I know it is hard to believe but I actually had my battery jumped twice this week. Let me explain this to you.

Wednesday night a dear friend of mine took my wife and me to the Hollywood Bowl to see Herbie Hancock and other jazz legends play tribute to the jazz side of Joni Mitchell.

Unfortunately, my battery in my car died in the parking lot and I needed good ole Triple A to come and give me a jump so I could drive home. The next morning my car went into service and of course I got a new battery.

Fast forward to this weekend, and San Diego, where I was attending the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry. Talk about having your professional battery charged. I feel like my entire body was hit with a defibrillator. Let me first tell you about the WCMID.

The WCMID is an organization of health care providers from around the world who are dedicated to trying to preserve and insure the health and function of mouths by doing the most conservative dentistry possible.

So why does this meeting make my professional existence light up like a Christmas tree? First, it is about the quality of the people that are involved. There are dentists, hygienists, educators, researchers and manufacturers who all have a common goal…to promote the concepts of minimally invasive dentistry. The group has already changed dental curriculum around the world, having been the catalyst for the integration of CAMBRA (caries management by risk assessment) that is being taught in just about every dental school in the United states (if not all…not sure about that one.) CAMBRA is a method of assessing caries (cavity) risk and making dental treatment and restoration recommendations based of a patient’s caries risk. This is something that I follow in our dental office. But it is not only about CAMBRA

There is something else that is very unique to the leaders and members of this group. There are no egos and everyone is willing to share of themselves and their expertise to help anyone understand and implement any aspect of minimally invasive dentistry.

The second reason I am juiced is because I truly believe that no child born in the United States should ever have a cavity or gum disease. The WCMID keeps me on the cutting edge of prevention so that I can share it with my patients. Really the best dentistry is no dentistry.

Thirdly, I get to make new friends with people from around the country and world and I get to learn about their life experiences. And they all listened to my concerns and helped me with their words of wisdom…thank you to Ray Becker, Stan Sharples (I now root for Ohio State in the Big Ten) and Shirley Gutkowski to name a few.

But there is a special thank you for Mr. Daniel Pite who works for Dr. Bill Blatchford (who is a leader in the field of practice management). Daniel and I had some one on one time to discuss our life pursuits. And here is what I learned from Daniel, a person a found to be far wiser than his age.

In our discussions he taught me to not only focus on the word happy, but to really focus on the word PURPOSE. If I can find my purpose (and I know what that is) and live my life to fulfill that purpose, then when I need happiness it will be there. This is a very simplified version of our conversation, but I am sure there will be more to come with Daniel.

I know that there is much more for me to learn, but I am so grateful for all of the education, professionally and in personal growth, that the WCMID provided for me. I can’t wait for the next meeting.