Hi all,

Recently I saw a new patient in his mid fifties that came in for a consultation. I took my time with him, explained what he had, and his different options, he left feeling good.

Two days later he called me and wanted me to see his son for a second opinion, we asked him to bring his son to the office that day. The son is 21 years old handsome kid who is autistic. The parents took the kid to another dentist to check for some cavities, and he ended up extracting 7 or 8 teeth without giving the parents any other options, like trying to do some restorative work, referring the kid to a pediatric dentist, and so on.

The parents were very upset of the incident, and when they went again to see what can be done to the rest of the cavities that the kid had, the dentist gave them a referral to an oral surgeon to have the rest of the teeth extracted. At this point, the parents were furious, and that is when they call me for a second opinion.

The kid was not very cooperative, he had some cavities here and there, but not deep.

I don't use any type of sedation in my office, so I suggested to have the parents seek the care of a pediatric dentist, and doing all the restorative work under IV sedation, which they liked the idea a lot.

After they left, I was thinking to myself, if this kid were my child, would I pull all his teeth at the age of 21, just because he has a challenging condition, and the answer is obviously not.

At a matter of fact my assistant was boiling when he saw the referral form that the parents brought with them.

I believe, as a dentist and a person, if I have plan A for myself, my family and my close friends, and I have plan B for my other patients, I lack passion, and I should not be called health CARE provider.

You can go to a dental school and learn all the sciences and skills necessary to make you a competent dentist one day, but I always believed that there are three things that you couldn't learn anywhere, because you either have them or you don't. Those are: Passion, Compassion, and Sincerity.

If you have these qualities, you are always on the look for ways to become more passionate, compassionate and sincere.

Coming to Scottsdale, has always been exciting to me, since every trip, I met some seriously caring people, and going to Peronia was the peak of it.

Andrew

"It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind."

-T. S. Eliot