Great Dentists Are Educators

This is a picture of me doing what I love to do most. It was taken at a recent Faculty Club event where, once again, I got the opportunity to get in front of dentists and educate.

I have been involved in this industry for a long time, and I love many things about the journey I have been on and the people I have met along the way. I love everything about the art and science of business.

I loved creating and leading companies—whether it was a consulting company, a financial services company, or the Spear campus here in Scottsdale—and I love surrounding myself with exceptionally capable people who knew more than I did in many respects and helped make it all happen. But nothing brings me more satisfaction than getting up on stage and delivering a message face to face with an audience of smart and engaged dentists. That is where I really feel most alive. That is where my passion lies.

Great Dentists = Exceptional Educators

I see that in other faculty members here too—dentists who have worked hard to become great clinicians and to build great practices. Yet whatever success they have achieved in their own professional lives, they seem to take a special delight in sharing that knowledge and enthusiasm with others. I think that is a true sign that you really love what you do. It's a feeling that says, "I love this so much I MUST let others know how good this can be."

But you don't have to be a faculty member to understand that kind of passion. In fact, every good dentist has that feeling, every time they step into an operatory. They look at a patient's possibilities and they get genuinely excited. And they want to share that excitement.

Many of the best dentists I know are among the best not just because of their clinical skills, but because they have that passion—that need—to help their patients see the possibilities they see. In that sense, all great dentists are educators.


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