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The Million Dollar Wedding Gift by Dr. John F. Miller DDS
Twelve years ago Juli Zobell changed her last name to Miller, as she became my wife. At the time we were both in our early to mid-twenties and to put it bluntly, we were Dumb. After all the ceremonies and celebrations we sat amidst a pile of amazing gifts and envelopes from friends...of our parents. As we sat there and opened these great gifts we found ourselves saying things like, “these guys have money, why couldn't they have just given us a ‘Benjamin’ or something?” That is the mindset and language pattern of young, immature, less intelligent, and ungrateful kids. One gift in particular will forever stand out. It was a book: The Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity: The Chequemate Story. It was paperback and not very thick. “What are we going to do with this little book?” we thought. “Quick, open the front cover; Maybe there’s a ‘Benjamin’ inside.” Ultimately, the little book was packed away with the other gifts as we prepared for our move to Mesa, AZ.
top of my head I can think of the following examples: Effective Study Habits, Strong Work Ethic, Smart Nutritional Choices, Sound Financial Decisions, Efficient Time Management, Physical Health Maintenance, Strengthening Healthy Relationships, etc, etc.
Boredom. That is what drove my new bride to pick up the little dusty book and turn the first page. Why was she bored? Don’t hold this against her, but my wife is believe it or not...Canadian. Being such, it took her some time for all the Permanent Resident paperwork and red tape (in this context, let’s call it Red, White & Blue tape) to be completed and approved. In other words she could not work for a few months so there she was; In a strange place, with no money, no friends, and no husband for the better part of her day.
Nowhere is this more obvious to me than the Oral Health habits of the Flathead Community that I serve. The two major oral diseases that we will all combat in life are Cavities (caries) and Gum Disease (periodontitis). These diseases have some unfortunate characteristics:
And then one day it happened. I walk through the door to a forever-changed woman who has been glued to this little book like it was written by Nicholas Sparks entitled 50 Shades of Sparkly Vampires. “John, you have to read this book. It is amazing,” my wife insists. This being a dental column, which should mention teeth and mouths at some point, I’ll make it short. We became students of this book and it has influenced every day and decision of our lives from that boring Arizona day 12 years ago. After a couple hundred pages we were a little less “dumb” and we now refer to it as our “million dollar” wedding gift. Our path in life was irreversibly changed for the better. I cross paths frequently with the man who gave us that book and I always thank him and tell him how much that gift influenced our young and impressionable financial attitudes. During these chats, this gentleman always expresses the following: “You two are so lucky to learn these habits while you are young.” And there you have it folks, The Segue. Establishing good habits early will produce tremendous returns in all aspects of life. Just off the
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They both are painless until the later stages of the disease.
2mostTheycases. both progress very slowly in I always hear, “Hey Doc, you must get busy after Easter with all the candy that kids are eating.” I respond, “Easter is going to keep me busy 2 years from now.”
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The majority of cases are invisible to their victims. You would not be able to recognize the problem by looking in the mirror until the latter stages of the disease.
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They very rarely affect localized areas of your mouth. In other words, if there is tooth decay or bone loss in one area of your mouth, chances are it is present in the rest of your mouth as well. Dental professionals would classify this as a “generalized” condition. A “localized” condition would be the exception rather than the rule. These four characteristics create the perfect storm for major problems. Let me present a scenario that we see all too often. Mikey is a 25-year-old recent college grad that has been at his new job for the requisite six months in order to qualify for the companies Dental Insurance. He exclaims that it has been approximately 8 years since his last cleaning and checkup but his teeth feel fine. He has noticed some occasional mild sensitivity while eating sweets and his breath “could smell better” Mikey admits. “Just need a cleaning Doc, I have a blind date this Friday.” After a thorough evaluation of Mikey’s X-Rays and teeth, decay is found between 12 of his teeth in addition to calcified plaque (calculus) deposits beneath his gums that have resulted in Generalized Mild Gum Disease requiring a more advanced multi-visit cleaning. Mikey is shocked. After insurance he will still owe thousands of dollars to restore