Paulina’s Promise

Let me introduce you to a very special continuing-education experience called "Paulina’s Promise," started by Dr. Gary Radz and his wife, Nora. The story of their tragic experience is best told by Gary.

"The only home our daughter, Paulina, ever knew was the Cardiac Unit at The Children’s Hospital in Denver. During our 37 days there in 2002, my wife, Nora, and I were present at all times. We saw many families come through the Cardiac Unit with sick children, many of them infants. Most went home with their children, but a few, like us, were not as fortunate."

To give back to the Cardiac Unit that had worked so hard to save Paulina, Gary and Nora decided to put on an annual CE course, with profits going to the unit. The Radzes have done this since 2003.Their donations have helped purchase much-needed new equipment to save more infants.

This year, Dr. Bob Margeas and I are pleased to donate our services to this worthy cause. I will be speaking on new products, and Bob will present his great composite course. The program will be held Nov. 12 in Denver. For more information, go to www.paulinaspromise.com.

This issue of DE is overflowing with really great information! One of my favorites is our annual article on "New Products To See at the ADA Annual Session." This year’s meeting will be held Oct. 9-12 in Orlando. I invite you to use this article as a guide to finding your way around the exhibit floor and visiting the companies that have shared their new product launches. I have experienced all of these products, and I know you will be excited to see them.

This year’s ADA meeting will provide an outstanding program featuring a variety of speakers and topics. I will be speaking to dental assistants all day Monday. I look forward to presenting to these wonderful people who sit on the other side of the chair.

I could not do the fine dentistry that I do without an assistant’s knowledge of what comes next in the procedure! I rely on their understanding of how products work and how they should be applied during the process of treating patients. Patients also rely on these highly trained people to be their eyes and ears during their treatment.

Take advantage of this great meeting to get the training that you and your team need to make dentistry easier, faster, better, and more fun. And while you are in Orlando, don’t forget to take some time to get over and see the Mouse or Harry Potter!

CareCredit is sponsoring a new series of articles titled "Roadmap to Leadership," which will be written by a variety of authors. The first is by Terry Goss, a certified professional co-active coach and master practitioner of NLP. She is a nationally recognized practice-management consultant, speaker, and coach who has worked in dentistry for 30 years. She has extensive training in leadership development. I have known Terry for many of those 30 years. She was responsible for coaching my practice to levels I had never imagined.

We also have an interesting sidebar by the American Academy of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) on what office managers can do to help the office create a great practice "culture." I know that you will find many of these suggestions to be useful in your own practice.

This month’s "IneedCE" course is "Fluoride Guide," written for dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. Overriding the issues of topical fluoride therapy and fluoride supplement use is the current focus on individualized therapy for patients based on caries risk. Not only does the guide provide scientific rationale, it also offers the dental provider options based on efficacy for systemic fluoride, office treatments, and home-use fluoride products. This excellent course is available in this issue for you to study, take the test, and receive four CE credits for your efforts. For more information, visit www.IneedCE.com.

Take a moment every day to thank God for his many blessings in your life. It is a great way to start your day!

Joe Blaes, DDS, Editor – e-mail: [email protected]
Toll-free phone number: (866) 274-4500