How do I find out if a patient's view of their dental problem is realistic? Most patients walk in with a story about their mouth that is either wildly understated or built on fear, and almost never accurate. Your job is to find the gap before you ever talk treatment. I use a written application the patient fills out, because what someone writes down is more honest than what they say across a desk while reading your face. It tells me how they see the problem, how big they think it is, and how long they have been living with it. [...]