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Last Memorial Day weekend, the Dean of SUNY/Buffalo Dental School and the Chairman of the Department of Restorative Dentistry (Dr. Munoz) asked me to return to the school to discuss my future role at the Dental School. Last Friday, I drove 5 hours in preparation to teach a course to a select group of senior dental students. I had the pleasure of spending all day Saturday with the students. The morning session was a lecture entitled, "The Direct Resin Mockup as the First Step in Predictable Excellent Results in Eshtetic Dentistry." This is the same lecture that I delivered to practicing dentists in Saratoga Springs the previous week. The afternoon session was a hands on course to teach my young colleagues how to manage resin so that they can achieve beautiful bonding on front teeth.
My visit was the very first time that a nationally recognized clinical dentist travelled to the school to teach dental students.
Why would I do this??? For the Money???? Never! I do not accept money when teaching at my alma mater, UB Dental School. So WHY did I go to Buffalo to teach?
I strongly believe that it is an obligation of the profession to teach excellence to our young colleagues. As my mentor, Fred McIntyre says, "If we do not teach excellence to our students, they will not know excellence." I wanted to show the students what a wonderful profession dentistry is and that when we treat our patients, it is an obligation to aim for excellence in our clinical dentistry.
I was honored to learn that my young students loved my lecture and that no one had ever given them a lecture like mine.
I was also delighted to have the Chairman of the Department tell me that there is no other faculty member at the Dental School who can do what I do at the level that I do it.
This was incredibly validating since UB Dental School rejected me as a student three years in a row....Redemption is sweet.
