Live to Learn!

                                 

                          “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

                                                                                                       ― Mahatma Gandhi

Earning my DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) degree in 1991 was quite an accomplishment.  After 4.5 years of undergraduate at UC Davis, 4 years at UCLA Dental School, California state board exam, the idea of “education” did not sound appealing.  I remember taking my last written board exam and singing “Hallelujah…  may I NEVER  take another exam for the rest of my life!”

A new DDS soon discovers that there is a “continuing education (CE) requirement “ to renew our license.  What??  50 hours of (CE) every 2 years?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  I just spent my last 9 years in school and I thought I was done! … I do not want to go back to school!!!

Fast forward 22.5 years and what I have realized is that I didn’t want to go back to school, however… I LOVE TO LEARN!!  I love learning new things… new technology, new business strategies, new procedures, new marketing skills.  My husband and I consider ourselves “continuing education junkies”, and we really look forward to our continuing education courses that typically include air travel to a cool city, a nice hotel and venue.  CE has honestly been our couples retreat… Mom would come babysit our boys when they were young while Scott and I traveled to SF or Seattle, Chicago, Scottsdale to name a few.  Our romantic getaways usually included long days of lecturing, rooms full of other dentists and we would spend our days learning new techniques and philosophies that would  aloow us to improve how we serve our patients.  Not too sexy for most couples… but perfect for a couple of dental nerds.

Scott recently posted on our FB page some photos from the Kois Center in Seattle where we have trained extensively and where he continues to mentor other doctors.  He says it beautifully…”It’s about CHANGING LIVES. Ours, and the patients we serve.”

Here is a partial list of what I have studied over the course of my dental career that I did NOT learn in dental school:

• Extensive Hands on Training in Cosmetic Dentistry and Veneers
• Invisalign – orthodontics
• CEREC Cad/Cam technology
• 3D Imaging/Radiography
• Kois Center Graduate Training (www.Koiscenter.com)
• Landmark Education – Life coaching
• Freedom FastTrack – Financial/ Business Coaching
• Next Level Practice – Team Coaching
• Chopra Center – Meditation and Yoga
• Facial Esthetics – Botox for TMJ therapy and cosmetic enhancement

My philosophy about learning has extended to every day of my life.  I subscribe to the belief that every person, situation and circumstance in our life is here to teach us something if we stay present enough to look for the lesson.  Learning for me is a way of living and it has allowed my life to be fun, exciting, inspirational, creative and full of possibility.

Ask yourself… what will YOU commit to learning today?

Leslie Strommer, DDS

New Image Dental

7510 Hazard Center Drive, SD, CA 92108

drleslie@newimagedentalcare.com