Destiny: Dentistry

At the mature age of 3, I remember accompanying my father to his dental office on Saturday mornings and waiting impatiently while he treated a dental patient or two. To help the time pass, he would drill little holes in plaster teeth and let me fill them with amalgam. When my younger brother was old enough to come along, Dad would let me drill the holes and let him fill them. When I was twelve years old, I worked in Dad's orthodontic office doing all the tasks that I could legally perform. I fabricated plaster models of teeth and orthodontic retainers. I hand drew cephalometric tracings on lateral head x-rays, and wrote out long hand diagnoses of orthodontic treatment plans. My great uncle was a dentist, my father, my uncle, my cousin, and subsequently, my brother became dentists. I was destined to become a dentist. I never considered another vocation. Luckily for me, I LOVE dentistry. I am passionate about it. I always have loved it. What better subject to write about than your passion?

My son Bryan is in his third year of dental school. I hope that he has the same passion and understanding of dentistry that I have enjoyed. My hopes are that this weblog will serve as an encouragement to him about the beauty and enjoyment of the practice of dentistry. My additional goal is that this blog may enrich the life of some young dentist, or quell the fears of an anxious dental patient. My plan for this blog is to bring insight into dentistry for all who have dentistry as an interest. As a third generation dentist, who is looking forward to seeing the fourth generation around the corner, I'd like to give all an inside view into that love that we call dentistry.