winning physician.
Mary believes, we are at our best when we give the physician who resides within each patient a chance to go to work and this is all healthcare should be about.
What Mary Osborne does to help the dental profession:
Her work focuses around communication and patient care by putting aside our personal assumptions that we make about our patients so that we can hear them better. This allows us to learn what their real concerns are and what their real possibilities are and them help them make healthy choices.
Difficult time in Mary’s life:
Mary faced one of the most difficult times in her life when she chose to separate from a group of consultants and lost access to all her writings and materials that she had worked hard on to build and started her practice independently. She realized soon that her greatest loss was actually her greatest boon as it forced her to start from scratch, get creative & develop a new perspective and really helped her to find he own authentic voice.
Up and coming thing in dentistry that excites Mary:
The future of dentistry is no longer as predictable as it once was. However, something Mary is hopeful about is the current change in insurance in today’s world. Not because she endorses insurance but because it is forcing people to have conversations about it. She believes that this is an opportunity for the profession to influence the conversations from “Dental insurance” conversations to “health conversations” which will make patients better consumers. Patients are going to ask more questions and they will have to make some choices which she thinks is good. She thinks Dentistry has a real opportunity to lead the way here which is really exciting and thrilling.
The best advice Mary ever received:
The Recommendation that Mary should consider higher education despite the fact no one in her family went to college, was the best ever. This was the best advice she received that helped her pursue further studies.
Her brother in law along with many others sat her down and explained the opportunity in front of her and that changed her life.
So in a broader perspective she thinks it is all about possibilities and that we should never limit our thoughts based on experiences. If a dentist cannot see possibility in himself then his ability to help the patients are limited.
The one habit that contributes to Mary’s success in helping dentists:
Mary is a veracious reader and has been so all her life. She has read both fiction and non-fiction, including self help books which helped her know herself and how she can help someone. It has also influenced her to understand there are lot of ways to see the world and that there is not necessarily an “either-or” but a “both-and.”
What is exciting Mary right now about what she does:
Obviously the first thing that excites Mary is her work & her current project of conducting workshops with Dr. Lee Ann Brady in her dental office. It’s the first time she felt that she truly has been able to integrate clinical training and relationship building training together in a hands on way!
The other thing that excites her is the work she is doing for the annual retreat called the Leadership and Legacy. For her it’s an opportunity to influence dentistry as a whole and the future of the profession and that is the legacy part of it which has always been important.
Mary’s book recommendations:
- Kitchen Table Wisdom – Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen. Paperback copy from Amazon can be found here. Kindle edition from Amazon can be found here.
- Leadership and self deception – Arbinger Institute. Paperback copy from Amazon can be found here. Audible edition from Amazon can be found here.
Mary’s technology / web app resource:
- She is not really into technology and thinks Google Maps was the best thing ever invented.
Mary’s advice to those who are about to start or start over:
According to Mary it is always a pleasure to be true to yourself. She sincerely believes that everyone has an inner resource that they sometimes can give away to others. The more you learn to trust what you believe to be in the best interest of your patients and the way you communicate with them the more you are in tandem with yourself.
Mary’s final words of wisdom:
Mary once heard a speaker say that running in a dental practice with your eye primarily on the bottom line is like playing in a tennis tournament with your eye on the score board. If you are playing in a tournament the score board definitely is important but if that’s where your eye is instead of the ball then you can’t be successful.
Mary can be reached at:
- eMail: mary@maryosborne.com
- Website: www.maryosborne.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.osborne.3538?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
- Phone: 206-937-5851