Category: Opinion & Editorial

I have never had an op-ed topic blow up around me while I was in the process of bloviating about it! The art of opinion writing mainly revolves around reacting to events that have occurred in the past and not so much those actions that are ongoing. “The dust needs to settle before an opinion is rendered,” has always been a belief of ... [continue reading]

A perennial challenge in dental academia is how do we choose the best candidates applying to dental school. Over decades, criteria have shifted from purely academic performance and test scores to a “portfolio” or “dossier” of characteristics believed to be important for the dentist of today. Alas, there is no universal ... [continue reading]

Happy New Year and welcome to what many call "the post-holiday letdown." What?!? This is a great time of year. We have a new college football champ, and NFL football playoffs. NHL hockey and college hoops are in full swing. I love this time of year. Plus, you all can look forward to not living up to your New Year’s resolutions. Not me. About ... [continue reading]

As I sit here writing this, it’s the middle of the holiday season. “A Christmas Story” has been on its endless loop. Ralphie is waiting to see if Santa will bring him the Red Rider BB gun he wants. “Charlie Brown Christmas” has Sally writing Santa for “tens and twenties” and Lucy has asked for “real ... [continue reading]

If I could go “Back To The Future” there’d be one overriding question I’d ask both of my currently deceased parents. “Mom, Dad ... I never doubted your sincerity when you told me NOT to start smoking as I transitioned into my high school years. But Dad, what’s up with leaving your pack of cigarettes on the ... [continue reading]

Dr. Ruchika Khetarpal participated in the Institute for Diversity in Leadership, and through the program she created DATPath Accelerator to help increase diversity in the field of dentistry. I will not forget my first day walking into the meeting room at the American Dental Association (ADA) building in Chicago. The room was a buzz! (Most ... [continue reading]

As my teaching career at OSU has evolved, my role as an educator has taken on more of a medical model. Most of my week, I actively treat patients in the dental clinic in the medical center and have fourth-year dental students with me in more of an attending/student relationship than the traditional dental clinical instructor experience. This works ... [continue reading]

Ah, the holiday season is upon us. As a matter of fact, it has been upon us since August. Yes, that’s correct. I actually saw holiday decorations right next to the school supplies at a local superstore. (Copyright laws forbid me from mentioning the name, but it rhymes with “shwalmart.”) My first thought was, “WHY?!?” ... [continue reading]

Recently, I overheard a conversation between two of our member dentists that really disturbed me. It seems that one of the dentists referred a patient to see a specialist. Upon assessing the situation, the specialist told the patient in no uncertain terms that the general dentist “made a gross negligent mistake.” YIKES!! Having served ... [continue reading]

Back in the day, everyone knew about the travelling salesman. He came from out of town, bringing new products and solutions to problems. Even solutions to problems you didn’t know you had. The travelling salesman was a commonplace occurrence ... and everyone hated him. That’s because he came to town, did and said whatever it took to ... [continue reading]