Gary M. DeWood, DDS, MS 

Challenging what you think you know will pique your curiosity and lead to pursuing more information and interactions from which you learn. Challenging what you think you know leads to learning with the benefits of brain development, longer life, emotional wellbeing, and inspiration to share yourself in new ways with others. Simply said, challenging what you know prompts intentional learning to BE more expansive, to grow. 

My hope is that after reading this blog series, you will take time to reflect on the following statements from three of the many people who have influenced me over the years. 

Quotes from Daniel J. Boorstin, historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Americans: 

Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know. 

The single largest obstacle to discovery is NOT ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge. 

Quote from Herbert E. Blumenthal, DDS: 

Don’t believe everything you think. 

Quotes from William J. Davis, DDS, co-author with L. D. Pankey of A Philosophy of the Practice of Dentistry: 

Learning best takes place when we “live” a philosophy, meaning living in a state of inquiry based on our values, knowledge, and goals. 

When the late Dr. L.D. Pankey decided to devote his life to saving teeth, he was forced to ask himself, “How can I help people keep all of their teeth all of their lives?” In 1925 L.D. didn’t know the answer or even if there was an answer. When he decided to never extract another good tooth, he was taking an enormous professional and economic risk. He was able to uncover and develop many principles that have proven instrumental in our understanding of restorative dentistry and patient communication.  

Philosophy, in its most valuable form, is more concerned with the right questions than the right answers. 

Now that I am back actively within the Pankey community of learning and inspiration, I have four wishes for you: 

• May you come face-to-face daily with something that you don’t even know you don’t know.  
• May you not be blinded by what you think you do know when it shows up and fail to see it because you believe everything you think.  
• May you ask questions and intentionally seek answers. 
• May intentional leisure learning be not just what you do but how you live. 

Few people have worked as tirelessly to advance the thinking of L.D. Pankey and Bob Barkley as Rich Green DDS, MBA. Recently, I ran across some of Rich’s quotes that truly capture the nature of his experience in dentistry.

A behaviorist’s definition of learning is changed behavior demonstrated. As my personal growth allowed, I relaxed and thought more about creating an experience in which my patients had the opportunity to learn something, which would challenge them to change behaviors that had negative impact on their life and health. The more I looked at those “learning moments,” the more they appeared. The learning occurred as I helped patients clarify what was most important to them and what they wanted to learn. As I facilitated a learning process with my patients, they were able to discover for themselves those two things, and then they were able to take their own steps in personal growth…People tend to support what they help to create.

Below Rich is speaking of his long-term work with Don Clifton and The Gallop Organization.

As we studied the uniqueness of individual private practices, one finding was the tendency of a dentist and team to unwittingly create barriers to the patient’s progress when what they really wanted was to create pathways to greater health. The barriers were typically caused by an impatient or judgmental attitude and the “teach and tell” method of attempting to change behavior.

In this last passage, Rich speaks to the central theme Bob Barkley taught across the country following the publication of his book, Successful Preventive Dental Practices. In the mid 1960’s, Bob worked closely with Nate Kohn Jr, PhD to dramatically reorganize how he interacted with his patients. In so doing, he largely abandoned what Rich refers to here as “teach and tell,” in lieu of what Bob called “CoDiscovery.” Because Nate Kohn, Jr. had his PhD in Educational Psychology, he exposed Bob to the latest thinking in learning science – and much of it had been influenced by the work of Carl Rogers, PhD.

It fascinates me that we can now go back and understand how all of this evolved, as well as why Bob chose to do things in a very specific way. Perhaps most important is how it all evolved through the hearts and missions of both Bob and Rich. And this last point is key, because if the motivation behind a person’s use of CoDiscovery doesn’t emanate from their heart, from a deeply sincere desire to help others grow and realize greater health through that growth, it won’t work. Instead, it will be perceived as being manipulative and thwart the desired outcome.

The “unwittingly created barriers” will block the passage of the relationship to the next interpersonal level — the level necessary to establish enough trust to proceed to the needed care. CoDisovery is an intentional practice, born out of a personal philosophy toward life and practice. This heartfelt way of interacting with others sometimes feels slow, but it is the fastest way I know to truly help others.