I mp res s ion s
Welcome to 2020
by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
Welcome to 2020! It seems hard to believe
it has already been 20 years since the
dawn of the new millennium. How things
have changed in those 20 years!
Remember how no one was sure if the
world would come to an end because all
the computers would crash? It seems like
we were all being “punked,” especially when you think how
much has changed with technology. With every new year comes
a time of renewal, a time to restart or refresh.
Think about what the start of a new year means to you. Are you
a resolution person? I think we all have made them. I want to
exercise more, eat healthier and as always, shed a few pounds.
I know there is still a 200 pound me out there somewhere, and
not just wandering around back in 1986! I would think we would
all hope to be nicer to not only our families, but to all people. It
seems to me though that it is easier to just be grumpy, or worse
yet, to have no emotion at all.
Maybe you are a goal setter to start each year. Some of those
may be to save more money, pay off debts, take more vacation
and travel more. I think the goal setters have a more reasonable
chance to succeed because you have a whole year to reach
those goals. The resolution makers, myself included, have usually
slipped off track a month or two into the year. It’s no wonder so
many of just refuse to make these promises at the start of the year.
Then there are all the goals that we as dentists set for our
practices as each new year starts. This year I want to increase my
production, but also my collections. I want to increase the number
of new patients I see each month as well as try and retain my
current pool of patients. Can I introduce some new services into
my practice? Or will this be the year to go completely paperless
or become a digital dentist? There are so many possibilities in
dentistry as 2020 arrives. Think of the changes that have occurred
in the last 20 years. I will bet we were all still writing in paper
charts and taking film based X-rays. Who could have imagined
just milling a crown for a patient right in the office?
Each new year starts with so much to look forward to that we
can’t even control. I think about my family – the excitement
of the birth of a child, or now for me a grandchild. How about a
graduation from high school or college or even the start of the
latter? Maybe you will be walking a daughter down the aisle
this year or toasting a new bride and groom somewhere in your
family? Or it will be you getting married? Will this be the year for
a job or career change or maybe the year to retire and get on
with the rest of your life? Unfortunately the year can also hold an
unanticipated health issue or loss of a family member or a friend.
It makes you really want to live each day from January 1 to the
fullest and appreciate the ones around you.
This new year will also be a new beginning at your Pennsylvania
Dental Association. For the first time in over a quarter century
the association will have a new executive director. The Board of
Trustees is expected to name a new ED sometime in the first
quarter of the year. PDA is facing a membership crisis, as are
many other constituent dental societies around the country as
our market share dip closer to 50%. Dealing with this issue and
creating collaborative solutions will no doubt be the top priority
of that new ED. I hope that many of you will make a point to
attend Pennsylvania’s Dental Meeting on April 24-25 at the Mt. Airy
Casino Resort in the Poconos. The Annual Meeting Committee
has a great program planned, culminating on Saturday evening
with a reception for the new PDA executive director. Be there
to welcome that person to PDA. Maybe you can also help with
our membership by recruiting a new member or sharing your
experience with PDA to a former member and getting them to
renew and be a part of that recruitment and retention
collaboration.
BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)! Some of you may recall my
president’s address when I became president of PDA. I spoke
about several BHAGs I had for my year as your president. In most
cases these seem almost unattainable. Some people set BHAGs
for their life. Take our former president and editor emeritus
of this publication, Dr. Bruce Terry. Many of you know Bruce is
a mountain climber and has climbed the highest mountains on
each continent. In this issue he shares with us his experience as
he completes his BHAG and goes for the summit of Mt. Everest.
I am still wondering how anyone makes a decision to make
such a goal, let alone train and prepare to accomplish it. Bruce’s
account is a thrill ride that seems like it is fiction, but it really
happened to someone we know! Be sure to take some time to
read Bruce’s article!
We have many more exciting and informative articles for the
upcoming issues of this publication planned for 2020.
We hope that you enjoy what the PDJ team publishes for you,
our members. If you ever have comments for us please do not
hesitate to share them. So let’s get this year, 2020, going!
Happy New Year PDA!
— STR3
JAN UARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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