A patient and I were talking the other day. I've been seeing him for about six years now. When I first saw him, he was working a good job, lots of overtime, things were good. You know, he had one of those jobs with a relatively long-standing company in the area. Made a lot of car parts, both mechanical and electrical. And since EVERYONE needs a car, things looked pretty secure.

Is ANYTHING for sure? Yep ... CHANGE. That patient, having been out of work for awhile, has just landed a good job again. I told him that back in the early '80s I had several patients who worked for AT&T - not the AT&T of today, but the one that had the long-distance monopoly. I figured they were set. Guess what? That changed. Cincinnati Milacron - long-time employer - gone. I'm sure we all have our own examples. Something we thought would be around forever, changed drastically or gone!

Change is a constant. And change can be good. I look at how dentistry has changed while I have been practicing these 33 years. Just a few changes! HA! So what can we do?

Be adaptable. Look at how you can improve yourself and your practice. Look to people like Imtiaz Manji to see the future of practices and how to be efficient and effective in your everyday procedures. Learn, learn, learn!

So be ready for the ONLY thing that is for sure ... CHANGE!