Category: Opinion & Editorial

When Dr. Fauci announced his retirement, we all thought that meant the COVID pandemic was over. But, if you follow the news on COVID-19, you know that while it has ebbed, people are still experiencing serious problems from the virus. How will we know, really, when COVID-19 joins smallpox and bubonic plague in the annals of infectious disease ... [continue reading]

The Cambridge Dictionary (the fanciest online dictionary I could find) defines fellowship as “a group of people or an organization with the same purpose.” Now many a person has come up to me and asked why I choose to spend my difficult to come by free time both volunteering for and being a part of organized dentistry. The answer is ... [continue reading]

As we near the end of another year, this is a time of reflection for me. Around the dental school, we are putting the final touches on another admissions cycle and it is time for us to plan next year with 120 new members of our profession. I have a busy spring ahead, as I am the course director for two courses: Practice Management for the third ... [continue reading]

Being a dentist, I always thought we were natural born leaders. We lead our teams at work. We often take on volunteer roles in our ... [continue reading]

While in Houston for the ADA meeting, I enjoyed a ride with a most interesting UBER driver.  His car was decked out with small white Christmas lights on the ceiling in the back.  With long stringy gray-brown hair and beard, Jerry looked like a retired member of the band ZZ Top.  It was early evening, and we were returning to our hotel from ... [continue reading]

My time treating dental oncology patients has been among the most rewarding experiences of my career. It has required the highest level of clinical skill and forced me to think outside of routine dentistry to craft inventive solutions for patients. Every day, there is another case that touches my heart. But some leave an impression that will last ... [continue reading]

In the autumn of 1974, sitting in a class given by an Appalachian-born pediatrician at the University of Iowa, I learned that some children were born with “ambiguous genitalia.” Having been raised in a 1950s traditional Catholic household, that concept had never occurred to me. From the silence of our small seminar group, emerged, “What do ... [continue reading]

I just got back from a weekend getaway to western Pennsylvania. As tough as it is for a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan to suggest a trip into the heart of Steelers’ country, I can’t recommend it highly enough. I had always heard about the resort at Nemacolin but we had never made the trip. I’m sad that it took 60 years! Three and a half ... [continue reading]

I write this column today in the parlor of the St. Regis Hotel in Rome. As Covid protocols have lifted, wanderlust is pervasive and we decided to celebrate our Latin loving, social justice high school graduate with a trip abroad of his choosing. My brother, a periodontist from Canada, accompanied us also with his new graduate, my niece, in his ... [continue reading]

“That’ll never happen to me!” How many of us have said this countless times throughout our careers? Aspirated instruments, paresthesia, natural disasters, cardiac emergencies, the list goes on. It’s easy to get into the daily routine of dental practice and forget that adverse events can, and do, happen. As the years wear on, it becomes ... [continue reading]