Jim came to me as a new patient some years ago. He noted that he had received regular dental care in the past, so I asked him what the previous dental office had done or not done that lead to his decision to change dental care providers. He told me that every time he went, there was something else that …

In the May 2014 issue of AGD Impact, Dr. Don Deems had a great article about how to take responsibility for employee behavior. It’s a great article and has some really great steps on avoiding the pitfalls of teams falling apart and how, as the leader of your team, you can create an environment that is fulfilling and positive. Of the many …

One of the most common measures for the success of a dental practice is the number of new patients we see. There almost seems to be a competition amongst us to see who can bring in more new patients. I have always had a problem with that; I hear about practices seeing 50, 100 or more new patients in one …

When you hire someone, how long do you hope she or he will work for you? How many years of service would you be happy with? Two years? Five years? Ten years? How many people currently working for you have been with you for more than five years? My friend Doris just lost her job. She is a geophysicist and …

Our first child was 11 days overdue, and, in the third day of labor, my wife, Tina, finally was dilated enough that delivery could happen. But something stalled in the process, and we learned that our child was in distress and an emergency C-section was required. It all happened so fast, and we were so tired that it still is …

Ontario Place, in Toronto, was Ontario’s gift to Canada on the occasion of Canada’s 100th birthday back in 1967. It took several years to build, but when it was finished in the early 1970s, it was a marvel of engineering and a new space for the public to enjoy on Toronto’s Lake Ontario waterfront. Parked in the middle of Ontario …

She is the reason why I won’t eat crème brûlée today. I affectionately refer to her as “the witch,” and it’s a story that even my children know (though they still don’t know her name). I’m referring to a past significant other who treated me so poorly, it is remarkable I put up with it. Ah, youth. What we will …

It’s the second longest continuously held sporting even in the U.S., behind only the Kentucky Derby. It predates the invention of the light bulb, the automobile, basketball, the World Series, and it has seen the passage of 25 presidents. It was formed by a group of gentlemen in 1877 and named after their favourite bar in their favourite hotel to …

“Larry, you have to have a booth at a wedding show. It’s a natural for the cosmetic side of our practice.” Christy, my dental hygienist, was getting married in a few months and she had attended one of those bridal shows that brought everyone together: florists, dressmakers, wedding planners, caterers, hotels and other wedding locations, vacation people, makeup artists, photographers, …