As we leave another year behind, whatever trials may have been endured, we (Jeff and I) always feel grateful for the time that we have had to experience personal growth and to spend with our families. And as we enter a new year, we are always excited and at the same time a little apprehensive about what the coming months will bring. Each New Year brings its own challenges along with its own opportunities and rewards. Among the opportunities that we are anticipating this year is the chance to continue to provide the highest quality patient treatment that we are able and to continue to educate ourselves so as to be able to further improve that quality. I think it can become easy sometimes as we settle in to our day-to-day routines to fail to appreciate what a privilege it is to treat patients and to forget what a difference that we make in the quality of their lives. We are privileged to be able to manipulate tissue, whether that be enamel, gingiva, mucosa, skin, or bone with the consent of our patients, and to do so legally. As one of our surgical mentors pointed out some years ago, making and incision on another human being (or preparing a tooth) is a rare privilege and in any other setting would be considered an assault, but patients entrust their care to us and give us their consent to do just that.
Another opportunity that we anticipate is to be able to continue to work closely with those of you with whom we have developed not only superior professional relationships but also warm friendships, and the chance to work more closely this year with those of you with whom we have not worked as much in order to develop similar relationships and friendships. Certainly through the years, association with the many dental offices in this area has been one of the great blessings of our lives.
We hope each of you never underestimate or under appreciate what a blessing you are in people’s lives in providing the skilled care that you deliver. The dental community has truly been well served by each and every one of you. With that in mind, let us go forward together in rendering our services to the community at large, and may we all enjoy a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2018.
