How does the IQ gap between dentists and their patients create a real communication problem?
Measurably. Average general-population IQ is 100 by definition. Most dentists and other professionals who completed extensive postgraduate training cluster around 120. That twenty-point gap matters, not because it makes dentists better people, but because it shapes how each side processes verbal information. Dentists naturally talk in the dense, technical, fast-moving way that professional training cultivated and that conversations with other dentists reinforce. Patients on the other end follow a fraction of it and politely nod through the rest. The doctor leaves the consultation feeling thorough and well-prepared. The patient leaves overwhelmed and defaults to inaction. Closing the gap is the doctor’s responsibility, not the patient’s. That means deliberate plain-language explanation, slower pacing, visual aids, written summaries the patient can take home, and a willingness to verify actual understanding rather than accepting polite nodding. The communication gap is not condescension. It is calibration. Effective professionals meet their audience where the audience actually is.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.