The December 2021 issue of AGD Impact was an issue that has inspired me to share more stories.

For some years, I have been espousing the concept that Success is All About Relationships and have taken that concept to everything I do in business. As a result, over the course of my 35-year long career, I have seen four generations of patients grow and change.

Our disease prevention model means that we see our patients regularly, over long periods, getting to share stories, milestones, life cycle events, and more. It is different from the Western medicine model of seeing someone only after becoming sick. It is the basis upon which rich relationships can flourish.

Mark is the son of Ollie and Denise (not their real names). I had been their dentist for over 27 years before Mark was even born. I have seen this young man grow through infancy, childhood, teenage years, and he has become a tremendous young man. Now a mechanical engineer, he found a great job, but it was in Florida, far from the family home in Calgary, Canada.

Off he went and started an incredible professional journey, but he had to leave his fiancée behind. Separation of loved ones is always hard, but especially difficult when young and in love. And then COVID-19 struck, and it severely restricted our ability to travel.

Mark and his wife-to-be (Mary) were not going to let this pandemic end their relationship, nor were they going to let it delay their wedding. Mary found a way to get to Florida, observe the isolation required, and get married anyway! Without family and friends present, alone save for each other, because love would not be denied by COVID-19.

And they shared the wedding with their parents and siblings via the internet.

And when it was all done, who was one of the first people to receive a picture of the newly married couple? Ollie and Denise contacted their dentist and shared it with me within minutes of the wedding being conducted. The relationship we have developed meant that they wanted to share a family milestone with me, as we have grown to care for each other after all this time.

It is indeed an amazing profession we get to enjoy. If we allow it, we can create a legacy of caring, relationships, mentoring, and more that far exceed any amount of wealth we could achieve. 

It’s not a grind. It’s a blessing. We cannot let a pandemic interfere with our dreams. We just have to find other ways to make them happen.