Patch Blog: Invisible Miracles

Ever since the , our Sirius Satellite reception just hasn’t been the same.

So, I hate sounding like a whiner, but there are worse sounds (trust me). Yesterday, I was minding my own "molar jockey" business, building smiles and making dentistry fun, when suddenly outa nowhere, my tympanic membrane was almost struck down by none other than the Earslayer himself, Michael Bolton.

And when a man loves a woman the last thing anyone needs is Bolton screaming out loud like someone’s yanking out his toenails.

Yeah, you can blame Baby Boomers like me (but not me) for Bolton. But what about the Stones and “Make Love, Not War” (that’s us too)? When we Boomers finally got over changing the world and semi-grew up, we transitioned into a bunch of independent, goal-oriented, super-competitive workaholics who wanna stay young and live forever.

We almost never wore our retainers when we were kids and today, we wouldn’t be caught dead walking around with cock-eyed smiles or a full set of metal braces. And that my friends, is why we have Invisalign today.

Since my storied escape from dental school way back during disco, Invisalign remains the coolest innovation I’ve seen in dentistry.

Within the very first few months of my treating patients with Invisalign, something happened that I’ll never forget. I saw someone’s life change and I had a front row seat. And it was easy.

I still think of Diana every single time we begin Invisalign Care.

And I’ll be the first guy to admit receiving orthodontic care changed my life and career.

Before my own orthodontic experience, I actually used to wave my hand in front of my mouth while I was speaking. And dang it, looking back, you just have to wonder how anyone without canine-type audio reception ever knew what the heck I was talking about (I bet listening to Bolton was even easier). So, basically, I started my practice here in Temple City as the molar jockey communications equivalent of golf pro Charles Barkley or Big Game hunter former-VP Cheney.

But by the time Invisalign came along (originally the creation of two MBA candidates at Stanford) I was seriously curious about all the new clinical advances. In fact, I’d become a total continuing education nerd. I had the fever; I was sort of like Paladin (have credit card, will travel for continuing education.)

The office became home for all kinds of cameras and computers and lasers, but for a minute or two, I still felt a little threatened by tooth engineering aka orthodontics. Then I figured if two non-DDS types had dreamed up the system, there might actually be an element of genius involved. I gained certification virtually the instant GPs became eligible for training.

I met Diana at a Pasadena Chamber breakfast. I’m totally cool with Chamber functions, and it’s not because of the scrambled eggs. I love the folks who attend because they’re such dedicated networkers they don’t even run away screaming when I finally have to tell ‘em I’m a dentist.

Diana won a free TCDC Zoom! Teeth Whitening in the raffle held at the end of the monthly breakfast. And after a while, she finally made the drive down Baldwin for her new brighter smile. After the successful whitening, I asked Diana if she had any other concerns about her smile. The answer could have gone something like, “Are you serious?” or “Is bruin football non-violent?” or “Does a bear…?” But didn’t I already mention that Diana is a totally classy lady?

Everything looked great — with the exception of one poorly positioned upper front tooth that was sticking straight out sorta like Sarah Brightman taking a curtain call in front of the rest of the cast of "The Phantom of the Opera."

Diana helped head up a local non-profit; her children were all grown up. Diana’s family had always come first, but she admitted she’d hated that tooth for at least 40 years. Diana never really full-out smiled, she avoided having her picture taken and subconsciously screened her mouth from sight, using her hand as a prop (just like you know who.)

But Diana didn’t want braces. “What if we could straighten that tooth without braces? What if we could use appliances that are virtually invisible?”

“Can you do that?”

I still attend the monthly Pasadena Chamber breakfasts. The scrambled eggs remain uninspired and there are more chiropractors present than dentists in the state of Nebraska.

But I still really love the experience, especially when Diana confidently stands up and delivers her 20-second commercial to an attentive group of about 100 — smiling.