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I moved out to the western suburbs about 10 years ago. I’ve been taking the same route into the office every morning for those 10 years.
I’ve seen a trend in the last couple of years that I have not noticed in the past. Every morning, when I drive into the city, I will see at least one car, or more, that will blow off a red light.
And I don’t mean that the light was yellow and then it turned red in the intersection. No lie, they were running through a full red light.
The scenario goes something like this. I’m sitting at the red light and the car next to me is also waiting for the red light to turn green.
Then they decide that they don’t want to wait the full length of the red light.
They just go through the intersection while the red light is still on.
I started noticing this about 3 years ago and it seems to have gotten worse.
My friend, Phil, takes the same exact route at about the same time. He’s been taking that route for almost 30 years now and I wanted to get his take.
Is this red light thing a new thing? Phil told me that it’s been going on since he’s been driving into the city and it really hasn’t changed much.
Then I began to think…why is it that I notice so many more red light incidents than I did before. The answer is that I’m more aware of it now because I’m paying attention to it. I'm actively looking for it, so I notice it more.
This happens to all of us. We buy a car and all of a sudden we see the car that we just bought, all over the roads. There wasn’t an uptick in the sale of that car…you’re just now noticing it because it's on your mind.
This same phenomenon happens in dentistry.
My patients come to me all the time and all of a sudden, they notice a chipped tooth, a crooked tooth or a discolored tooth. Then this “imperfection” is bothering them.
They start to notice it whenever they take a photo or when they look at themselves in the mirror.
They begin thinking about it all the time. To them, it’s become an issue that they want to fix.
I hear these types of stories all the time. And as I’ve become more experienced, I’ve learned to LISTEN better.
In the past, I would hear about what the patient would describe as an “imperfection” with their smile. I would then look at their teeth and try to “convince” them that they had a gorgeous smile.
As I’ve gotten older, I realize that it’s not about how I feel, it’s about how they feel. Just ask my wife. Lol
If it bothers them, I will do my best to help them fix their smile, so that they can be proud to smile in pictures again.
If you want to improve your smile and would like to see some options, please visit us at mydente.com or call 773-292-1911 to schedule your cosmetic consultation.
Floss Like a Madman!
Emilio "Red Light, Green Light" Couret
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