Dental Entrepreneur Woman - Summer2018

Summer 2018

A TALE OF RESILIENCE Tonya Lanthier

SLEEPING BEAUTY Lisa Moler

THE PRACTICE OF JUGGLING Kristin Nickells

PLUS: The Winning Entrepreneur Of Today See Yourself – Love Yourself – Be Yourself – Respect Yourself

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Hello my Dear DeWs,

Summer 2018 Editor and Publisher Anne M. Duffy, RDH Assistant Editor

Patterson Fuse Shofu Advisors to the Board Katherine Eitel-Belt

Michael Duffy Managing Director Patti D’Agata Creative Consultant Beth Linesch Design and Layout Brian Rummel Production [CURAtive] James B. Kennedy Reilly Williams Spring Contributors Sarah Clarke Dr. Donna Galante Andrea Greer Lynne Leggett Judy Kay Mausolf Dr. Kathleen Robinson Angie Stone Amanda Sturner Dr. Tara Levesque-Vogel, Cover Photography: Angela Murray Web Design Jameson Management Social Media Rita Zamora Connections Charter Sponsors A-dec Crest Mary Fisher-Day Inspired Hygiene Patterson D5

Linda Miles Board Lois Banta Kristine A Berry Shannon Pace Brinker Dr. Tanya Brown Jasmin Haley Bonnie Hixson Janice Hurley Suzanne Kump Tonya Lanthier Rachel Mele Anastasia Turchetta Rice Rachel Wall Rita Zamora Junior Board Jennifer Chevalier Dr. Erinne Kennedy Dr. Amisha Singh

Editorial Office 12233 Pine Valley Club Dr Charlotte, NC 28277 704-953-0261 Fax 704-847-3315 anneduffy@dew.life Send materials to: DeW Life Magazine 8334 Pineville Matthews Rd Ste. 103-201 Charlotte, NC 28226 Guidelines go to dew.life

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I hope your summer is going very well, and I, for one, hope to slow it down eventually to smell the roses! Maybe they are right, the older you get the faster time goes. That’s why this issue is so important. Many of the stories are about loss and overcoming. As I write this letter to you, my heart is heavy as Tom (my husband) and I drive up to Canton, Ohio, from Charlotte to visit with our precious sister-in-law, Peggy, one last time. Our goal is to be there for her and Tom’s older brother, as well as their kids and grandkids. We plan to share some laughs and probably shed some tears. She means the world to me, as she was always there for me as I joined the Duffy family some 45 years ago. We were the outlaws and truly had a special bond. A friendship I will always cherish and sorely miss.

Someone that touches me at the heart is our wonderful cover DeW. I remember bumping into her at the ADA meeting a few years ago, and in those minutes we had together she shared her story of growing up and how she overcame challenges that no one would guess looking at this perfectly coiffed and dressed-to-the-nines young lady. You will have a chance to get to know her a little bit better and realize as my dad would say, “It’s not what you get, it’s how you handle what you get.” Yes, Tonya Lanthier inspires me, and I know she will inspire you.

You will think about your moms reading this issue. You will think about your kids. You will think about how lucky you are, and no matter what your problems are there is someone else suffering with theirs. We all do our best, don’t we? That’s what Danya Johnson did. She wouldn’t give up on her daughter, and in that her core values were formed. If you ever raised a challenging child, her story will resonate.

It’s enough to lose sleep over, and we are so thankful for Lisa Moler’s story that explains our sleepless nights with real insight and personal experience. A lot of us deal with sleep issues, and it’s refreshing to read her testimony on how she solved hers.

And in that refreshing vein, we women we can never get enough tips on appearance, am I right? I’m talking about the always-amazing Janice Hurley conversion. I met her image client, Peggy Reed, for the first time at SCN. She is so fun and confident on the inside, and now more so on the outside thanks to her makeover. I’m excited to learn more about what she achieves as she moves forward.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to highlight a personal story from our very own board member, Sue Kump. She has a real connection to a modern-day saint, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Enjoy this sweet moment with Mother Teresa and the Christ Child and remember to DeW small things with great love!

I think this edition offers solid insight into how to take your careers to the next level, in addition to a way to relate to the personal stories that you may encounter throughout your life. I’m truly honored to work with these wonderful women.

As we revel in the summer months, I encourage you to read DeW Life cover-to-cover with your favorite iced drink. Sit back, count your blessings and smell the roses.

Keep DeWing YOU! Anne M. Duffy

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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SUMMER 2018

contents

6

A Tale of Resilience

One woman’s story about conquering self-sabotage

20

The Box

26

Sleeping Beauty

28

THE PRACTICE OF JUGGLING

34

The winning Entrepreneur of Today: 6 Key Factors

38

See Yourself Love Yourself - Be Yourself - Respect Yourself

12

Tonya Lanthier, RDH, BS

Trish Lewis-Clark, FAADOM

Dr. Daniela Chobor

24

Mama bear

32

Tips for Successful Interviewing

Dayna Johnson

Carol A. Jahn, RDH, MS

Lisa Moler, CEO

Cathy Jameson, PhD

42

Kristin NickelLs

Janice Hurley

I Married the Christ Child Suzanne Kump

DeW-ers

Living Your Strengths

20

Style

38

Who, Wear, When

10

Health & Wellness

26

Reflection

40

DeW Dish

16

Success

28

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A TALE OF RESILIENCE DEW-ERS

HOW ONE ENTREPRENEUR IS USING HER STORY TO INFLUENCE AND SUPPORT WOMEN IN DENTISTRY

By Tonya Lanthier

“If you’re going to have a story, have a big story, or none at all.” — Joseph Campbell

I

’ve held more titles than I can name throughout my life, as we all have. Mom. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Partner.

Employee. CEO. But most powerful and defining – both in my personal life and in business – has been my role as a woman. I have been navigating the “rules” set for me since I was a little girl, and redefining and rewriting them along my journey from Registered Dental Hygienist to mom of twins to entrepreneur.

Like all good stories, my journey has been full of twists and turns, surprises and disappointments and, maybe most importantly, strong characters who helped me define who I am and what I believe today. Unsurprisingly, the most significant of these characters have been the women in my life. The powerful women, the quiet women, the critical women, the wise women, the present women and the absent women. Whether our paths crossed only for a moment or for a lifetime, each relationship was significant and meaningful in shaping my story as a successful woman entrepreneur Just as in real life, the best characters are multidimensional—not all good and not all bad.

Mothers My mother was a complex woman. She suffered debilitating OCD that impacted my life in many ways.

When I was 12, her mental illness stole her ability to parent my sister and me. She couldn’t escape her obsessions and, as trapped as she was by her condition, my sister and I were equally untethered. We would spend hours taking baths, getting as clean as possible, instead of playing games or spending time outdoors. Anything my mother

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deemed contaminated was immediately thrown away.

Her condition prevented us from being able to pay the bills. Our grandparents took on the role of parents, while my mother always felt more like a sister. I wanted to do whatever I could to create a sense of security for myself and my family, and this drive fueled my journey as a hygienist based on a desire to help others.

Through the good and the bad, this relationship with my mom was the first and, arguably, most impactful female relationship in my life, laying the groundwork for the independent, resilient woman I would become. Her lack of involvement helped me realize the type of mom I wanted to be and drove me to achieve that goal. Her unpredictability made me hyper-aware of other’s emotional states. It made me an excellent hygienist as I was instinctively more aware of my patients’ needs, fears and motivations.

My mother inadvertently taught me how to be strong and intuitive. Not by example, but by forcing me to find strength within myself.

Workplace Women In my first job I worked with a woman about 20 years older than me. This woman was insecure, and not comfortable with herself. She would make comments about my appearance constantly. How long my legs were. How tall I was. How skinny or blonde I was. You name it. When all I wanted was to be recognized for my hard work ethic and patient care One day after a particularly snappy encounter, I asked her what I had done to hurt her or if there is anything I could

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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Dew-ers

"My mother inadvertently taught me how to be strong and intuitive. Not by example, but by forcing me to find strength within myself." to my patients. She judged me based on my appearance and missed the other aspects of who I am that benefited the practice. It was my first real experience with a woman feeling her sexuality was threatened just by the way I looked and how she felt about herself.

Looking back, it is astonishing how much productive energy we both lost as a result. That experience helped solidify my belief in how, as professional women, we must act on a code of kindness. The fact is, truly empowered women empower other women. We have the ability to positively influence each other’s mental and emotional space. The experience taught me that I wanted to use my power with other women in a way that would make us collectively better.

Wise Women “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything,” Agnes would say. “Everyone puts their pants on the same way,” Hazel would tell me. These were just some of the wise words frequently echoed to me by my grandmothers as they guided me through life. While I could highlight many wise women – mentors, teachers, coaches, and friends – my grandmothers saw who I had the potential to become before anyone else. They instilled in me the core values and work ethic that lit my path as Founder and CEO of DentalPost.

do to make our relationship better. She looked at me and said, “We have a working relationship.” No explanation, no further comment.

The relationship took up more of my mental and emotional energy than I’d care to admit. I would leave the office, and couldn’t help thinking what I could do to change my behavior and gain her approval. I lost sleep over trying to right a relationship I had very little control over. What bothered me most was the fact that because of her issues and how she viewed herself, she wasn’t able to see how hard-working, ambitious and committed I was

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The rapid and steady growth story of DentalPost as the industry’s largest and fastest-growing online and mobile job board is no accident. I wanted to improve lives, and saw the power I had day-in and day-out with my own patients. Experience told me that the dental world’s hiring process needed a shakeup. Intuition told me I was the one to do it. The confidence, work ethic and values instilled in me by Agnes and Hazel empowered me, and paved the way for an out-of-the-box business model that would look beyond traditional HR and recruiting tactics to connect like-minded people based on their professional values and beliefs.

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Dew-ers surrounded by women who inspire you? Or, are you constantly in competition?

The Future is Female The future of dentistry is female. We see it in dental schools across the country, with women now accounting for 50 percent of attendees. We all see the trend upward, but we won’t get there if we don’t make an effort to support each other’s success in the field.

If I have learned anything from reflecting on my own story about the power and influence of women it is that I too have the power to help the next generation form their stories. My speech and actions matter to my employees, teammates and close tribe, and yours do too. We owe it to each other to treat one another with the level of respect we would like to receive. I believe women in dentistry are powerful and if we choose to connect and build one another up we will be unstoppable.

A Rising Tribe As women, we have the power to lift each other up, or tear each other down. I choose to do the former, and to surround myself with a tribe of wise women like Hazel and Agnes, and other women who have endured hardships and come out stronger for it.

About the author:

Tonya Lanthier, RDH, is founder and CEO of DentalPost, the dental industry’s premier and largest online and mobile job board, connecting and educating more than 700,000 job seekers and 50,000 dental offices in the U.S. and Canada. A Registered I knew early on that I wanted to be a woman of positive Dental Hygienist-turned-entrepreneur, Tonya has gained acclaim influence, and to use my platform to give back and industry-wide for her passion to improve lives and help dental empower other women to do the same. This was the professionals build teams that excel through metric-based career inspiration behind Dental Impact Group, which I launched matching tools, including personality tests and values, skills as a way to bring together industry change-makers who and work culture assessments. Started in 2005 as a tool to help are equally driven to impact and improve lives in their dental professionals connect and make smarter hires, DentalPost own communities. This spring, we hosted our first event has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies – the RDH Entrepreneur Women’s Summit – a three- three times.

day convergence of industry leaders and entrepreneurs bonding over experiences that made us learn, laugh and even sweat a bit through yoga, hiking and dance.

Through it all, our group proved that we are not afraid to be uncomfortable, or to fail. The only fear among us is to sit idle, to not try, or to settle for average.

I am passionate about my tribe. We are a group of hard working individuals connected in our shared beliefs and values. We lift each other up, challenge one another and support each other as we evolve as professionals and individuals.

Take a look around you. Who is your tribe? Are you

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A true “mavHERick” and uber-connector, the mom of teenage twin girls is an adventure-seeker in business and beyond. When she’s not busy connecting people, speaking at popular dental conferences or coaching students and job seekers, the Atlanta native can be found perfecting her Ultimate Frisbee game and jetsetting to exotic locales to hone her kite surfing skills.

Tonya is a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), a supporter of AACD’s Give Back a Smile program and a volunteer at several charitable organizations including Georgia Mission of Mercy and Ben Mansell Clinic. She is a board member of the Oral Cancer Cause and Dental Entrepreneur Women.

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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who, wear, when.

Karen Davis at the Mercedes Event

Team DeW at the Hinman Dental Meeting

Dr. Mary Shipp, Sharon Weaver & Dr. Hazel Glasper

DeWing you!

Can't get enough of DeW!

Kim Donovan at the Hinman Dental Meeting

Dr. Fern White, Dr. Delia Tuttle

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Karina Valentin

Rita Zamora, Mary Fox, Katherine Belt, Debbie Castagna, Uche Odiatu

Icons of Dentistry Orchard Party

Leslie Canham, Adele Reiche, Laura Hatch, Leslie Icenogle, Mary Govoni

Lois Banta,Adele Reiche, Judy Kay Mausolf, Roy Shelburne, Katherine Eitel- Belt, Bete Johnson

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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Julie D'Amato, Kyle Zak, Amber Young, Alex Nudel, Andrea Greer

Spotlight on Speaking, SCN

Marisha Singleton & Kimberly Culp

Lisa Moler & Dr. Chithra Durgam

Grace Rizza Identity Marketing Team

Upcoming Events

Sarah Stetson & Grethe Whitman

Tom & Anne Duffy, Naomi & Jim Rhode

Twice as Nice Fashion Shows RDHUOR August 3 at 6 PM GDHA Annual Mtg. September 21 at 10:30 AM. The Lucy Hobbs 6th Annual Celebration September 13-15 San Francisco, CA

Gordon Christensen team

Dr. Chuck Majors, JoAn Majors, Marilyn Sherman

Front Office Rocks! Live Training for Dental Teams September 22 Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza Divas in Dentistry Convention October 4-6 Alicante, Spain

Dr. Alexandra Manibo & Dr. Sonya Smith

AAWD Conference October 4-6 Savannah, GA

Melonie Jones & Dr. Usa Bunnag

dew.life

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ADA Annual Session October 18-22 Honolulu, HI

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DEWE-RS

ONE WOMAN’S STORY ABOUT CONQUERING SELF-SABOTAGE M

any women, to this day, have certain expectations ingrained in them as little girls which are robbing some of us early on of our true potential for greatness.

We welcome these shackles willingly and lovingly. We accept the role(s) someone else has bestowed upon us. We become the personal Jesuses of insert name of someone other than yourself here. And we hush up about it and just do it to keep the peace, to keep up with the Joneses or whatever our lame impetus happens to be.

We subconsciously put our true selves on the back burner where it remains undeveloped until (if ever) it is revisited at a different phase in our lives. We sacrifice our potential contributions to the world for the smaller microcosm we sequester ourselves to.

Putting ourselves last is a big reason our movement has come to a screeching halt. I am all about getting us all out of our comfort zones and challenging women out there to re-ignite OUR MOVEMENT to step forth and make that happen. Together. For alas, in unity there is strength.

I know how truly unbearable the darkest of your darkest hours is. For many years, I worked hard at becoming successful as someone else had defined it for me.

During my Blue Period, I didn’t own my map to success.

As such, I magnified every one of my failures to the nth power and hated the journey. By not putting myself first and cultivating my own inner garden, I became stuck in a state of victimitis. I wasn’t on the back burner, I was off the stove completely. I delayed developing and reaching my fullest potential for too long. And time is the most precious commodity in this world unless someone finds a way to bottle it. Stop squandering it.

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By Dr. Daniela Chobor

In the musings of this article, I aim to shift more of the accountability upon each and every one of us, to hold every one of us starkly responsible for moving forward personally and collectively. If this makes you as a woman reading this uncomfortable – let it. Suspend your disbelief and roll with it for the greater good of our gender. Women should be open and exposed to more honest critiques from one of their own.

Why? To boost our immunity to stagnation and worse yet, regression. Because we as a gender pool are endangering much of the potential for progress and momentum our predecessors had developed in the 20th century towards our goal of 50-50. Let me explain.

I was the first woman to self-sabotage my own potential to become great. It has taken me 4 decades to publicly admit this. I would tend to think that I am not unique in any way shape or form, so perhaps other women can relate and make it a point to share their own stories and BE HEARD. Before I even set foot into dental school in my late 20’s mind you, I was the queen of pity parties and the posterchild for victimitis. My idol growing up was Marilyn Monroe – need I say more?

I grew up in an immigrant household that believed very strongly in the American Dream and the value earned through hard work. They also believed very strongly in corporal punishment and to this day I cannot look at a belt as an inanimate holder-up of pantaloons.

I was bred to matriculate from Harvard Medical School – that was the identity that was bestowed upon me by both my parents since birth and of course with the best of intentions. They themselves left positions of great

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DeWe-rs my terms? The end decision held another person’s life in its sights.

I decided to take on the responsibility of becoming a single mom and dentist after all. The love I had for this unborn child was my personal impetus to get my shiz together once and for all. Sadie taught me that to care for her – I had to come first. Because If I did not take care of myself – who would take care of her? For me, the answer was no-one.

This was the hardest lesson I had to learn, and I still must push myself to remember this. Don’t ever forget to cultivate and fertilize your inner “garden” FIRST! prestige in the Eastern Block, to start all over from the bottom, working menial jobs while recouping their doctoral degrees in the States.

I will never forget the phone call with my dad telling him I had decided to drop out of medical school at the end of first year. It was a school in the Caribbean, a foreign school, the only one I had been accepted to, much to my parent’s great shame and chagrin.

That event severed any hopes my parents had of me becoming greater than them, every immigrant’s dream for their children.

I allowed this immensely shame and guilt-ridden personal failure to open the gates of the next few years of my life to abuse from every type of predator out there present and lying in wait for people, especially women, who allow themselves to think so low of themselves. I engaged in risky behaviors and attracted shady marauders in the darkest hopes of silently and quietly burying the pain of my self-perceived pathetic, failed, useless and shameful existence. Any faint glimmers of success were short lived and never fulfilled, although surprisingly, they existed.

The burden of living out someone else’s version of perfection has its downsides certainly – such as the consequence of living many precious years of life without a true identity. But ultimately, this instilled within me a fortuitous discipline and tenacity for enduring, sustaining and conquering the most dire of circumstances.

When I became a pregnant double amputee, this survivor instinct kicked into high gear. And that, in retrospect, was only the beginning of my journey. By then I had my DDS degree. How I obtained it was a blur in the shadows of my mom’s demise to cancer and my all too familiar dance with victimitis. I had a choice to make now that my life had taken a turn to include the role of mother. Do I continue to allow life to run me or do I once-and-for-all begin to cultivate some modicum of responsibility to excel at it on

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Long story short, not to belittle my accomplishments, but to give you an idea of how quickly these had to happen: learned how to literally walk again with only half a leg remaining after the amputations, how to be a dentist again, how to be a new mommy and how to deal with the everyday phantom pain with no pain pills at near light speed. Oh did I forget to mention I became a new practice owner too?

That took 6 years as opposed to 1 because I had to rebuild my credit. The unforgiving credit gods are outside of mine or anyone’s control. But nonetheless done and done. We all take a different path to self-reliance – this was mine. I take immense pride and have zero regrets a la Edith Piaf.

Three years after I opened my practice from less than 100 active patients, I built it up to over 4.5K active patients. I exceeded my 5-year financial goals in less than 3 years.

However, I was soon blind-sided by a big and unexpected new challenge as a fledgling CEO. That challenge took the form of women employees. Of course, I had no clear vision, core values or systems at that time for my business, so I hired on gut instinct and trust. I also still had the culturally skewed Eastern Block mentality lodged within me that believed in respecting your elders and superiors. Not a good formula for entrepreneurial success. I have been sued and called a plethora of blush-worthy names. From women that had under my employ became the primary breadwinners for their entire family. Women whose families I helped financially and dentally, oftentimes putting myself and my own child second. Women I wanted so badly to succeed with me. Did I regress into victimitis myself? Just about!

As is in my nature, I took all these affronts to mean that there was something wrong with me. But instead of crawling back into my comfy cocoon of shame and selfpity I asked myself, what could I do to become a better leader? With the end-point in mind that someday I would discover the formula to “no woman left behind” and beat out the perpetration of self-sabotage once and for all for all womankind.

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DeWe-rs These women were all pros at self-sabotage because they put themselves last. The pattern was the same one as mine. Each one of them were exceptionally amazing at what they did, but they couldn’t sustain this greatness for too long. At this point, their lives were still governed by someone else’s needs and not their own. They were off the stove.

It takes one to know one. I was these women for many years of my life. I am only now finally on the stove and moving towards the front burner. I am familiar with the everyday struggle I have to not allow myself to don the warm and cozy shroud of victimitis – essentially to stop sabotaging my own potential to become great. This struggle is analogous in intensity to recovering from any addiction. Giving yourself permission to become the great person you are meant to be is, surprisingly, a Sisyphean task! The cliché about scoring big only when you push yourself outside your comfort zone is true! I do know that a deep sense of pain drives the daily dramas, pity parties, and excuses. I also know that change can come only from within. And change is flipping uncomfortable.

Once I began investing in my own self-development in response to my desire to become a better leader, my own personal version of the Gates to Heaven opening materialized. That’s when I began to meet other women in the same boat as well as women that had attained epically higher levels of achievement. Women who were hungry. Women who had a WHY that revolved nonnarcissistically around themselves so that they could share their greatness with the world and leave a legacy.

Women who knew about the “gardens” that heretofore had been a secret well-kept from me. The secret is out ladies! Cultivating your own inner gardens first and foremost will enable you to enjoy even the most painful things that occur to you whilst on your journey to the top.

It is a crying shame that this schism within our gender pool has contributed to the stagnation of the Women’s Movement. But it is real as the gray hairs of my head. To ignore this issue would mean to continue propagating the torpor. I encourage everyone reading this to look deep within themselves and figure out which category you fall into? Are you self-sabotaging yourself? Or are you making a conscious move in the direction of empowering yourself and other women around you?

As a recovering self-saboteur, I understand that the only way to rise above that disparaging mentality is to strategically throw caution to the wind and unabashedly doing something great before you are ready, in the words of the greatest Amy Poehler. You will then have no choice but to make your own discovery about the secret gardens within.

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About the author: I am known as Dr. Chobor DDS, Daniela, mommy.

I know all about prosthetic devices, since I happen to be a double amputee and wear two myself. This experience has allowed to me expand my view on beauty. I now embrace the fact that being beautiful is a state of mind. It is all around us and doesn’t necessarily fall into a stereotypical mold. Sometimes prosthetic enhancements are part of that package, as they are in my personal life and my profession. I know only too well the sense of satisfaction, empowerment and abundance that comes from being made whole again even if it is with a little help from a prosthesis. I have made it my life’s work to share and promote that ideology with my patients, one smile at a time.

I hail from New York City and graduated from NYU College of Dentistry. I am a proud member of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics, The American Dental Association, the New York State Dental Association, and the Fifth District Dental Society.

My other world is my daughter who inspires me to be a ladygladiator daily.

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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DEW DISH

DeW DISH

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DR. AMISHA SINGH

smilealwaysdental.com

What is your guilty pleasure?

Ice cream, cake and fries. People ask if you have a sweet tooth or a salty tooth … I never understood that question.

Isn’t it both?!

What “DeW” leaders do?

Amazing leaders lead with intentionality. That word is my favorite word. I believe that what you focus upon, expands.

Leaders need to focus on their vision, lead towards that vision and help their team own that vision.

What is first on your dental bucket list?

Open my own practice! It is the ultimate exercise in developing myself as a leader. Also, I am in love with small business.

What does balance look like?

Balance looks like being a great mom while still showing my boys that women can wear superhero capes too. I want to be an example of powerful leadership to them without sacrificing the relationship and time of each age. It’s hard, but I strive for it every day.

What is the best part of your job?

Patient education. I absolutely love talking to my patients and making them partners in their oral care. That and being a leader for my team. People are my why.

How do you measure your success?

That’s easy! Happiness! It is easy to use other measures but other measures like money and other “tangible success” can leave you with a poverty of ambition. Our greatest lives consist of fulfillment and giving back. If I lived every day fulfilled and the world was better for my having been here, then I succeeded.

What is the best gift you ever received?

This Mother’s Day, my oldest made me a vase of flowers and his face was pasted in the center of each flower. It was the first time that he, by himself, made the effort to give something to me. I wouldn’t trade it for all the diamonds on the planet.

How do you take your coffee?

Cream, cream, cream! Hold the sugar. But better than coffee … my mom’s homemade chai. That stuff gives me life!

What is your motto?

What do you do to turn around a bad day?

“Leaders don’t rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits; they make Gratitude! I take moments in the day to re-center myself every day a masterpiece.” - John C. Maxwell and the easiest way to do that it to pivot my mind back to things I am grateful for. It is so easy to forget that I have a My motto is to make each day a masterpiece. life today that I prayed for yesterday.

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KRISTINE BERRY kristineberry.com

meant I needed to make the hard choice to move out and forward, leaving a 17-year relationship. And though my former husband was not my soulmate, the silver lining of that journey is Catherine and John, my two remarkable children. I am blessed and could not have asked for a better co-parent to love and raise them.

What do you do to turn around a bad day?

Sing the song, "So you had a bad day, You’re taking one down, You sing a sad song just to turn it around," by Daniel Powter. My kids and I started soon after I was living on my own.

What is your guilty pleasure?

If I get into a series, I am a total binge watcher- not moving from the couch-not even to shower J.

What is the best part of your job?

People! I believe that you cannot become “yourself” by “yourself.”

How do you measure your success?

One win at a time. As evolving professionals, I encourage my clients to celebrate where they are at developmentally in their career or business and continue to celebrate and acknowledge every step – every action they take that moves them closer to their goals. Clarity, love, action.

What obstacles have you overcome in your career?

You don’t have enough ink J. We have all overcome obstacles in our careers that define who we are, what we do and who we serve. Some of us have been through situations we should never have had to go through. Yet, I believe we were put on our souls’ contribution. And our unique stories and obstacles are what we can learn to embrace so we can serve others.

What obstacles have you overcome in your life?

To date, divorce. I had, from the outside a “perfect” marriage. And in many aspects it was, yet I knew I desired to grow and answer my inner voice – which

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What advice do you have for the new person in your office?

Steve Covey’s Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

What “DeW” leaders do?

DeW leaders lift everyone up and love themselves enough to realize when being a leader means being a follower.

What is your favorite Indoor/Outdoor Activity?

Does applying sunscreen while my toes are burning in the hot beach sand count as an outdoor activity? If so, that’s my answer!

What famous person living or dead would you like to have lunch with and what would you ask them?

So many - Rosa Parks. I would love to understand how she was able to move through her fear-her negative mental trash talk so sit on that bus and stay seated on that bus. Remarkable.

They are playing your theme song as you walk on stage. Name that tune!

"You Are My Sunshine".

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RITA ZAMORA ritazamora.com

What is your favorite Indoor/Outdoor Activity?

My favorite outdoor activity is hiking and being out in nature. Living in Colorado with hundreds of hiking trails outside my doorstep allows me to easily enjoy magnificent hiking. My favorite season is summer in the Rockies. Pair hiking with camping, pine trees, creeks, animals, crisp air and the stars at night and I’m in my happy place.

How do you take your coffee?

Decaf latte with coconut milk has been my favorite.

Although on my last vacation I discovered a yummy Mexican coffee and the roast is so delicious I enjoy it simply black.

Do you have a secret sauce?

What is the best part of your job?

Best of all I get to choose who I work with! I work with an awesome team and dental network of friends, clients, colleagues, and mentors that I’ve grown over the last 20 years — smart, fun, wonderful people and businesses. Also I work from home and work anytime I please. Having the freedom to work with whomever, wherever, and whenever I like is priceless.

How do you measure your success?

It used to be mainly monetary measurement. However as I’ve matured in my business and personal life, I measure success by how well it suits my values. How much am I able to enjoy optimal health, peace of mind, happiness, personal growth, etc. Money still matters, but so do the values that support my best life.

What do you do to turn around a bad day?

When things go sour, I get outside and take a walk with my dog, Winnifred. If things go really sour, I turn to meditation.

It’s my great escape. It takes practice to quiet the mind, but there is no better way I’ve found to change my state of mind and perspective.

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I think everyone has a secret sauce and it’s to be yourself.

Imagine if there were only one musician or band to listen to. In our abundant world, there are thousands of different musicians. People are drawn to different types of music and there are plenty of listeners (customers) to go around.

With regard to other dental consultants or companies offering similar services, there are customers who are drawn to different types of offerings and people. I believe there are ideal matches, just the right customer, client or patient, for every one of us and our own special secret sauces. I also think being yourself is a practice—like peeling off layers of who we thought we were supposed to be, and hopefully getting closer everyday to true authenticity — which can take courage.

What is your dream vacation?

Driving around in a luxury Mercedes Sprinter and visiting the gorgeous US and Canadian National Parks. Seeing all the wonders Mother Nature created, gazing at the stars at night, and then slipping off to a comfy bed surrounded by it all — bliss.

They are playing your theme song as you walk on stage. Name that tune!

I love 80’s music, so probably something 80’s. I really love the Jackson’s song, "Can You Feel It". So energizing and the lyrics are a good message to spread.

What DeW leaders do?

Never stop learning and growing.

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LIVING YOUR STRENGTHS

THE BOX By: Trish Lewis-Clark

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opened the refrigerator, and there it was. The box. A box that must be kept refrigerated and not opened by anyone except hospice. I could hardly believe my eyes. I stood there and stared at it for what seemed like 30 minutes. As I quietly shut the refrigerator door with tears streaming down my cheeks, the cold hard truth finally sunk in … my mother is dying. I thought back on my life, and the very important role my mother played in it. She gave me life, and more importantly, she taught me how to live it.

My full name is Patricia Lynn Lewis-Clark, and I was born on Sept. 29, 1969. I am the fifth born of six children. The oldest, my brother, is 10 years older than me. I also have four incredible sisters. My childhood was not the easiest, but who’s is? Growing up, we tend to think everything is tough, and that no one else has it as hard as we do. It’s not until you become an adult and look back that you realize that these are some of your most cherished memories.

This is most certainly true with me. I remember growing up on “the farm,” as my mother would always call it “One day Trish,” she would say, “you will look back and some of your fondest memories will have been made right here on this farm.” She was right, as usual.

My life may not have always been easy, but I count my blessings that I moved passed those obstacles and now have the opportunity to share a little bit about myself with you. I remember being a very rebellious, stubborn child always wondering why were so poor Mom would say “You are rich with love and memories. You’ll understand this one day.” At the young age of 48, I finally understand. Nothing ever came easy for me. Making friends, schoolwork and fitting in with the “in crowd,” it seems I was always on the outside looking in.

I watched everyone else living perfect lives, having perfect friends and wearing the perfect clothes wondering why I didn’t have all those things. I would sit and wish, dream, hope and pray that one day I could be just like them. Boy, was I glad that God never answered those prayers! I realize now that we all have struggles to live through and that none of our lives are perfect. Every time I think about it, I

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remember a song by Garth Brooks, “Unanswered Prayers.”

I am thankful for unanswered prayers.

When I was 16 years old, I became pregnant. Obviously, this was not planned. I had an eating disorder and weighed only 82 pounds at 5’6”. My limited self-esteem took another shot Having a teenage pregnancy set me apart from not only everyone at school, but everyone in my family. The odds were stacked against me. I knew that I had to change my path if I wanted to better myself and provide a positive future for my unborn child. Armed with only with my determination and a passion to be successful, I set out to create the life that I wanted for my child and myself. A life where we had enough food to eat, enough money to pay the bills and a safe place to live. And I did it.

Like my mother, I feel it’s important to make sure we have a great foundation for our children. We must guide them to grow up to be functional adults who are self-sufficient and will leave a positive impact on this world. The setbacks we face in our lives do not mean it is OK to give up and not try.

I would never want to think of the possibilities of where I would be today had I given up and not tried to reach the goals that I set that day when I found out I was pregnant.

I overcame all of those obstacles and went on to graduate from high school, to head off to college and to have four absolutely incredible children … and so much more!

I never let where I came from define who I am, but it did determine how strong I could be because of how I was raised. I took all the advice that my mother gave me and used every negative and turned them into a positive.

Believing deep inside of myself that everything that happens to us, whether good or bad, can have a positive outcome if we allow it to happen. No, nothing came easy for me, and yet maybe from afar you might think I had a pretty perfect life. Just like I used to think about others when I was young I wasn’t very close with my brother because of our age difference. Unfortunately, just when I thought we were

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Living your strengths quickly, and then my father passed away and my mother moved to Florida. My children grew up and moved on with their lives. It hit me like a ton of bricks one day. Where did everyone go? Where did the time go? I felt like I didn’t make enough time for who and what was most important to me.

Once my nest was completely empty, I reconnected with my mother on a deeper level. She completely understood how I was feeling. She had been there. After raising six children, she understood where I was in life. The “Now What?” stage.

I didn’t understand why nobody prepares you for the day when everyone leaves home. Mom would say, “Sweetheart, this is what you raise them for. Allow them to be on their own and be independent. You did an incredible job. Look at all they accomplished in life at such young ages.” She was right, of course. My three oldest children went on to serve in the military. I am proud to tell you I have two Marines and a Navy Corpsman in our family, and one son did two tours in Iraq. My youngest daughter chose the path of ministry. I am incredibly proud of all of them.

connecting on a deeper level, he passed away. I found out the day after I graduated from college. My two oldest sisters had flown to California to watch me graduate. The next day we went to Universal Studios. They were giving away free phone calls for five minutes to anywhere in the United States. At the time, that was a pretty big deal.

We called home excited to tell mom that I was officially a college graduate. You see, I was the first one in my family to do so. That’s when we found out that my brother passed away the night before. Our hearts were broken. He left behind two young daughters. My mother was never the same.

I spent the next several years working on my career as a dental assistant. Being a military wife, we moved all over.

Every new place we went, I would learn an additional skill to enhance the knowledge that I had in order to continue to grow in my profession. When we made it to the East Coast, my world changed dramatically again. I became a single mom of four children. Digging deep down inside, I knew I had to be the best possible version of myself for my children. Giving up was never an option. My children were watching me, learning from me, and one day they would say and do the things just like me with their own children.

But that’s for another story.

Life is a balancing act. I was so busy raising my family and working to provide a decent living for my own children, that I sacrificed daily contact with my parents. Time passed

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Whenever I didn’t understand something about my children, I would go to my mom. Often she would say “Honey, I’ve been there and done that. It’s not easy, but you will get through this.” Life continues to move forward, whether we’re there or not. Be present in your day. Be present in your life. Be present in the lives of those around you that you love and care for. And be present for those that you don’t know. In everything you do, there is an opportunity to touch someone’s life. Let it be in a positive way. Leave your legacy for those that are here long after we are gone.

July 2017 is a month that I will never forget. My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. We had many scares with her health in the past, but this was one we were most certainly not expecting. The diagnosis was not good, and unfortunately she couldn’t complete chemotherapy. She chose her own path on how she wanted to leave her legacy for her children. Mom is a fighter and a survivor, and this was something she knew she was going to battle on her own terms.

My relationship with my mother has never been stronger and has never burned brighter. I visit her often and have been there to document these last few cherished moments of her life. When I asked her permission to do this, she wanted to know why. I reminded her that we won’t always have a chance to ask questions, take more pictures or even hear her voice after she’s gone. If I could record these times with her now, it would bring comfort to my sisters and to me in our time of sorrow after she has left this world It was a wish that came from my heart. She readily agreed.

We have taken photos of moments that were incredibly painful and some that are touchingly beautiful. Memories that will forever be in my mind and heart. Like when she

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Living your strengths asked me to shave her head because the hair falling out in patches hurt so bad when she first started chemotherapy, or when she was resting peacefully on the couch. We have taken videos that will make us laugh and cry and then laugh so hard until we cry. The audio that we recorded will always be precious to all who listen. Moments of time forever captured. One day when the time is right, we will share these with our loved ones. My hope is that they will take comfort in the fact that she thought about them prior to her departure. With each breath she took to make these memories. She knew what she was leaving behind. Her determination and willpower to get this done is beyond a miracle.

In September, on the weekend of my birthday, my sisters and I made one last trip together to see our mother. Mom knew that this would be the last time we were all together.

At first we didn’t know how to act or what to say, but we knew what she wanted was to give us memories that would last our lifetime. We laughed, we cried and we even dropped a few words that I never thought I would hear my mother say! Wow, did that break the ice. We shared stories of growing up on the farm and made new memories to cherish. We made each moment count, understanding we would never get this time back.

My last visit was right before Christmas of 2017. Hospice has been called in. Her final days are to be spent at home.

It was while I was getting something out of the refrigerator that I noticed the yellow piece of paper on the door. Three little letters stopped me in my tracks - DNR. It’s not something you ever want to think about, especially for your loved one. My heart was breaking, and just when I didn’t think it could get any worse, it did. I opened up the door and saw the box.

The last day I was able to speak to my mother and hear her voice in return was Jan. 1, 2018. We had spoken on the phone every day. The mother-daughter bond stronger than ever. “Mom, I don’t want to hang up,” I said. She understood, but she knew we would have to eventually. I told her about my business and where I was at and all the things I was striving to achieve. I can still hear her words of encouragement. She said, “You will succeed because you are strong. You are beautiful. And you’ve never failed to reach your goal!” Wonderful words of encouragement that I will carry with me forever.

Words that I want to share with all of you. Be strong.

Be you. The sky is the limit. You can do it. Never stop believing in yourself. Always remember that when you are at the bottom, there is only one way up. The list goes on and on of the incredible words of wisdom my mother shared with me through the years. She is the strongest woman I know, and I am better because of her.

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The box arrived at the end of November. At one point they gave her weeks to live, and then they gave her less than 30 days However, she is determined to leave on her terms.

They don’t understand how she is physically still with us.

Her strength inside surpasses anything in this world. As I write my story with tears flowing freely, it has been five days since my mother ate solid food, and she is drinking very little water. Soon they will open the box.

The box may mark the end of her life, but it does not define it. Norma Jean Lewis will become a heavenly angel She is already an angel here on earth helping many and encouraging so many more. The legacy that she has left behind has helped to make me the strong determined woman that I am today She made all the difference in my life.

UPDATE - At 1:15 on January 31, 2018 “The Box” was opened. My beautiful mother, Norma Jean Lewis was called home on February 4,2018 at approximately 5:45 am.

Mom.. I love you more...

My mom was a DeWer. She was strong, smart and she left this world on her terms. Don’t ever give up… just keep DEWing you and that’s more than enough.

God bless.

About the author: Trish Lewis-Clark, FAADOM has over 25 years of experience in the front office and as a CDA, RDA-EF. She understands from experience the communication problems that can exist between the front and the back of a practice. As a practice coach and public speaker, she trains dental teams to develop conversational skills that improve communication with patients and other office team members. Mastering this essential part of running a business can lead to increased productivity and bring harmony to your practice.

A published author, Trish has written for the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) and The Observer. As an active AADOM member, Ambassador, and Fellow (FAADOM), Trish was honored to be recognized as the 2014 AADOM Office Manager of Distinction. She launched the first AADOM Chapter in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia, where she served as Chapter President through 2017.

Her years of experience as an office manager and dental assistant inspired her to launch The Dental Detective™, a program that offers common-sense training that helps teams strengthen leadership, overcome in-office challenges, improve communication skills, increase profitability and growth, and work smarter, not harder. www.DentalDetective.info investigate@dentaldetective.info

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LIVING YOUR STRENGTHS

MAMA BEAR

By Dayna Johnson

I

teach a course titled The Three Most Common Battles Between the Front and the Back, and this course was born from an article I wrote for Dentistry IQ many years before. The article, like all my articles, came from personal experience being in the trenches with dental practices over the past 12 years, and also working in two dental practices since 1993. During the course, we talk about the practice mission statement and discover if your core values are in sync with the practice core values. It’s an amazing part of the presentation, because I give my personal story about my core values and how I created my own mission statement.

In 1992, I gave birth to a beautiful 5-pound, 2-ounce baby girl named Lauren. She was perfect, and after two days in the hospital, we went home to start our life together.

During her first year, Lauren developed at the normal rate of any newborn. At a year, she was walking all over the house. Over time, we started to notice her early learning was not keeping up with pace and she was not talking as much as other children her age. She started pre-school at age 3, and it was then when we started seeing signs that something was not normal. When she was at home watching television, she would put her face right up to the television. When she was at school, she would do the same thing to the computer monitor. It was odd, and we had no idea what it was.

Lauren was unable to focus or stay on task like the other kids, and sometimes during recess, she would get aggressive with other kids. The teachers wanted us to get her on some medication so she would “calm” down and be more “focused.” We took her to several specialists, but no one could come up with a diagnosis, and I was not about to put my daughter on a medication she didn’t need.

When she was nearing the first grade, the principal called me into her office and said, “Dayna, if Lauren does not have a diagnosis, we cannot continue giving her special exceptions in the classroom. She is ADD, and you need to get her on some medication.” My response was, “She is not ADD, and I am not putting her on any medication until we know what is wrong with her.”

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So, in the fall of 1998, Lauren started first grade with no diagnosis. It was challenging. She was all over the map, and we were still searching for why she wasn’t learning and had trouble focusing. It was November of that year when I got a call. “Lauren walked into a classroom today and was very disoriented. She didn’t know where she was.” I scheduled her to see a neurologist, one specialist she hadn’t yet seen. After all the testing, it was obvious that Lauren had epilepsy. She was having hundreds of seizures a day.

We got her on the correct medication, and she significantly improved. Lauren’s learning skills and behavior made such a difference in her everyday life. We were told she might outgrow it and hopefully be off the medication before she hit puberty. That did not happen. In the sixth grade, Lauren had her first grand mal seizure at school. We were suddenly faced with the fact that this was going to be a long-term medical condition. We mixed up Lauren’s medications with the help of Children’s Hospital in Seattle to get her grand mal seizures under control for the rest of her middle-school tenure.

At the end of eighth grade, Lauren received her class schedule for her freshman year, and I thought I was going to blow a gasket. She was placed all day in the special ed classroom with no interaction with the rest of the population at the high school. She was being put in a bubble … and that was unacceptable to me. I went to the school and requested that if she had a six-class schedule, four of those classes were mainstream classes.

If she had a four-class schedule, two out of the four were mainstream classes. I had to put up a fight to get her a para-ed for all her classes, but I got it done. There was no way my daughter was going to grow up feeling different from everyone else.

All through middle school and high school, Lauren took normal bus transportation and she even rode the local community transit so she could get around our small town.

I wanted her to be independent, even with a disability.

We lived in a very small community, and everyone knew Lauren, so if she had a seizure on a bus or somewhere in the community, they knew how to reach me.

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Living your strengths When graduation time came, Lauren walked with her classmates that she had been going to school with since pre-school, but she did not actually graduate. In the state of Washington, kids with special needs can stay in school until they’re 21, so I transferred her to another school district with more resources. Lauren and I became roommates. While she finished off high school and transitioned into a working-class citizen, I was transitioning myself out of my dental practice and going through a messy, ugly divorce.

My core values were created from raising Lauren. I was her advocate when the school tried to put her in a bubble.

I was her voice when she needed someone to stand up for her. I was a resource for her when she needed advice or help with something. Working in a dental practice for more than 23 years, I became the advocate, the voice and the resource for my patients when they needed help with an insurance claim or help finding financing for treatment.

It was my mission.

My core values helped me create my own personal mission statement for my business now. It is . . .

“To be an Advocate, a Voice and a Resource for all the dental practices in the world.”

Lauren and I were both thriving with our new-found freedom and we were a strength for each other. She was such an inspiration for me because she found happiness in the simple things and really kept me grounded. Leaving her verbally abusive father showed her that life didn’t have to be angry all the time and showed me that love is everything. It was a huge, scary decision to leave the financial security that he gave both of us, but when I found Kevin and Lauren found a new community of loving people, it was all worth it.

I remember one day Lauren and I were at the YMCA working out together and she came up to me and told me that she had signed up for Taekwondo (all on her own, I might add). She was going to take the beginner classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. At this point, we were living in an apartment building that was within walking distance to the YMCA so she could get to and from class all on her own. When I purchased my own townhouse in 2012, only a year after my divorce was final, it became a little more challenging for her to get home after class because it ended at 8:30 p.m. and I did not want her taking the public transit at night. Thank goodness for UBER! It was a total lifesaver!

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Fast forward . . . Kevin Henry and I started our life together finally living under the same roof after a three-year long distance relationship. I sold my townhouse last year and Lauren has moved back to the same apartment building that she and I started out as roommates between 2011 and 2012. She has her own studio apartment that she shares with her adopted cat, Jenny. Lauren has earned her brown belt in Taekwondo and still has the same amazing instructor who has walked Lauren back to her apartment several times after having seizures at the YMCA. Now that I live 2,500 miles from her, of course I worry, and I have received that dreadful phone call that she has had a seizure. I have an amazing support system of friends, caregivers, job coaches, and neighbors who I can reach out to when I need to. Lauren has held the same job for more than five years and her teammates give her support, laughs and friendship. I travel up to Seattle at least once a month to take her to appointments, visit and make sure she is happy and healthy.

What an amazing young lady. I tell Lauren everyday how proud I am of her. She is extremely proud of herself and has grown up with strength, a good heart and the ability to let things roll off her back. I talk to her several times a day either by phone or emojis on Facebook messenger and her disability is just part of who she is. After all, we all have our own disabilities.

About the author: Dayna Johnson loves her work. During her career of managing an amazing dental practice on beautiful Whidbey Island in Washington state, she started training and consulting with other dental practices around the region and found that was her life’s work. Now with more than 25 years of experience in the dental industry, Dayna’s passion for efficient, consistent, and secure systems is grounded in personal understanding and professional expertise. With a direct, pragmatic approach, Dayna helps clients develop standardized protocols for all practice management systems.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

SLEEPING BEAUTY

By Lisa Moler

S

LEEP. It’s our escape, our refuge, our fountain of youth, our everything … well, except when it’s NOT.

Five years ago, I couldn’t escape the same recurring nightmare. I would awaken a few nights a week in terror sweats that someone was choking me! I was literally waking up choking, out of breath, shaken and exhausted, I would remind myself to breathe, that I was OK and just having “that nightmare” again. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more not OK. I was tired. I mean really TIRED. Like the kind a two-hour nap just won’t shake. Like falling asleep at my desk at 3:30 in the afternoon at my computer, every-day exhausted. I was fatigued, in pain, cranky as all get-out (think PMS on steroids … my poor hubby). I thought I was literally dying.

I had to function during the day. I owned a business. I was a publisher responsible for three magazines with crazy deadlines. I needed some serious help!

It’s not like I hadn’t been going to doctor after doctor trying to find help. I mean, I think I saw just about every specialist under the Arizona sun and had every test known to man. Was told that it was my age, my hormones, I was depressed, over-worked-change professions, take some pills! UGH!!! Finally, my knight in shining armor shows up.

Enter, of all people, a chiropractor?!? Lack of sleep makes your back (and just about everything else) ache really bad.

Mine felt like it was on fire. I had never seen this doctor in my life, and I thought, “Meh, let’s add him to my growing list of docs who probably won’t help me.” After I completed his extensive paperwork, he enters the room and bluntly blurts out, “I’m not going to even touch your back today, you have OSA (obstructive sleep apnea). I can tell by

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your answers on your intake forms and just by looking at you, that you have it. Go get a sleep test ASAP!” My first reaction was, “Who does this guy think he is, talking to me like this?” Was he just in a huge hurry, wanting to shut down early to go golfing, perhaps? His curt, direct attitude just wasn’t sitting well with me at all. Some straight talk, possibly tough love from Dr. back-cracker? In retrospect now, I must chuckle to myself thinking how I was definitely the queen of da-nile. ;) Well, guess what? I had that awkward overnight sleep test (I will save those hilarious deets for another column, on another day), but damned if he wasn’t right! The test revealed I was waking up 26 times PER HOUR during the night. The equivalent of being poked awake 26 times in 60 min period, when I was just on the verge of falling asleep … poke, poke, poke. NOT cool. Not a horrible case, but moderate, bordering on severe and enough to keep me feeling horrible and non-functioning on a daily basis.

I was mad. Maybe more frustrated than mad. Having been in the dental industry for years, and having seen my dentist every three months religiously for cleanings, exhibiting signs of bruxism and airway issues, why hadn’t he caught this for me years ago? Instead of blaming, it became clear to me what my new mission was. Publishing three specialty journals within dental and flirting with the OAT (oral appliance therapy) topic while putting out articles in my ortho mag made me think. We must have an OSA, dental-specific publication that educated dentists to diagnose and treat this debilitating condition! It’s a misnomer that OSA is just for obese, hairy, 300-pound men. Women of perimenopausal and menopausal age are being diagnosed at an alarming rate with this condition.

Yes, the darn hormones and aging have something to do

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Health & Wellness with this, ladies. Sigh.

The first line of treatment for OSA always seems to be the CPAP. Now I’m not going to CPAP bash here, but the facts are this: 50 percent of people are non-compliant with this device. If you have severe OSA, this machine is probably going to be your lifelong friend. But being in the dental industry and knowing that there are other options out there that treat OSA perfectly well led me to trying multiple OAT devices. Let’s be real, if there’s an effective option to sleep non-tethered, unencumbered, NON-Darth Vader-style, this was going to be my ticket! I joke, but the fact is, whatever the prescribed treatment choice, JUST DO IT (Nike style), and don’t give up till one works.

My diagnosis and treatment literally saved my life. A couple of months into getting sleep (for the first time in years), I truly felt like myself again. I do not go a night without my treatment, even when traveling. And as for my hubby? He’s OH SO happy, because he now gets a good night’s sleep, too! OSA treatment has become our soapbox, albeit sometimes obnoxious. We never miss an opportunity to get the point across (think SUPER-intense dinner party discussions amongst friends), but, all joking aside, amidst all of the obstacles in my long road to proper diagnosis, I discovered that sleep really is everything, as it directly effects just about every organ in our bodies, from head to toe, including our sanity.

If there is one fact I hope readers take away from my story, it should be that OSA is a VERY serious, VERY tricky, sometimes silent (snoring is not the only symptom) KILLER. It does not discriminate. Men, women, old, young, fit, not so fit … there is no single demographic profile for this disorder. Please, if you or anyone you love, exhibit

Interviewing Tony Robbins

signs of OSA, get the test and treat it. Chances are, you will stick around for years to come, to thank them for giving you the push you needed to be yourself again.

I know I sure am. Happy, blessed, present and AWAKE to enjoy and appreciate my life and those I love. What more can we ask for, really?

Sleep WELL XO

About the author: Over the last three decades, entrepreneur and innovator Lisa Moler’s reputation as one of the most dynamic forces in the American publishing industry has grown and diversified.

Since 2005, when she launched MedMark, Lisa has been the driving force behind Endodontic Practice US, Implant Practice US, Orthodontic Practice US, and Dental Sleep Practice magazine. As MedMark’s CEO/founder and publisher, she guides the company’s business strategy, while cultivating business development opportunities and establishing strategic industry partnerships.

Lisa has personally interviewed iconic public figures such as Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, and Dr. Oz. Her high energy blended with her extensive sales, marketing, and advertising experience has made Lisa a thought leader in the dental publishing field. Throughout her publications and emedia endeavors, she has built a culture of performance, respect, trust, and collaboration.

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SUCCESS

THE PRACTICE OF JUGGLING HOW DOES A BUSY PROFESSIONAL FIND WORK/LIFE BALANCE?

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By Kristin Nickells

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“I

feel like I am being pulled in many directions. The demands of my clinic seem to keep me there long days and when I get home, I’m so tired that I don’t feel present for my partner and kids.”

“I chose to become a dentist because I thought I would be able to work shorter hours and still make a good living, to have a career, and to raise a family. I find, though, that the responsibility of running a practice seems to cut into my family time and am wondering if I made the right decision to buy a practice”.

“The added responsibility of being a practice owner and managing a staff quashes my passion for dentistry. And all the work that needs doing at home seems to take precedence when I’m there – sometimes I just want to play with the kids or help them with their homework, but there’s dinner to cook and laundry to do. This isn’t how I envisioned my life!”

Do these laments sound familiar to you? Juggling a career and family is a challenge for many women and one that is especially true with a professional career and perhaps ownership of a dental practice. I wonder, though, is this challenge unique to being a woman? Would it surprise you to know that the laments quoted above are all from men?

As a dental coach, I work with dentists of both genders on a weekly basis, partnering with them to hash out ideas, meet challenges, develop balance in their lives and find relaxed confidence as leaders, bosses and business owners. I hear the same angst from both genders about how a busy professional career impacts your ability to establish and maintain a healthy family life, hold meaningful relationships with life-partners, be engaged

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parents and have leisure time for personal well-being.

This is not unique to women, although I suspect we tend to beat ourselves up about it a bit more.

Below are the top-five actions my clients and I work together on to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Incorporate just these five into your routine, and they will make a big difference for you.

1 - Cultivate Your Team Don’t just hire workers. Bring together a team of people with the right attitude and empower them with responsibility and training to be an engaged team that shows initiative, manages their own conflicts, is accountable for their own results and helps you smoothly operate your practice.

That may sound like an impossibility (and you may not ever have the perfect dream team), however, there are clear and effective actions you can take towards that goal. Understanding team dynamics and the factors that influence high performance is a first step. My certification as a high-performance team coach has taught me that most dentists don’t really do any work toward creation of a team made up of more than a series of individuals doing a job. Hiring a team coach to help you cultivate an engaged and committed team will go a long way towards removing weight off your shoulders and helping you go home at night feeling energized, not drained.

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C • • • •

T • • • • •

2 - Take Good Care of You There is nothing like sore shoulders, back, wrists or feet, strained eyes or a headache to add to your frustration when having to deal with some of the minutiae of running a practice. Yet many dentists don’t take care of the

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Success golden goose, believing that youth and vitality are lasting commodities. I have worked with dentists for over 30 years, and I see first-hand how hard this profession is on the body. It doesn’t matter where you are in your career – take the time to maintain your investment (you!). If you want to be practicing dentistry for many years, be sure to work with ergonomic furniture, ops designed for less reaching and loupes. Ensure that you have sufficient daylight.

Incorporate stretching, yoga, massage or exercise that is done in large spaces into your routine (to counteract the small space in which you work – for the mind, eyes and body).

3 - Take Care of Business Most dentists’ days and weeks are filled from start to finish with patients. If so, when do you do paperwork, look at your numbers, write letters, make phone calls to your banker, lawyer or accountant, or give feedback to staff?

In most other businesses, a manager works on these things all day while the manufacturing plant hums along on another floor. You ARE the manufacturing plant in your business. However, all those managerial duties still have to be done. If you take work home or stay late, you are interfering with your work/life balance. Make dedicated time each week where you don’t have patients to clear your desk of these tasks. Don’t panic because you are not producing. You actually are producing and your peace of mind and attention to your business will pay dividends!

woman, you may have fuzzy boundaries when it comes to bringing the stresses of the day into your home or vice versa. Your boundaries may get crossed with an employee who pushes the envelope. Do you shift your boundaries to make allowances for certain people because you don’t want to confront them? Are you letting the “shoulds” encroach (I should make more money, be more successful, have more patients, have a bigger house, better vacations, etc.)? The first step to knowing your boundaries is to know what your values are (a coach will help you to define your core values, set boundaries and maintain them)!

This keeps you grounded and establishes equilibrium. It removes self-doubt and replaces it with self-esteem!

About the author: Kristin Nickells (“Coach K”) is a Certified Executive Coach for Dentists and a Certified Team Performance Coach. She grew up in a dental family and has worked with dentists and their teams as a consultant and coach for over thirty years. She helps dentists find relaxed confidence as bosses, owners and leaders and helps them to cultivate teams that help them do that. www.nickellsilver.com

4 - Put First Things First Steven Covey’s Habit No. 3 of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to put first things first. He says, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” What does that mean for you? It means letting go of some of the notions you might be harbouring about how you use your time and give yourself permission to begin controlling your activities and schedule with a compass instead of a clock or a cash register. The perceived need to be constantly producing is, quite frankly, a trap (see No. 5 about boundaries). How (and why) you work is far more important than how much you work. Setting priorities in your life will ground you and get you out of “treadmill” mode. I get it – it’s very hard to say no to doing that filling now at the end of the day for the patient in the chair, however if your priority is to be at your son’s soccer game or make your exercise class, rebook the patient. The sun will still come up in the morning and you will be there to see it rise.

5 - Set Boundaries

Please reach out to our authors and our advertisers. They care about you and keep us in print.

We love hearing from our readers!

Check your personal engine light! Setting boundaries is different from setting priorities. Setting boundaries means understanding your core values and being true to what is meaningful for you. As a dental entrepreneur

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Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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SUCCESS

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEWING

By Carol A. Jahn

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nterviews are like first dates – exciting and nervewracking all at the same time. Everyone wants to put their best foot forward and shine. This includes both the candidate and the interviewer. Each has a stake in the game, and the goal is the same. We want to fill the position with the best candidate, and you want to be that “best” candidate.

resume writing service You may also want to consider whether having a photo on the resume is right for you. In the age of the “selfie” this is becoming quite common. Invest in a professional headshot versus putting one of your selfies on the resume

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Review your social media presence. In the digital world, if you post it, it’s public. One of the easiest ways for potential employers to find out more about you is to look at your Facebook profile or LinkedIn page. It’s not just photos that you need to worry about. More often than not, it’s posts that are made to professional pages. Refrain from posting about patients, employers or co-workers. Unless, of course, you are singing their praises. Use your post to elevate your personal brand by lifting people up not denigrating them for their practices, beliefs, or work situations

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Be active in your dental/dental hygiene community.

Attend your local and state meetings and get to know the people in the industry. Join your professional association and become active This enhances your professional presence and helps you become well-connected in the dental community. Many opportunities are never listed. Instead, people look to those they see as established local and state leaders.

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Do your due diligence on the company and the interviewer. One of the things I’m always curious about is who took the time to visit our website prior to the interview. It is surprising how few people actually do. I know this because often people are not aware of all the products we offer or how our webpage supports the program where they would provide

Over the past five years, I have interviewed hundreds of candidates and met many amazing people. Yet you can’t nail the interview if you’re not elected as potential candidate. Many people overlook this. Here are some tips to help you secure the opportunity and shine during the interview:

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Your cover letter is as important as your resume (maybe more so). I’ve received countless cover letters telling me what a great addition the candidate would be to a private dental practice. Except I’m not looking for a clinician. Some say I’m interested in the sales position; again, sales was never mentioned in the job description. The best cover letters are the ones that address several of the criteria that I have mentioned in the job listing. By identifying the position correctly and highlighting you have some of the things that I’m seeking, I see alignment, and your resume goes to the top of the heap Take the time to adapt your resume to a nonclinical position. Rather than focusing on clinical skills, highlight the ways you have helped a practice grow, influenced behavior change with patients, participate in life-long learning and volunteer with your professional association. One of the best ways to do this is to engage the services of a professional

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success services. Learn about the person who will interview you. Check their Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The dental/dental hygiene world is small. Have you met before? Do you have a colleague who knows the person? When I talk with someone who has done this, I am confident they are curious, motivated and a selfdirected learner.

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Expect that your first interview may be via a video chat. There are numerous programs from Skype to FaceTime to Zoom that allow interviewing from one area of the country to another without ever leaving home. Most are free and easy to use. Your interviewer will have reasons for using a specific platform so refrain from suggesting something different. Whether you have used the communication tool numerous times or it’s your first time, it is wise to practice first so you are able to answer the call, have the video and audio connected, and find good placement of the camera. Resist the urge to initiate the call. It’s proper protocol for the interviewer to start the video. Select your location wisely; dirty dishes in the sink or an unmade bed in the background are images that can be distracting for interviewers (and hard to forget) Should you do the interview in your car? Sometimes people do this because they don’t want people in the office knowing they are interviewing or listening.

While it’s not ideal, it is understandable. If possible, take off your coat and sit in the passenger seat as it will give you more room. Avoid interviewing in coffee shops or public locations as the background noise will interfere and be distracting.

Attire matters. A suit is no longer necessary. A professional blouse or shirt is fine paired with slacks or a skirt. Dresses are also acceptable. If you are interviewing via video, only your upper half will be visible. However, think about the overall influence your attire will have on your mindset and confidence.

Will sweats and fuzzy slippers impact how you think or would it better to wear nice jeans or trousers and street shoes? Only you know. If you’re coming from work, allow time to change out of your scrubs. Same goes for coming from the gym. Workout attire is not a good choice for an interview. Choose clothing that makes you feel good and give you professional presence.

Strive for engagement. The interview should feel conversational with a natural back and forth in dialogue. If you’re using a platform like Skype, try to remember to look at the image of your interviewer; don’t get distracted by looking at yourself Have a good beginning and ending in hand. Many interviewers will ask you to tell them a little about yourself or for any final thoughts or questions. Plan

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this out. It’s okay to say you recently ran your first 5K or that you are an amateur photographer. At the end, tie it up by reiterating why you would like the position.

Monitor how much (or little) you are talking. Talking to too little, failing to ask questions or monopolizing the conversation are sure fire ways to keep you from securing a second interview

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Keep your focus on the position at-hand. It’s natural to want to know where a position will lead and what future opportunities may be available. And it’s OK to ask. However, keep the majority of your focus on the position that is available. Think the position as defined has room for improvement or growth? Ask your interviewer how they see the position growing or changing. Refrain from telling your interviewer what’s wrong and how you will fix it. Save that for after you have secured the position.

10 Ask about future steps. As the interview is concluding, ask what future steps there are and when you will hear from them. Are additional interviews required? When will you know and how will you be notified if you have been selected for a second interview?

11 Send a thank-you note It’s easier than ever; simply send your interviewer an email. It’s also the perfect time to restate that you are still very interested in the position. Sadly, very few people send a follow-up thank you. If you do this, you will stand out.

12 Accepting

the position. You’ve gone through the paces, and now it is you and another candidate. Be sure to find out how they will let you know – phone, email, text message – and when will you know. Make sure to respond to the message – even if it’s to ask if you can have a day or two to think about the offer.

If you didn’t get an offer, it’s okay to ask why not, although in most cases, you will not get a definitive answer. Due to legal issues, many companies do not provide this information

13 Making a good impression during an interview is not

complicated. I am confident with some planning and mindfulness, everyone has the potential for securing interviews showcasing their best self. It’s what you want, and it’s what your interviewer wants

About the author: Carol Jahn, RDH, MS has a BS in dental hygiene from the University of Iowa and an MS in Continuing Education from the University of St Francis. She has been a dental hygienist since 1982. Currently, she is the Director of Professional Relations & Education for Water Pik, Inc.

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SUCCESS

THE WINNING ENTREPRENEUR OF TODAY: 6 KEY FACTORS

A

s a dental professional, you chose to be an entrepreneur. You wanted to own a business or be a part of an innovative organization where you could have a leadership role. You carved this path through hard work, study, long hours of clinic and patient care. And now, you are ready to pursue success, financial, emotional and physical health, happiness, and fulfillment. And, you want those things to be found in the profession you have chosen: dentistry.

what didn’t work And don’t keep doing it that way!

Find another way — a better way. Keep working until find a way that gets the results you’re after. Period

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Today’s sophisticated dental climate offers just that — opportunities beyond imagination. But, there is no magic wand that brings ultimate success to your doorstep. Only you can do that. The Roman philosopher Seneca once said “Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity.”

Exactly! People say, “Oh, she/he was an overnight success!” That’s not true. No one is an overnight success.

All aspects of life prepare a person for whatever is coming next. Life is the classroom. Each job, each class, each organization you have led, each book you have read, each person you have met – everything — has prepared you for whatever was coming next in your life. When you open yourself to the learning — opportunities will flourish.

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You will make mistakes. But don’t let fear of failure prevent you from moving forward or stifle you from trying again. Learn from every mistake. Don’t flog yourself into timidity and run to hide in the shadows because you didn’t get something right the first time you tried. Pick yourself up and try again. Get advice.

Figure out what worked — do more of that. Figure out

Hire a coach. Get the advice from someone you trust — someone who has “been there/done that.” Know that there is someone at the other end of the line who cares about you and has your success as one of their goals as much as it is your goal. You cannot and do not know everything. Your investment in wisdom and coaching will be one of the best investments you will ever make and will pay for itself multifold. I have always had coaches in my life — and always will.

Be a role model for yourself and others how up every day ready to dive into the work of the day. Each day is THE DAY that will take your company/practice to the next level. Be excited to do just that. Bring energy and tenacity to the workplace every day. When you come to the workplace with enthusiasm, people will reflect that. You cannot buy enthusiasm, but you can catch it!!! If you want your team to be excited about your practice, then you must be the example of that.

If you come in negatively — they will reflect that, also.

Look in the mirror. What do you see? Whatever you are putting out there is exactly what you will be getting back. Show up daily ready to hustle.

6 KEY FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS TODAY

1

By Cathy Jameson, PhD

3

Work on your business every day. Don’t become comfortable with the status quo. There is no such thing as status quo. You are either going up or you are going down. The law of physics teaches us this truism. Each day solidify the things that are going well.

Express appreciation to people and/or projects that

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practicesuccess@wellsfargo.com wellsfargo.com/dentists any time

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ADA Business Resources is a program brought to you by ADA Business Enterprises, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Dental Association.

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ADA Business Resources is a program brought to you by ADA Business Enterprises, Inc., ADA Business Resources℠ is a service mark of the American Dental Association.

ADA® is a registered trademark of the American Dental Association. a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Wells Fargo Practice Finance is All financing is subject to credit approval and if applicable, determination of SBA eligibility.

Wells Fargo Practice Finance

Preparing for Ownership Practice Success Series for Dentists

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wellsfargo.com/dentists practicesuccess@wellsfargo.com 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday

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All financing is subject to credit approval. © 2018 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Wells Fargo Practice Finance is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. IHA-5503001 • Financing your practice • Developing your plan • Assembling your team • Defining your career

Inside

How can we help?

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Success are going well so that they continue that path. And be interested in moving all things to a higher plane.

Set your sights higher and higher. Even if you have team members who say things like, “Can’t you ever be satisfied?” or, “Isn’t anything ever good enough for you?” and so on — the answer is no. If you were to become satisfied with the status quo, you would not qualify to be called an entrepreneur. And you would never be a successful business owner. In fact, you probably would never consider owning a business or being an executive leader within an organization.

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5

Be on a continuous path of learning. Never become complacent. Complacency is a death wish in life and in business. In any business — and certainly in a fastmoving profession such as dentistry – things change daily: technology, clinical procedures, marketing, management, personnel, OSHA. Everything changes DAILY! So learn to embrace change. Might as well! It’s here. Look at change as an opportunity to develop, to expand, to grow, to become more than you ever imagined possible. The psychologist William James says that the average human being only uses about 5-10 percent of his/her potential. But not you. You are going to use much more than that And as such, you will soar! That’s good news! Change equals maximizing potential Persevere. That’s my favorite word. When people ask me what I think has been the most important factor in helping me build and maintain a successful business for 30 years, I point to —without hesitation – perseverance. I believe in the mission we are on. I believe in the purpose we are serving. I believe that the mission we are on is bigger than me or any individual or all of us put together. The passion that we put into our work with our clients, with each other and with our profession gives us the strength and fortitude to forge ahead even during the toughest of times. When the road was so rough that I wasn’t sure how I could keep going, we persevered. And we stayed focused on the mission. And that focus led the way. On the other side of every single challenge was greater strength, greater knowledge, greater wisdom, greater financial benefit and growth. Persevere. Never quit. You can do it. Believe in your mission Believe in yourself. Believe. Your actions will follow the major focus of your mind.

The successful entrepreneurs today find excitement, fulfillment and happiness in and outof the workplace. And why not? The purpose of life is joy. Joy can be yours.

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“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

-Franklin D. Roosevelt “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

-Thomas Jefferson

About the author: Cathy Jameson is the founder of Jameson Management, an international dental management, marketing and hygiene coaching firm. The Jameson Method of Management, developed by Cathy, offers proven management and marketing systems for helping organizations improve their workflow and efficiency in a positive, forward thinking culture. Cathy earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and then a Master’s Degree in psychology from Goddard College. She received her doctorate from Walden University.

Cathy has been named one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry as well as being the recipient of the second Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Dental Office Managers in 2014.

She considers herself a life long learner and encourages those around her to be in a constant state of study, growth and action. She is the author of several books, including her latest title; Creating a Healthy Work Environment. For more information on Jameson’s services, visit her website at www. cathyjameson.com.

Dental Entrepreneur Woman

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MacPractic

MacPractice Simplicity in practice

DOES YOUR SOFTWARE MATTER?

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STYLE

SEE YOURSELF – LOVE YOURSELF – BE YOURSELF – RESPECT YOURSELF A

s busy ambitious professionals, we don’t lack for things to do. In fact, most of us have our to-do list close at hand. What most of us don’t have on that list is the instruction to see ourselves. Video and photos and input from others give us the opportunity to see ourselves as others see us and the importance of doing so should not be missed. In fact, Yale University listed the ability to accurately see ourselves as others perceive us as one of the top two qualities of successful people. The second area of strength needed was listed as the ability to move others towards action. The second trait – moving others towards action gets a great deal of attention in sales, management and leadership training, but the instruction to accurately see yourself as others perceive you is too often ignored.

In Yale’s recommendation, to work on accurately seeing yourself is the knowledge that all interactions impact the impression we are making and determines how others treat us. My experience as an image expert is that we fall short in this area to see ourselves for one of three reasons with each being equally impactful.

Reason No. 1 We don’t believe that the visual aspect of our persona should matter – that others will see who we are after spending time with us and the final impression will not be impacted by clothes we wear, our hairstyle or makeup. We don’t make the link between the first impression being a lasting impression, nor do we recognize how quickly we all make judgements on success and capabilities based on the multiple images our subconscious takes in with our interactions.

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By Janice Hurley

Before

After

Reason No. 2 We’re stuck in the visual that worked for us earlier in life.

If we felt and looked fabulous and current in the ‘80’s, we might well hold onto that hairstyle and makeup routine that gave us confidence. We like the familiar, its predictability and safety. We don’t keep track or notice what clothing or hair changes are taking place and we keep doing what we have always done.

Reason No. 3 We’re really busy working on our long to-do list, and we put our appearance towards the bottom of our priorities versus understanding its immediate and long-lasting impact. We highly value the quality of the service we bring to others, and we have no doubt our clients will see its value. We’re going to invest in our personal and professional appearance AFTER we lose some weight and AFTER we get paid more for our speaking and consulting.

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style My most recent professional image client, Penny Reed, had this third reason for postponing her image update.

Busy as can be meeting the responsibilities she had taken on with new dental clients, promoting her new book and increasing her speaking engagements, she just couldn’t imagine when or where she would have time to update her current pleated-pants-and-everything-is-black persona.

I have known Penny over the years as a hardworking, straight-shooting practice management consultant with a great sense of humor. As we ran into one another over the last couple of years, she would lament the fact that she never felt dressed as well as others in our group, nor did she know what do about it on her own. She would say, “I am telling you, I don’t have the fashion gene!”

I am active socially on Facebook and Instagram, and a post from Penny on one of her speaking engagements caught my eye She was posting on Instagram as part of her ongoing marketing campaign, and I knew she wanted to be seen as the top-notch professional she was. With illfitting pleated black baggy pants and a nondescript black top, I thought, “This does not represent how fabulous she is, and I know she can look and feel much better.”

I contacted Penny as a friend and said, “If not now girlfriend, then when?” She said, “You’re right … how soon can you get me in?”

Penny flew from Collierville, Tenn. to San Diego for a day and a half of mindful reflection and purposeful shopping.

Coaching in this area of one’s life involves understanding your mindset towards self-care, self-worth and financial consideration. My clients are often surprised to learn I don’t believe they need a lot of clothing. Instead, I put great value on the fit and fabric of every purchase.

Each and every one of us has a best-case formula when it comes to selecting shoes and clothes to get the desired effect. As women, we look at the proportions we have and use color and proportions to create the best semblance we can of an hourglass figure. For Penny, understanding her body proportions to include very slender legs, a wider torso, small shoulders and excellent height, it allowed her to make flattering clothing selections.

We quickly uncovered that the pants that fell close to her ankle were flattering and quickly communicated she was “fashion forward” and current in her attire. Once we found the best cut for her in a specific brand, we got four of the same pant in different colors. Like other women with slim legs and hips but a larger middle and torso Penny looked more proportioned with a lighter colored pant on the bottom and a darker shade on top. She also benefited from creating the illusion of looking smaller on the top half

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by using jackets, sweaters, scarves and necklaces that created vertical lines across her chest.

My specific instructions to Penny were that she would want to avoid flowered patterns in tops and scarves because they can look matronly. Solid tops with interesting scarves for added color and interest served her well. And though black is a flattering color to her skin tone, she was coached to use it more sparingly than she had in the past and to instead embrace strong bold colors that suited her personality well.

I took new professional headshots for her at the end of the day, and she quickly updated both her website and her speaker’s packet with visuals that more accurately represented her. My true desire with each and every makeover client is that we represent you at your very best, unique and boldly confident so you can always focus on the best you have to bring others. Penny Reed is one very busy successful woman who no longer has to spend time on this area of her life that both frustrated and confused her.

Although many of us want to postpone investing in ourselves until we lose weight, have more money and have more time, my experience is that putting yourself first often brings those three benefits around to you more quickly.

About the author: Janice Hurley is considered "Dentistry's Image Expert".

Passionate about doing what ever it takes to have patients see their dentist and team in the best light. She coaches and presents on the visual, verbal and body language impact we have in our control. She does a 30 point Image Assessment on site that helps offices generate higher revenue daily and attract patients that refer and accept treatment. She is our very own What Not To Wear "go to" for optimal impact in our personal and professional lives. www.janicehurley.com

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REFLECTION

I MARRIED THE CHRIST CHILD

By Suzanne Kump

I

had the Devine pleasure of spending time with Mother Teresa now Saint Teresa, as a result of marrying the Christ Child! The article below was written September 6, 2016. My husband, John, is the little boy playing with match cars with Mother Teresa. She touched our lives in so many ways. I am a believer of the power of prayer.

Mother Teresa’s Home Away From Home

By Matthew Davis, The Catholic Spirit Patti Kump learned about Mother Teresa late one night while reading a missionary magazine and taking care of one of her infant children at the time.

She decided to write to Mother Teresa, who had yet to become known worldwide. A lifelong friendship developed. The Kumps soon witnessed Mother Theresa in the ordinariness of daily American life during her visits.

“She really lived the life of our household,” said Teresa (Kump) Leghorn, a daughter of Warren and Patti’s. “She had meals with us, she liked to chat with us and she loved to talk to us children and interact with us.”

Mother Teresa did so while using that time as a spiritual retreat from her apostolate of serving the poorest of the poor. Leghorn recalled her parents asking the children to let Mother Teresa have space and quiet, which didn’t always work as the couple had planned.

One day, Patti Kump heard noise in one of her children’s rooms during Mother Teresa’s prayer time. Kump went upstairs to find out the cause and found her son playing with Match Box cars with Mother Teresa.

“They were driving the Match Box cars around in these grooves [in the carpet] and making car noises like you do when you’re a little kid,” Leghorn said. “My mom said, ’Oh Mother, I’m so sorry I didn’t want to disturb you.'"

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"We have all been created for greater things to love and to be loved."

- Mother Teresa “’And she [Mother Teresa] said, ‘no, no, that’s alright; I was meditating on the Christ child, and he came to visit me,'“ Leghorn added.

Mother Teresa last visited the Kumps in 1986, but Patti visited Mother Teresa, too, and remained in regular contact. Mother Teresa even invited Patti to join her for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She had to decline because of family obligations.

The Kump family contributed much for aiding Mother Teresa’s mission. Patti helped found the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa in the U.S., who participate in the Missionary of Charity’s work through lay outreach to the poor.

“It wasn’t a fundraising group, it was more of sharing of the work and a showing of the love of Christ with others through their work,” Leghorn said.

Both Warren and Patti attended Mother Teresa’s beautification in 2003, which they contributed information to for the cause. The couple also brought up the unconsecrated hosts to St. John Paul II during other the beatification Mass.

“That was one of the big moments of their lives,” Leghorn said. “They were so thrilled to be able to be there and be part of it.”

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Fun MY SMILE IS

#MYSMILEISPOWERFUL

April,

from the United States—a stay-at-home mom who loves camping, baking, and teaching—smiles most when she is with her family. Opalescence Go® whitening trays are an easy way for her to whiten and juggle four kids at the same time. A brighter, whiter smile is sure to bring out your patient’s personality. That’s the power of a smile. Find out more at ultradent.com/mysmileispowerful.

800.552.5512 | ultradent.com © 2018 Ultradent Products, Inc. All rights reserved.

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For You About You

By You

SUBSCRIBE! Please consider subscribing to DeW Magazine. Subscriptions are available from our website: dew.life

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: DEW LIFE MAGAZINE & DEW.LIFE WEBSITE Dew Life magazine is both a digital and a print publication devoted to highlighting and empowering all women in dentistry. Our goal is to inspire women to connect and move each other forward lifting one another up to heights we only dreamed possible.

We are delighted to receive general submissions from you, women in dentistry. What is your story and how can you inspire us? What are some of your ‘top of mind’ questions or comments about the dental profession? Is there a topic you would like to explore that could be introduced on our website as a blog or as a feature in our print edition?

We want to hear from you and share your narratives.

How can you contribute to Dental Entrepreneur Women? Just Dew it.

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Photographs - will be needed as hi-res digital images such as tiff or jpeg (300 dpi, at least 6” x 6”). It is important that they are saved in the proper manner in order for our graphic designers to work with them. If you use a digital camera, check your settings before taking photos to ensure you are saving the best-quality images possible. If you cannot provide large enough photos, we may not be able to print your photo, no matter how much we like it.

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