First and foremost, dentistry is a business. We can never escape this fact. I think this is a part of dental education that is sorely lacking. We go through school learning how to perfect techniques and choose the best treatments, but are exposed to almost no business training. What a shock when we set up a practice and the cold hard realities of life set in. The electric company could care less how good your margins are. They want to be paid. The same is true for all our vendors and our staff who depend on us for their salaries.

 

How then can we justify giving away treatment? Why have we set up all these programs to provide treatment for those who cannot afford to pay? We have a primary obligation to be profitable. We must be aware of the bottom line at all times. If we are not profitable our doors will close. The wolves are always at the door.

 

Thankfully there is an answer to this dilemma. There are many ways to “give back” to our community without having to foot the entire bill ourselves. We are blessed to have charitable foundations in our community that are in the business of creating delivery of care mechanisms that allow us to contribute. Many CADS members have volunteered in these programs throughout the years and helped them achieve their goals. They are all wonderful programs and are all a tremendous community asset. Sometimes the treatment rendered is limited by time and resource constraints.

 

I would like to share with you a case which would not have been possible without the support of one of our community foundations and some very generous giving by two of our specialists.

 

In August 2007 Maria was referred to me from one of the Theo vans to recement crowns on four front teeth. An x-ray showed all four teeth broken at the gumline and a lesion approximately the size of a golf ball in the palate. Maria was 18 years old and I didn’t like the idea of only extracting the four teeth and placing a flipper. This would condemn her to a lifetime as a dental cripple. I called the St. David’s program and asked if I could treat her ideally as if money were no object. They said if I could arrange the treatment they would cover material expenses. They were rather skeptical that anyone would want to commit to one of their patients for a projected two and a half year treatment. I recruited Dr. Lyn Machen to extract the teeth and remove the associated lesion. He placed a large bone graft at the time to restore the destroyed portion of the palate. Dr. Barry Rouch agreed to do orthodontic treatment to level the lower arch and position the upper teeth correctly for implant placement. After orthodontic treatment was completed two implants were placed in the upper lateral sites. I am in the process of completing Maria’s four unit bridge to complete her treatment. It has been very satisfying to be able to accomplish something for Maria which will help her throughout her life. She is again whole. Without the support of our community resources like the St. David’s Community Health Foundation things like this could not be possible.

 

It is important to remember that our charitable foundations are in the business of providing care to those not fortunate enough to have the means to afford it. While we must always be aware of the bottom line in our own practice, please remember that the organizations that help us help others also have a bottom line to consider. Please give of your time or money whenever possible. When we all work together amazing things are possible. 

 

Stan LaCroix

President

Capital Area Dental Society