I love being a dentist for so many reasons. One of those reasons are the opportunities I am afforded to interact with children and to teach them the importance of oral health. In the news we hear so much about healthcare and who is going to pay for it. I don’t know the answer to that or if we’ll every come to satisfactory conclusion to that question. However, I know that prevention is always the key to good health (and lower healthcare costs). Today, I visited with nearly 75 children between the ages of 2 and 5 years. I showed them around the office for a behind the scenes look into the daily workings of a dental office and had volunteers climb in the chair to show all of them what to expect when visiting for a check-up. I was impressed to learn that most of them had been to a dentist already by such an early age and that they work hard to brush their teeth at least 2 times a day. I had a great time on my day off using our office to teach prevention and to introduce the children to oral healthcare. Thanks to all the children from the Oakville Goddard School for being such a great group of listeners. My final lesson for today is to ask you to take a moment and think about healthcare as a means of prevention rather than just treatment. And, be sure to take a field trip to your dentist’s office in times of good oral health, not when it hurts. Take care of yourself, Dr. Jeffrey Sindelar
