Another adjustment for providers is working with a group of patients that have been outside the system of dental care for a long time, some- times a lifetime. They don’t have the same history or health literacy longtime patients have, and it forces us to learn new communication techniques, and to teach our teams those techniques. In the end I think that makes our whole practice better! Those skills serve all our patients and improve the experience for everyone in the office. I have found that many things that require us to pivot or rethink how we operate daily are just opportunities to improve our overall practice. To improve our notes and coding to be prepared for compliance. To improve our communications to meet people of all kinds where they are and with empathy. To build better relationships with our dental team to train them in what it means to bring a new group of people into the office. All these things are huge opportunities for growth and offer me a great deal of fulfillment.


On the administrative side, I would say working with MC is much like working with any third-party payor. There are rules to follow and documentation to complete. There is a learning curve here, but it is not different from what many of us are already doing every day, it is just a matter of training.


You’re a pediatric dentist, and we know there are very few of you practicing in the state. What are the opportunities between specialty practitioners and general dentists to establish more dental homes for children? What perhaps is lacking that can be improved, and/or what is going well that can be built upon? Is there collaboration or education that can ensure more general practices feel equipped to provide care for our youngest citizens? There are around 100 pediatric dentists in the state of Missouri with most of us clustered around the metropolitan areas. There are nowhere near enough pediatric specialists to treat all of Missouri’s kids! One of the reasons I teach in the pediatric clinic at UMKC is to empower dental students to feel comfortable with a knee- to-knee exam, how to give proper and timely information to parents, and when it is appropriate to refer or to treat on their own. Networking with providers to have the appropriate referral network is key to any provider’s success. The MDA has been a great place for me to do that, and I am hugely grateful for those relationships. We get referrals from folks all over NW Missouri and I am thankful for that. It tells me even though I am not in that specific location, someone is watching after these kids and they want the best for them. No one is served by a provider stepping way outside their comfort zone, no matter the procedure — certainly no one wants me doing a root canal! The provider often gets a sour taste for those procedures and the patient often has a less-than-optimal experience.


Start small, continue to learn, continue to grow and stretch, keep seeking out those experiences and evaluate yourself and your team. That is what I try to do every day, and I think it translates to all aspects of dentistry, specialist or not. I think education and CE are a huge component of feeling comfortable with kids as we move into practice. I am a big fan of mastering basic skills, doing them well, and then moving on to more complex issues once the basics are second nature. Seeing a child for a knee-to-knee exam, providing excellent guidance to parents, and teaching them about diet and brushing is something every dentist can do! I think a continued dedication to these concepts is key. Just like improving your implant outcomes, you can improve your pedo outcomes with dedication and good CE.


You’ve been very involved in legislative activities both at the state and national levels, most recently attending the ADA Lobby Day as an MDA Action Team Leader. So many people have a negative perception of politics, and it keeps them from participating and donating to PAC. How do you keep perspective to not get similarly cynical and what small or large wins have you seen that have encouraged you to keep working on this front? How would you encourage new grads to get involved on this front when time and money is so limited? For me it is all about perspective. My purpose in dentistry has always been to help as many people as possible live healthy and happy lives. We are all dedicated to that in our clinics daily. The political arena is just another avenue to pursue that goal. When you have a clear and well-defined purpose like optimal oral health for all children, which is my personal goal, then it is much easier to look past the messy and, often, unsavory parts of politics.


I think having a clear purpose is what really allows me to focus on win- ning for our patients and keeps me coming back to the world of policy making. It also drives my desire to support our PACs at both the state and national levels. Dental PACs are bipartisan and this can be difficult to handle as there are times when you deliver a PAC check to some- one with whom you have significant policy differences. I do it because my purpose is clear: optimal oral health for all children. This does not mean I do not have very strong personal and political convictions or I am somehow wishy washy in my beliefs. To me it means my purpose in political involvement is clear and unchanged, regardless of who is in power or what their personal politics are. If I need their help to improve the lives of children, then I will forge a relationship to make the lives of those kids and their families better.


Some of you may be thinking, that sounds like the scariest thing I could possibly think of! Have no fear my friend, that is why giving to the PAC is such a great opportunity. Your gift and dedication, even if it is $10, gives resources to folks like me to get in the game and work to make dentistry better. If every single dentist was an MDA member and they all gave to the PAC, I can go to Jeff City or DC and say our position on this issue has the backing of the whole dental community. That is pow- erful stuff, gets people’s attention and doesn’t take a lot of resources to accomplish. You may not want to be in meetings or testify at commit- tee hearings, but if you support those of us who do, believe me, we can make a real difference.


You’ve collaborated with a lot of community groups and professional allies in your various volunteer roles. What do you feel is the biggest opportunity for dentists to make head ways in their local area, however large or small, to affect positive change for the oral health of their community? As with so many things in life, you don’t know what you don’t know. Dive in, see what the needs are and what you might have to offer the community. All of us are qualified and capable, with a great deal to give; we just have to take the step and get out there. We see it every day with our patients. When we really take the time to connect, to listen to them and their concerns, we build something greater than just a composite buildup: we build trust. That trust is the building block of positive change.


Involvement in organized dentistry or community groups is simply an extension of that building of connection and trust. When people know you are for THEM, and that your expertise, time and energy are in service to the community, it is infectious. The best part of involvement is that while giving back you are also building. Building camaraderie,


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