We pulled off another eight hour lecture - this time in the heart of our US farm belt in the Midwest, Nebraska.  The evening before was spent with the dental school in Lincoln for a lecture to mostly faculty and some students (super people there and a great  facility) followed by an evening lecture in Omaha.

The trooper that deserves a salute is Libby.  Note her center in first picture with the cute running shoes (she had changed shoes after the lecture to pitch in with Jessica and the rest to help clean up and organize all the materials for the trip back to South Jordan.)  Libby is a trooper, a hard working team player who grew up on a farm in this region but who went on to finish college with a degree in acting!   Libby is responsible for bringing in almost all 200 attendees to the lecture.   The “one and only” Julie, a  classy professional regional manager who supports and grows her team, was there (picture one again and to my left).  Julie is exemplary in passing the credit onto her team as she beams with pride on their accomplishments.  

Great support from other team players occurred at this meeting including from Tams of nearby states of this  region.  Starting at far left and moving to the right:  Jessica, our very hard working seminars guru from home office, Laurie, one of our exceptional Endo specialists, then Tams Diane and Heather (standing by Libby).  To my right and lower is Steve and to my right and higher, Mike (a new addition to seminars department).  We missed the young and  driven Doran in the picture.  I felt like I was with family – good stuff and wonderful program!

This week, off for two back-to-back all day programs of eight hours each in Minneapolis Saint Paul!  I’m looking forward to it complete with spending a little time with our great colleagues/Ultradent team up there.

Thank you all!

Dan 

I'm so proud of our Ultradent Team.

Despite of all of us having to live through the wage freeze and tightening up in other areas, you’ve opened your cabinets, wallets and hearts to help the homeless.  Ultradent employees were able to double our donations from last year bringing in 18,651 cans of food in a challenge with Swire Coca-Cola!!

A big congrats to the team at Ultradent for making the Utah Food Bank Food Drive Challenge a success!  This is particularly important in a time when charities have been struggling because of economic difficulties.

Thank you all for your heartfelt support of this very important cause.

Dan  

Last week, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Sealants for Smiles Gala in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Ultradent is a sponsor of the program.  What a wonderful event - and, more importantly, what a wonderful cause!   Sealants for Smiles program which is a charitable organization that providing school-based oral health education and dental sealants to underserved children.  This year, the program served 61 low-income elementary schools in Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele, and Summit counties placing 16,000 sealants. 

The results? After an evaluation one year after the procedure, 97% of the teeth remained decay free.   It truly hit home hearing the words of Mr. Fred Ball the evening of the gala.  I wanted to share a portion with you here:

“A smile costs nothing, but gives much.  It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.  It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is to poor but that he can be made rich by it.  A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship.  It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature’s best antidote for trouble.  Yet, it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.  Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give.”

-Anonymous Author

For those of us who are blessed with comfort and pleasure, our smiles and our teeth are frequently taken for granted. Just brushing and caring for our teeth may seem to be a simple, routine process we all just “do.” But, do you realize the importance of a simple smile on our success and happiness?

A smile is inviting, calming, reassuring and positive. Those of you who are in business or are entrepreneurs work diligently toward your goals, looking for opportunities and taking risk to succeed. If you are confident and positive, your smiles will come easy and may even encourage your contacts to take a chance on you. If you have taken care of your teeth and brushing daily, you are more likely to smile and feel good about yourself. Of course, your success can’t be directly correlated to a smile, but the positive attitude that comes along with a healthy, genuine smile just might play a bigger role than you ever imagined.

Think then about a child who because of lack of tooth care won’t or can’t smile. Doesn’t it also make sense that the positive and confident attribute will be markedly absent from his or her appearance, demeanor and attitude? Will not success and happiness come slower or harder because of the lack of that pleasant, happy countenance?

I personally was not aware of the immensity of the underserved population for children right here in Utah. There are hundreds of beautiful, sweet, young people in our communities who simply never smile. Why? Because they are ashamed of their teeth and mouth. Their confidence suffers. Their school work and attendance suffers. Yes!! There is a need HERE for action. Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. We have willing professionals to attend to the work needed. There certainly is a needy population of our neighbors and friends who need the work but because of circumstances can’t provide the resources to accomplish the work.

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of man, but from doing something worthwhile. Being generous with Sealants for Smiles is worthwhile. You can attain real joy and satisfaction in knowing that you have put a great big smile on the face of a beautiful child.

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. 

Dear Colleagues,

Ten days ago,  I completed a fabulous and productive lecture tour through India.  This was organized by our wonderful  Ultradent colleague, Girish.  Our talented and hard working territorial manager for the region, Nicolas accompanied us on this tour.  Nicolas found and hired Girish as Nicolas had appropriately come to realize that we needed talented and focused effort every day on the ground for a country as large and complex as India.  The picture above shows in one picture our closest and most “immediate” family of Ultradent stalwarts in India.  On the left is Ramish, an incredible devoted, loyal and caring professional supporter of Ultradent and for many years now, Girish and his lovely daughter and to my right, his most lovely wife with another lovely daughter  and finally, Nicolas, our beacon now for the last few years in South East Asia including India.

My first day was spent at the World Dental Show for India where I met with our distributor there Abetabh, president of Omega  (Please note picture of him with recently placed cast; he’d just fallen and broken his wrist at the beginning of the meeting as he was rushing around.)  and several sub dealers (the two in picture three are twin brothers of a third generation dental company out of a very special and small sect of India who are known for their integrity and most interesting connections to the earth, even in many ways similar  to our early American Indians).  Prior to the lecture we had a ribbon cutting event for our booth and as shared with our distributor and sub dealers.   Following this, I lectured to some 650 dentists for some 4 hours.  They were most attentive and interested.  Please note pictures 4 though 6.  And, just to keep things spicy, simultaneously and with the help of many young dentists, this group made the Guinness Book of Records by performing oral checkups on over 10,000 patients, a 24/7 effort! 

In the evening following this lecture, I was brought to a large football stadium where I presented to 3,500 dental students, young dentists and their professors.  Wow, what vitality!

The next morning, off to Coimbatore to present to a fabulous group of about 160 highly educated dentists.  These dentists are afforded great training and from around the world because of the dedication of the former Secretary General of the India Dental Association, Dr Veerabahu who lives in Coimbatore.  He, with the help of his wife and daughter (also a fabulous dentist and described as the “pillar “support with her 13 year old daughter to her father.  I have to say with pride of her however  that she is a classy “self thinking”  “pillar”.) have built and run a very special  CE facility and program that serves a rural but very large even population wise .  Dr Veerabahu, also known as  “the little general” has the care and passion of a saint yet the roar and command of a lion.  He is credited (and because of his very hard and self sacrificing work) to have taken dentistry in India to its “next level”.  Wow, I was really impressed with this 71 year old gentlemen. 

 And yes, each program on this tour, began with a most interesting lamp lighting ceremony of which this one did also.  And wow, what a day, an all day lecture plus  we traversed  three different cities that day all at least an hour and a half apart by jet flight.  Sorry, I don’t have pictures of this wonderful event and “the little General”.  It was all most meaningful and humbling to me.

The third day I lectured in the city of Bangalore.  This is probably the most modern city in India, and with a population of a few million.  It is the principle city that our US  IT companies and call center companies have outsourced to.  I spoke to another fabulous group of over one hundred dentists and yes, first the fun and respectful ceremonies (complete with the donning of the Maharajah “crown”).  This program was organized by a young dentist Dr Sibi , who with his kids and wife, make it all happen.  Furthermore this guy is the editor of a dental magazine in India that is distributed to some 40,000 dentists!  Another hard working guy who folds his family into his hard work.  They all radiated.

The fourth day and “still ticking”:   I had the opportunity to present at one of the better of the many, many dental schools in India, the KLES College.  We had an amazing and gracious welcome from the Dean of the school, who with several hundred of his students, attended my lecture (This Dean was/is pure class).   

In the evening, I presented for about 45 minutes to over 100 prominent dental dealers and dentists, about 50:50 mix sharing, with them who Ultradent was and where we wanted to go in India.  This program was sponsored by our distributor Omega.

The fifth day:  Back to Mumbai/Bombay,  a ribbon  cutting ceremony and more for our new office and as shared with our distributor in India!  Wow, many highly respected gurus of dentistry in India attended!  Hey, we now have an office in India!  Following this, Girish had a nice program set for me  to present to these “gurus” and others  at a near hotel.  Please note the photo of the champagne toasting and with our Ultradent team/family accompanying me at the front.  Following, demonstrating the Valo to them and with their eyes “popping”!

Still some unfinished business:  On the way to the airport, we made a stop first at the very special practice of Ramish where he and his lovely wife treated us like kings.  He is one of the most humble, noble and loyal  souls/professionals I have ever met.  Then, still before arriving at the airport, we go to the “knight in shining armor”, Satish, who first came to Ultradent in 1994 and now  several times after and with his colleagues including groups of Indian dentists for education.  Satish is a special loyal supporter.  Note first picture with our team, Ramish and his lovely and supportive wife to his left and the rest plus finally, with Satish and his office team in his office.  Wow, such wonderful loyal and supporting humans!  We are most fortunate.

The program in India was a well orchestrated program complete with several interviews by several magazine editors and more.  Girish and Nicholas gave it their all.  Hugs to both of them.  And, it is great knowing we not only have Nicholas on our team in South East Asia but we also have the fabulous Indian, namely Girish, slugging it out for us with his great care, quality, integrity, innovative ways, and super hard work!  Add to this our fabulous International leader, Jim Wilson, our fabulous regulatory team headed by Corey and Dianne who are giving it their very best to get our products positioned in India, Ger Bastiaans, our incredible advisor and long term colleague who studied the marketplace there two weeks prior to my going even providing a most comprehensive and meaningful report on India with his special advice plus, many, many others of our team such as the very caring and hard working  Phyllis T who have all made their/your contributions in great ways.

A special thanks to those named here plus even others plus other special moments too numerous to fold into this presentation.  As it is, I already have folded A LOT more pictures etc into this report than the norm.  But hey, how does one fold the most populated country (or second, they and China debate over this) into a short or even moderately  short report and when the events are maximized by a driven caring and hard working colleague such as Girish?

Fun stuff and thank you all,
Dan

As some of you know, last week I did a lecture program through two countries of Eastern Europe with two lectures in Moldova (former Soviet Republic next to Romania) and one in Lithuania.  Our hard-working young mom and territorial manager for the region, Olga, accompanied me. 

Please note picture with Olga, Dr. Ivan Caracas (our distributor for Moldova), and myself on the steps of the large theater where the lecture occurred.   It actually was a very special event as it was a celebration of the 50th year of the dental school there (the only one in the country) and the 500th year celebration of the University. 

With all the fanfare, the local television stations reported on the event.  I was interviewed by three of them. 

I spoke the first day to a group of about 500 dentists, the second day to about 300 including students of the dental school.

Following the lecture, the dental school put on a program to celebrate the 50th birthday of the school.  I was surprised when they presented me with an honorary professorship from their school.  Hence I’m now an Associate Professor at the school in Moldova.  Fun stuff. 

Traveling by plane some distance north to the Baltics, my third lecture was given to a large group of endodontists and general dentists highly interested in Endodontics.  Peter Åhren covers the three Baltic countries along with the Nordic countries.  Our fabulous lecturer for Endodontics, Dr. Renato Leonardo was on the program with me.  He always does a great job.  This generated significant interest in our endo system, including our new one which is close to launch -- Tilos.  

It is always great to return home.  But all in all, the program was very productive.

As special thanks to Olga, Chace, Dr. Renato, et al as well our distributors there who all did a great job to make these programs as successful as possible.

Thank you,
Dan

http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/2009_08_26/dental_partnerships 

Congratulations Carlos!  Your expertise, care, drive and experience continues to shine through.  We are proud of you - keep up your good work!

-Dr Dan Fischer, Neil Jessop and the Ultradent team. 

As most of you know, the 40^th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon just passed.  The amount of shear brilliance, dedication, persistence, care, hard work and extensive dedication to detail required to complete this feat is simply remarkable.   Envision this - after John F Kennedy called out the intent of the nation to complete a mission to the moon, some 400,000 plus scientists, engineers, technicians, etc. with the same vision joined forces to fulfill his goal “before the decade is out”.  This means it only took 8-9 years total to organize the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, none of which existed at the time of his famous speech.

We’ve learned from other quality companies and experienced business gurus the importance of a “BHAG” or “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal”.  A BHAG reiterates the importance of setting goals which allow humans to stretch their limits.  For sure, the space program’s goal, initiated by John F Kennedy’s drive to put a “man on the moon” is the greatest BHAG of my life’s experience!  This resulted in amazing technologies which continue to impact us in very meaningful ways.

Ultradent has a “BHAG” - to bring a cure to caries and gum disease.  We strongly believe in this journey and goal.  In looking at the future, this is likely to bring value on multiple fronts some of which we can’t anticipate.  So, the anniversary for NASA/America’s great achievement is now forty years old.  Ultradent, too, just celebrated an anniversary of 30 years.  We’re going to have to exhibit the same sort of dedication that Dr. Kennedy inspired to meet our BHAG.  But, just as with the moon space program of the 60s, the journey may prove as valuable or more valuable than the goal.

From the time I was a child listening to my father talk about his Boy Scout experience living in California and camping in the giant Redwoods in northern California, I’ve always wanted to visit and experience the Redwood “giants” for myself.

The opportunity came this past February when two of my married children, Erwin and Dr Jaleena  Jessop and their families,  gave me a very nice birthday present – a trip to the Redwoods for me, my wife Leenie and our youngest son.  Wow, what a treat! 

So, about ten days ago we flew to northern California where we experienced the time of our lives.  What made it even more special was discovering the forest with my children and the grandkids that accompanied us.  We went jet boating, hiked and experienced nature at her best  - with all the vitality of the young ones.   It was a blast!

Being dwarfed by the mighty redwood giants is at once humbling and awe inspiring but also causes reflection on the depth and breadth of life.  There are trees that climb 250 to 370 feet into the air with  diameters  of 10 to 25 feet.  This can often make one feel pretty “puny”.  It’s more amazing to consider that these incredible giants existed  100 million years ago  - up until the last ice-age and covered a large portion of the globe!  For example, well preserved fossilized stumps have been found in Colorado and elsewhere, 25 million years old and beyond.  Following the ice age, they have survived principally in the narrow strip of the coast of California.

And yes, these gorgeous giants need a special habitat to survive.  They need a lot of fog to water even the tips of the tallest leaves and branches.  The absorb a lot of water via the air and soil.   And, they release up to 500 gallons a day to create their own “fog” which in turn helps support the other plants of these forest which are also dependant on the humid condition.  But most incredibly, even though they line a corridor heavy with seismic activity, strong winds, and lightening storms, many have lived beyond 2,000 years of age!  In fact, their bark is actually somewhat fire resistant giving them an advantage over pines, spruces and other resin/sap  containing trees.  Initially, I assumed initially that the roots of these giants must extend pretty deep into the ground so I was surprised when I found out that they only reach down about eight feet!

So, how do they withstand  wind and earthquakes with such height and incredible mass?  They do so via a system that we can all learn from:   First, their roots interlock with other redwoods over a large area to support one another.   This incredible “team” design is complete with exemplary “flexibility” which enables these giants to support one another for many, even centuries.  This type of support is  referred to as a gargantuan trampoline.   Flexibility with undaunted teamwork, teamwork with flexibility - what a marvelous lesson we humans can learn from!  For those human teams who’ve become most accomplished in this regard, the result has been proven to be nothing less than awesome.

We have many opportunities in life.   Some of the best opportunities to learn come from nature.  The mighty redwoods remind me of the value of both teamwork and flexibility, outlining the benefits of mutual trust.  Teamwork with appropriate flexibility, mixed with other quality core values, necessary skills, passions and the like, plus a noble goal and vision can become a very powerful driving force.

Dan

Dear Dr. Fischer,

I wanted to share with you my wonderful experience on the USS George H W Bush aircraft carrier.  It was definitely a professional and personal highlight.  I boarded the ship after a mishap with shoes.  They forgot to tell me no open toe shoes so I had to borrow some tennis shoes.  They went well with my outfit.  Dr. Quagliotti hosted me for lunch in the wardroom where I got to me the XO of the ship, Capt. Roth.  I did a presentation in the dental clinic for the doctors and the dental team after lunch.  Dr. Quagliotti gave me an extended tour of the aircraft carrier.  I have honestly never experienced anything so amazing and humbling at once.  Everyone on the ship was so nice.  I have even more respect  for our men and women in the military.  Dr. Q explained all the daily actions that take place while under way.  These men and women work from 16-22 hrs a day.  I will say the air flight office was the coolest room where it was what they call “controlled chaos”.  This is where they keep up with all the aircraft coming, going, staying, etc.  Quite impressive!  Dr. Quagliotti left an open invitation for anyone if they ever want to tour the ship.  He likes to show it off!  I attached a picture of me with the dental team of the USS George H W Bush.  I was not allowed to take any other pictures because it is “sensitive”.

I want you all to know how lucky I am to work with such outstanding doctors and dental teams.   They even sent me home with a gift.  They gave me a ship travel mug and ship sticker.  This was truly an amazing experience.

Warm Regards,

Jennifer Strickler, Territory Account Manager-Virginia

It was nice of Jenny to share her experience with us.  It truly is a great experience to be invited onto one of these vessels. A few interesting facts to make note of:

1.        Each of these mega aircraft carriers has a crew, with pilots support etc of about 6000 people.  It is a fined-tuned, portable small city.

2.       The average age is 19!  With senior officers, which means there are a lot of 17 and 18 year olds on board.  And, it operates like a finely tuned watch because of fabulous and solid written systems which are taught over and over and executed flawlessly.  This is something every company, including Ultradent, can learn from.

3.       It has its own power nuclear plant, which runs for somewhere around 18  years without the need to refuel.

4.       The longest one of these vessels has been to sea without ever going into port is about half a year.  Amazing.

Thank you again for sharing Jenny. 

Dan

Reflecting on the last 30 years, I have several thoughts – all the long hours and short timelines, the triumphs and losses, the ability to teach others and learn from others plus the tremendous opportunity for education, the sharing oneself and being enriched from other cultures - all of this with the ultimate goal of serving the patient and loved ones.

We have continued to drive past obstacles for 30 years.  What started as a family business has now grown to a new family, consisting of hundreds of talented “Ultradent family” members, which continues to grow in gorgeous ways.  From the 1^st day until now, celebrating 30 years – I continue to discover that I’m “the luckiest guy in the world”.   

Dan