Cell Phone Surgery and Making Decisions By Your Dentist In American Fork, UT

This week I added another title to my name. Aside from mom and American Fork, UT dentist,  I am now a Cell Phone Surgeon.  Of course, this has a story behind it!

Our foreign exchange student, Bobby, has been without a cell phone all year.  He has an iPod that is almost glued to his hand, but no phone.  Then he got a girlfriend.  All of a sudden, having a phone was nearly national security level importance!

So good…then so bad

He is really techy, so he researched and researched which phone was best.  He ordered it online, waited, nearly without breathing until it arrived, then immersed himself in all that was wonderful about it.  His life was so much better…for two days.

While at school, it slipped out of his pocket and fell against the edge of his desk.  He frantically picked it up and was relieved to see no broken screen.  But it was blinking on and off.  When it fell, the power button hit the edge of the desk and it dented in, causing it to go on and off non-stop.

Now what??

He was completely devastated. He had only had it for 2 days and it was an expensive phone!  So he called to find out about fixing it.  Because it was an obscure brand (remember he had to have the best…) none of the local repair places would touch this phone.  He would have to send it back to the manufacturer to repair.

How about a warranty?   He didn’t have a cell phone provider yet, so no warranty there.  The only warranty was through the manufacturer, and they said because it was an accident it wasn’t covered.  So now he had an inoperable phone that no one could repair.  It was worth over $400 yesterday and worth nothing today.  He was beside himself with worry.  How would he tell his parents?  Would they buy him another?  Would anyone be able to repair it?

Broken until we find a better way

With nothing to lose, my husband started trying to fiddle with it with needle nosed pliers from the garage.  Well, they are a little large for a power button on a cell phone.  I looked at it and said I just might be able to do something to make it work.  So Bobby and I headed down to the dental office.

I used a fine bladed scalpel and scraped away a little metal all around the button so it would pop back up.  Then I used two crown-seating instruments to push both sides of the button at the same time, bending the sides down and the dented middle up.  It worked. Miracle!

So he happily skipped out of the office, texting his girlfriend and feeling like all was right in the world again.

Lessons from life

Lessons learned – there is value in taking time to breathe before jumping to conclusions  in a situation, and there is value in a new set of eyes.

I am not one to talk about giving yourself time before making a decision.  If I decided today I wanted a new car, I would not stop looking until I had one.  Preferably today.  So this was a valuable lesson for me too!

I decided to learn a little about making better decisions and share with you.  So here it is…5 things that will help you make better decisions and be more effective at home, at work and in the world:

1. Get comfortable saying “I don’t know.” In a lot of situations, that is the honest answer!  We often think we have to have all the answers, so we “fake it till we make it.”  That’s the wrong approach.  Slow down, talk to others, do some research, give the question time to settle.  No one has all the answers, and admitting so makes you much more effective.

2. Ask questions. This is ironic – the best decision makers ask questions rather than having the answers.  I’ve been taught that the person asking the questions is in control.  Continue asking until you know the answer.  Often the right question can be the difference between a good decision and a great one.

3. Look for other options. In our hurry to make a decision, we often forget the answer doesn’t have to be yes or no.  It might be maybe, or something different or how about this.  The more options you explore, the better your result in the end.

4. Trust your gut. Don’t do it if your gut says no.  This is a hard one to follow. I was pressured into a decision recently that I knew was not right.  Sure enough, a short few days later it became glaringly obvious it was the wrong decision.  Sometimes a decision is hard – that’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about sick to your stomach, this really doesn’t feel right situations.  Continue asking questions until you feel good about your decision.

5. Get other’s opinions. This is like that set of new eyes.  If you ask for ideas and opinions, you don’t have to take them, but even the asking shows two things: that you trust the person you are asking, and that you are humble enough to realize you may not know best.  Even that one question — what do you think? — slows down the process and leads to a better decision.

So SLOW DOWN in your decision making process.  Don’t jump to the $400 trash the broken cell phone conclusion.  There may be something simple and obvious to someone other than you that is the best decision.

Have fun making decisions this week and if you break your phone, you know where to find me!

Love Your American Fork Dentist,

Dr. Michelle Jorgensen