PAGD Keystone Explorer Winter 2019 20

Keystone Explorer |  Winter 2019–20  1 from the editor’s desk | My dental career has been short, but in it, I’ve been privileged to work in a fairly large fast-paced practice and in a smaller slower- paced practice. I’ve worked for a woman and for a man. I’ve worked with people who represent the Baby Boomer generation, Generation X, and alongside my fellow Millennials. I look forward to what Generation Z has to bring to our ever rapidly advancing practices as they enter the workforce as well. My coworkers have been of varying ethnicities and religions and some that were not born in this country. Some never left the town where they currently work and reside. Somehow no matter what day, these different shapes of gears all manage to turn the same giant ticking watch of a dental practice. How can so many people with so many different beings at their core somehow communicate to make so intricate a business progress? I believe it is through mutual respect for our differences and the common goal of patient care. We so often take the time to be interested in our patients (or at least take the time to feign interest in our patients). When we show interest in a person, it conveys a sense of respect. This respect helps us to connect, communicate, and encourage our patients to prioritize their dental health. When we show interest in our coworkers, communication becomes more open and that giant watch ticks more precisely and efficiently. Our dental world continues to change in so many ways. There is new technology, new laws, new business models, and a new demographic of graduates with a skill set of their own. It is forcing us to work in unfamiliar ways and with people whom we could never have imagined ourselves working. Did you ever think you’d be taking a course to learn the best angles for selfies and meme captions to accommodate a marketing strategy? Probably not, but it’s suddenly important and you may be at the mercy of your least experienced staff member to help you implement it. This edition of Keystone Explorer aims to highlight some of the growing groups of practitioners and challenge you to embrace the changes, be interested, open up to communication and keep the watch ticking. MariaGarubba, DMD, FAGD Editor, PAGD Keystone Explorer Change is GOOD MariaGarubba, DMD, FAGD “When we show interest in a person, it conveys a sense of respect. This respect helps us to connect, communicate, and encourage our patients to prioritize their dental health.”