Category: Opinion & Editorial

I recently returned from my third or fourth favorite dental meeting, the Mid-winter Meeting in Chicago. The exhibit hall was very large with hundreds of vendors. The selection of dental products ranged from the simple to the most extravagant. From supplies that cost very little to equipment that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Amazingly, ... [continue reading]

It’s time to have frank discussion about pain management.  In fact, it’s long past time.  In 2016, opioids (prescription opioids, as well as the street drugs heroin and fentanyl) killed more than 42,000 people. That’s the population of Warren, or Fairfield, or Dublin, or Findlay dead in a year.  That’s the ... [continue reading]

This past winter I had the pleasure of attending the installation of the officers of the Cincinnati Dental Society. Living in central Kentucky makes an event such as this a trip and not a jaunt. During the social hour prior to the dinner and ceremonies, I was privileged to be a listener, not a participant, in what basically was a discussion about ... [continue reading]

Advocacy is possibly the most important benefit the ODA provides our members. Support of ODPAC (Ohio Dental Political Action Committee) and ADPAC (American Dental Political Action Committee) is crucial to maintain our wonderful profession. A unified voice makes for a strong voice! Dentistry is ranked as one of the most trusted and admired ... [continue reading]

The ADA and the ODA have political arms, ADPAC and ODPAC respectively. They also have a Council on Governmental Affairs. These are two separate entities, for a good reason, as the difference between politics and advocacy are increasingly on display these days. Many people consider politics as a dirty business and don’t want to have anything ... [continue reading]

One is lucky if one is surrounded by people who call us into occasional introspection. It is very easy, especially for those of us in our private offices, to create a cocoon where we interact with those people who make us feel we can do no wrong. In my life that person who calls me out fairly regularly is my mother. One day, a few years back, she ... [continue reading]

Muhammad Ali once said, "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth."  With this in mind, there are opportunities for dentists and our team members to volunteer for many worthy causes in 2018. February is National Children’s Dental Health Month.  This February, the national kick-off of Give Kids A Smile is ... [continue reading]

My oldest son, Michael (age 25), came to us last weekend and insisted that we go as a family to see the movie “The Greatest Showman.” He had gone with friends a few days before and loved it so much he felt compelled to have all of us go. As you might imagine, the five of us have vastly different tastes in movies, and getting three ... [continue reading]

In my practice I have donated dental care through programs like OPTIONS and Give Kids A Smile, however, I had not had the opportunity to participate in a Mission of Mercy event until recently. An old friend of mine, Steve Radack, invited me to participate in the MOM in Erie, Pennsylvania, when we were at the ADA House of Delegates in Denver in the ... [continue reading]

Wow, I can't believe how quickly 2017 has flown by. Now, it is time for me to make my annual New Year’s resolutions: to eat better, exercise more (I have been told that golf does not count) and lose weight. These resolutions are, most likely, what a lot of us are “considering.” I have thought of a few resolutions that are easy ... [continue reading]