Category: Opinion & Editorial

I attended my third White Coat Ceremony as a member of the faculty of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry this week. It was a moving experience, as it always is, watching the newest members of our profession begin their careers in dentistry. I’m sure the excitement is the same at every White Coat ceremony throughout the country. ... [continue reading]

Earlier this month I attended my third and last ODA Executive Committee retreat. As ODA secretary I will be coming off my two year term in September. Three years ago, I was excited to be included in this summer program. The retreat is planned by the president-elect with some type of a theme which reflects their focus in their president’s ... [continue reading]

As many of you know, I'm a Facebook (FB) junkie. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing and it usually depends upon the day. I think that FB can be a great sounding board. It can be very entertaining. It can be a great place to look for advice. In fact, you can get advice even when you don’t ask for it! FB has different groups you can ... [continue reading]

As I write this, we mark the 50th anniversary of the NASA Apollo landing on the moon. It is one of the singular accomplishments in our history. The thought of a person leaving Earth, journeying across the vast nothing of space, landing on another world, and returning safely home was the stuff of dreams. And these were the dreams that people have ... [continue reading]

I can still picture the very FIRST day I began my dental education. This September will be the “Class of ’72’s 51st “FIRST-DAY” anniversary. Dean Wilson was addressing our incoming freshman class at Ohio State’s College of Dentistry. As he uttered the first welcoming words, I can still recollect how comforting ... [continue reading]

For some reason, when I hear of or witness ethics violations, that bothers me more than standard of care issues. Don’t get me wrong. Consistently cranking out bad dentistry is a problem, but everybody has a bad day or an "oops" occasionally. But in my mind, there is no excuse for violating the ethics standards set forth by the ADA in ... [continue reading]

Most dentist employment contracts include a "restrictive covenant" or "non-compete" clause. Generally, this type of clause is intended to prevent an employee dentist from competing with the employer dentist after the end of the employment relationship. Usually these “non-compete” clauses include a specific time period following ... [continue reading]

So, which is more interesting: a vintage Aston Martin DB5 or a Honda Civic? For the uninitiated, a 1964 DB5 is the car that Sean Connery famously drove as James Bond in the movie “Goldfinger.” Ejector seat aside, which is a better car? If we think about the definition of better, by just about any objective measure or performance ... [continue reading]

Before you read further, know that there is no answer. Dentistry, unlike medicine, has not looked at patient safety in an organized fashion, and our attention to safety comes episodically in response to “hot button” issues like infection breakouts or high lead levels in off-shore laboratory products. We simply don’t know how safe ... [continue reading]

As most of you know, aside from college football “season,” summer is my favorite season. Golf, camping, golf, concerts, golf, picnics, golf and golf. Summer arrives in June and June marks the middle of the calendar year. It’s hard to believe that my presidency is more than half over. We are constantly working to achieve our goals ... [continue reading]