natural benefit, then pain is often the result. Your excellent legislative team is diligently working to advance positive policies and to protect against detrimental overstepping from others. But your support, voice and presence is needed if membership is to maintain its bite.
RINSE & SPIT // Funny how getting teeth clean can create such a gritty mess. Beyond the constant suction during the procedure, there also is the need for the patient to swish and rinse to complete the desired outcome. This is where I, in all my clumsy oral ability, inevitably miss the cup and end up with drool on my chin. Thankfully, most dental professionals wait until I’m gone to snicker.
From a staff perspective, I see a lot of MDA offerings and activities are like cleaning teeth. They have a great desired outcome and do benefit you, the member. But sometimes committee work, difference of opinions or schedule difficulties can get gritty. Any organization with more than 2,000 members won’t be free from the occasional personality clash or individual disappointment. I’m pretty sure you would say the same for your office with likely fewer than 10 people. The key to strong membership health is to learn to rinse and spit the occasional grit that comes along. You might feel clumsy like me, but it’s over quickly and moving forward is the mature member response.
SMILE // Nothing is more individually singular and descriptive than one’s smile. You know this full well, and you work every day to enhance and restore smiles for individuals. One could argue the science of dentistry is a thin disguise for the therapeutic delivery of a healthy smile. If you don’t believe me, volunteer for MOMOM and listen for the effusive gratitude offered by patients who have been without a smile for too long. Yes, we have all had to mask our smiles the last 18 months, and there have been ample trials to muddle through. It is understandable if you haven’t had much to smile about. But we made it this far, and we will make it to the end when we stick together. As the proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. There were smiles in abundance this year at Connect4Success, and they weren’t
primarily from the lovely surroundings or good CE content and food. The smiles were generated from deep within because members were together. The whole reason for an association is to associate with others who share your love for the profession. It’s not always sunshine and roses, but there is plenty to smile about. And as my son is apt to say, “You’d be amazed how far a smile will get you in life”.
OK, our dental appointment is over. You know the drill. Be sure to brush (engage) regularly and make an appointment to come back frequently. Tell others about your good experience. And practice the membership principles of open wide, bite, rinse and spit, and smile. f
Contact Paul at paul@modentalmail. org. Read his blog, The Week That Was, at
modental.org/blog.
KEEP UP WITH THE MDA! READ PAUL’S BLOG
The Week That Was (posted Friday afternoons)
MODENTAL.ORG/BLOG
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ISSUE 5 | SEP/OCT 2021 | focus 23
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