But, how do you know?

I had an interesting conversation with a dentist recently. We were discussing treatment options for a patient with broken down teeth.

Put simply, the options were either to keep patching or to comprehensively rebuild the patients's mouth.

I asked whether the dentist had told the patient about the comprehensive option. The conversation went like this:Dentist: "They could never afford that."

Me: "How do you know?"

Dentist: "I just do."

Me: "Have you asked them?"

Dentist: "No."

Me: "Well how do you know?"

Dentist: "I just do."

And so on...It's amazing how some dentists assume that they know what patients can afford without ever asking them. It's almost as if they have a particular and unusual psychic power.

Is this a trap you fall into?If so, then ask yourself: "Do I really have a psychic power that lets me know about patient finances without asking or am I projecting my own insecurities on to the patient?"