I suppose when the first dentists opened their offices way back when, most of the patients who came in wanted immediate relief from the excrutiating pain of a rotted tooth.  Forget about flossing tips, caps over asymptomatic cavities or scraping off tartar. "Back in the day," I suspect, you went to see a dentist cause you had a hurting mouth.

Now, of course, it's a different story.

We now see a dentist way before any problem of tooth decay develops to the point of pain.  Regular check ups are promoted by dentists and we, their patients, for the most part, follow these recommendations.

The key to successful dental care is prevention.  If a tooth problem does develop, we want to catch it as early as possible before any pain, infection or other serious pathology occurs.  The earlier a dentist diagnoses and treats a dental pathology the better the chances of correcting the problem without the patient having to deal with severe pain syndromes.

Chiropractic needs to be perceived in the exact same way!

Why is it that most patients come in to see the chiropractor in search of pain relief and not prevention?  Instead of frequent spinal checkups where small problems can be identified and treated early, the typical chiropractic patient comes into the office with a spinal problem that has been going on for months and months, maybe even for years and years-- and now the pain is killer!

When I meet the patient who comes and sees me after he has already blown out a spinal disc and is now suffering from severe muscle spasms every day, and has a sharp, shooting pain down both legs, I have to wonder.

Wonder, how much better would it have been if I caught the problem months or even years before, when the problem was small, before the pain even started?  What if long before the sleepness nights and handfuls of pain medication down the throat, this patient came in for a simple spinal check up?  And at the time of the check-up, even though he was "feeling like a champ" I discovered the early signs of osteoarthritis, an uneven pelvis, a slight lumbar scoliosis and mild vertebral disc inflammation? 

And then, what if, I wonder, we made a plan to stabilize the spine by correcting vertebral subluxation so the body could be in better balance and heal more efficiently?  All this current pain problems could have been avoided all together.

Just like the dentists, chiropractors can catch a problem before it causes pain.

And the really sad part to all of this is, the whole current situation about not being like the dentists, this whole thing about not seeing our patients before the pain starts, is totally our fault.  "Our" meaning the chiropractic profession as a whole.

The dentists got into the elementary schools decades ago and taught kids the importance of brushing, flossing and yearly check-ups for cavities.  They teamed up with corporations that manufactured the toothpaste, the toothbrushes and the dental floss and launched national ad campaigns that promoted the importance of proper dental care.  They worked with insurance companies so that the basic services of a dentist would be part of many, if not most, health policies.

What have the chiropractors done in comparison?  Not much.

This is why most people see me to get relief from pain instead of getting checked to prevent the pain from happening in the first place.

"You go to one chiropractor?"  One friend may ask the other.

"Nah, no need.  My back no hurt," is the reply.

So all chiropractors gotta step up.  We all need to teach like the dentists do that prevention is the key.  We'll care for you when you're sore, but how much better would it be if the soreness could be prevented all together in the first place.

And to all of you who are reading this, consider getting your spine checked out right away even if (especially if) you have no symptoms, no pain, no problems at this time.  Prevention is the key!  Whether we are talking dentistry, chiropractic, medicine, or even automobile maintenance, prevention of the problem should be first priority.

And maybe someday when this message finally sinks in, when people come to the chiropractor on a regular basis before the pain starts, the question from one friend to the other is no longer, "You go to one chiropractor?"

But instead, "Who is your chiropractor?"