Balancing Dentistry and Holiday Cheer

The holidays are upon us. Aside from dealing with the usual end of year “rush” (which is more like a mini surge this year rather than a deluge), deciding on the time for the holiday party, and the patients who are keeping their appointment time, I had the joy of picking my son Ryan up from O’Hare today.


Ryan has been studying abroad (Glasgow to be exact). His return today, after three months away, was met with some schedule juggling. He called early this morning at 3:30am, to let me know he was on an earlier flight home.

Of course, I was thrilled. I had a school board meeting this evening and would not have seen him until after the meeting, which I anticipated would have ended very late. He would have been either asleep or out with friends. This way, I was able to pick him up, feed him (he looked like he lost twenty pounds) and head out to my meeting with a clear head.

But, wait a second, you may be asking, “what about my patient day”? Yes, I had patients scheduled and thankfully the young girl that I thought was my last patient had been called into work. Could she come in at 7:00 instead of at the end of the day. Perfect, I thought.

Then I came into the office to see I had another patient scheduled after her. Luckily, this patient was rather flexible and we were able to accommodate him in an earlier time slot. So, off I went to the airport, on time, to pick up Ryan.

Holidays are crazy times. Between patients needing to change their schedule, our goal of keeping on task albeit with lengthy conversations about family, shopping, food and friends, as well as our own personal festivity planning, we have a fun balancing act. But, I am here to say, we can do it all.

Thank goodness for Black Friday and my crazy shopping adventure that began at 3:30am and ended when the sun came up, I am done helping the economy. Now, I can sit back, relax, enjoy my end of the year patients with patience. And have some quality time with my own family.

Take some time to reflect on the peace of the season. Dentistry can be a little hectic at times. But, balanced with holiday cheer, you will have a great season. Happy holidays, everyone. Health, peace and happiness.