The Call

Last night at around 7:45, my cell rang but I let it go to voicemail because I did not recognize the out of area number. I listened to the message from a woman from Brooklyn who said that they were visiting Saratoga for the weekend and her father had a toothache. She told me that her family was not one of my patients and that she would understand if I did not respond to her plea for help.

I have always believed that when someone is traveling and has a dental problem, that it is imperative upon the local dental community to help them so I called the woman and informed her that I do not do either root canal therapy or extract teeth but that if an antibiotic and/or pain medication would help, I was available to see her dad.

Fortunately, I located the problem relatively quickly and I identified a minor gum infection around an implant and provided a prescription for two medications. The patient, a slightly crotchety man approaching 70 asked me how much he owed for the visit. I told him that I would write it on one of my office notepaper.

The note said: SmileTrain.Com.

He and his daughter asked what this meant and I informed her that I didn't want to be paid but would rather have them make a contribution to SmileTrain, the charity that treats cleft lips and palates for children around the world. It is also one of the few charities that spends EVERY PENNY of your contribution on surgery for the children and not a penny for fund raising or administration.

Needless to say, the family was stunned.

I felt ethically bound to treat a visitor to our city and my intention was to get him out of pain. It was also my intention to let him know that not everything is about the money and that doing the right thing for the right reason is what we do.

All of us who are capable need to be more generous with our time and our money for those who are not capable.