What it takes to conquer the impossible

This article first appeared in the newsletter, DE's Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS. Subscribe here.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.”
~John W. Gardner

I recently participated in a Spartan Race in the rugged Montana mountains, just outside Glacier National Park. About six miles into the race, I came upon a fellow athlete who had a prosthetic leg. My dose of perspective regarding the race suddenly took a complete 360-degree turn, for here was somebody who was doing what many perceived impossible or even at best, unlikely. He proved them wrong just by stepping across that start line.

Dentistry is the same way. Every day, we are presented with opportunities that are disguised as unsolvable problems or challenges. For instance, a 7-year-old gets hit in the face with a baseball, horizontally fracturing the root of his front tooth. Unsolvable problem? Condemn the tooth or give it an opportunity to heal? Endodontist Dr. Joe Petrino describes what he did in an article he wrote on trauma and horizontal root fractures. Click here to read “Trauma and horizontal root fractures of the anterior teeth: A review and case report.”

Inability to smile, floppy denture, lack of function, and financial challenges are a recipe for loss of confidence and depression. Unsolvable problem? Not for this patient of mine who underwent a mini-extreme makeover because of an unexpected opportunity. My article goes over this patient’s story and reviews the fascinating double-arch All-On-4 procedure. Click here to read “A mini-extreme dental makeover: Implants with a double-arch All-On-4 .”

Don’t let the complications of dentistry prevent you from tapping into opportunities that would otherwise go unchallenged. This newsletter is packed full of incredible pictures and articles that will give you an increased perspective into the variable demands of endodontics, restorative dentistry, implants, and pathology—all of which we face on a daily basis. You will learn something—there is no doubt—but will you take the opportunity to do so?

I didn’t see if my fellow Spartan finished the race that day or not; in truth, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that he took the opportunity to race the impossible and prove to people like me that all it takes is a dose of perspective, guts, and the desire to begin!

Thanks and cheers!