Turn your dreams into reality

Editor’s intro: MedMark Media’s Publisher Lisa Moler shows how Shaquille O’Neal’s philosophy for reaching out and helping people can translate to the path to fulfillment for an orthodontic practice

Recently, I had the exciting experience of interviewing Shaquille O’Neal for our publications. Shaq’s sleep (and health) have been impacted over the years by his sleep apnea, and our discussion primarily focused on his journey to finding a solution. Fortunately, we also had time to delve into his philosophy of life, his path to fulfillment, and future goals. Two of his basic tenets of life resonated with me, so much so that I wanted to share them with you in this issue’s message.

First, he noted that one of his favorite quotes is from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who said, “The greatest leaders are the ones smart enough to hire people smarter than them.” How true. While you bring the clinical knowledge to the practice, surrounding yourself with the best and the brightest opens up your world to ideas, insights, and talents beyond your own in other important areas. Thankfully, we have done that with the team at MedMark Media, and recommend that our readers should also take advantage of all of the experienced people who can expand your practice’s management, clerical, social media, and even clinical options in this very competitive specialty.

Second, Shaq developed his life’s mission from another concept that he learned from his mother. He had given her some material gifts, to which she responded, “‘I don’t want these, Baby; I love you very much. What have you done to brighten up someone else’s day?” This reinforced what we try to practice every day. We know that taking care of business is our daily focus, but we also need to focus on taking care of others — and what better way than changing lives through our life’s calling! For me, it is improving dentists’ and patients’ health through bringing to light the important concepts and breakthroughs of our profession through our authors and advisors. You can expand patient care possibilities through CEs, our articles, webinars, DocTalk Dental videos, or any of the many educational options available in this quickly changing dental industry. While you’re at it, let your patients know how your practice is capable of changing or improving their lives! Use your social media, smartphones, and websites to spread the word.

We’d like to spread the word about our July/August issue, where we feature Dr. Larry White and colleagues’ article on a paradigm change for diagnosis, treatment planning, and therapy for Class II malocclusions. Dr. Robert Kaspers discusses the effect the musculature and the occlusion have on the condylar position — a concept he calls “the fulcrum effect.” Dr. Edward Y. Lin outlines the steps to an affordable clear aligner treatment option using the Sure-Smile software platform, and Dr. Thomas R. Pitts discusses how digital technologies like 3D imaging, intraoral scanners, practice management software, and even a 3D printer saved him time and money and increased his speed and accuracy. Drs. Barry Raphael and Mark Cruz explore obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and inspiratory flow limitation and their potential impact on your patients and practice.

While my interview with Shaq mainly focused on his nighttime sleep, we ended up discussing how to make every day count — a topic which always is our goal for all of you and your teams.

To your best success!

Lisa Moler

Founder/Publisher

MedMark Media

Shaquille O’Neal ‘s philosophy on helping others is a great way to connect with your patients. Read Ali Oromchian’s article “Five strategies for building a cohesive team,” to find out how to build teamwork within that growing practice.