My Hobby

In 1999, after I won the most prestigious clinical contest in dentistry, The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Smile Contest (there were 5 winners in the world) the Troy Record came to my office to interview me. I have the full story about me hanging on the wall in the waiting room of my Troy office. Every new patient that has come to my office since 1999 has read that article and the one thing that they all comment on was my statement that dentistry was my hobby.

When you think about that, what does the statement that, "Your work is your hobby," really mean? It means many things but I think that we can agree on some of the most important areas. When someone has a hobby they:
1. Want to lean and know as much as possible about the subject that interests them
2. Intuitively know that some people are average, good or great at this particular hobby and they want to seek out the best to teach them everything there is to know.
3. Devote more time to perfecting their skill in their hobby
4. Are willing to spend more money buying better tools or equipment to develop their skills.
5. Are not afraid to show their work to other hobbyists so that their work can be critiqued.
6. Tend to get better with practice as opposed to becoming bored by doing something over and over.
7. Are passionate about their work.

After almost 35 years as a dentist, dentistry is still my hobby and I am still perfecting my craft despite the fact that many of my colleagues don't believe that that is really necessary.

My work is my hobby and I hope to be a better dentist next year than I am this year. And in ten years, I hope to look back at the work that I am doing today and remark how much better I am than I used to be.

The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry no longer holds a Smile Contest but even at age 62, I feel that I still could win...Why wouldn't I win...my work is my hobby.