There are times in life when tragic events provide “wake-up calls”. We have an extraordinary VP of marketing and sales, Dirk Jeffs. He has been with the company for about 13 years now. Dirk exemplifies our core values. He is a highly skilled, driven and caring individual. He is more than a colleague. He is a friend and part of our family.

Dirk is the type of individual that is uncomfortable being in a “comfort zone” too long. He pushes himself in many noble ways. His latest accomplishment is training for the “Iron Man” event. Last weekend, when competing in a prepatory event in Napa Valley, Dirk experienced an accident. He fractured his skull and impacted his neck and carotid artery. We’ve since been told by his physicians that his prognosis is good and that he's doing much better.

Our hearts and prayers are with Dirk and his family as he once again climbs up a long trail of healing and recovery. Dirk, we want you to know that you provide inspiration to all of us.

With love to Dirk Jeffs and his family,

Dan

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
Vince Lombardi

Dear Colleagues
The media continues to address the health concerns over Bisphenol-A. As is often the case, they serve an important role in bringing public safety issues to light. To support you in communicating with your patients about these concerns, we want to provide you with additional third-party evidence that our own sealants are void of such contaminants.

After testing through a well-respected laboratory, we received tests results that indicate a 0.00000% presence of Bisphenol-A in our UltraSeal XT plus. This is the same type of test we conducted over 12 years ago – the results remain the same. Our sealant is alternatively composed of Bis-GMA, like many currently available dental sealants. Despite this, I encourage others to undergo the same testing to bring confidence back to clinicians and patients alike.

Dan

Last week, winners of Ultradent’s international distributor sales contest visited our Salt Lake City office as the first stop in their week long incentive trip. The trip included some of Utah/Arizona/Nevada’s finest spots - the Prehistoric Dinosaur Museum in Price, Arches National Park, Lake Powell Resort and Las Vegas. Seeing how excited the group was for the trip, I was reminded of my youth chasing lizards, scrounging for tortoises and a simple hike or two in the great expanse of Utah’s Redrock country. The years were 1953 to 1956. The area was Mineral Canyon and the surrounding region within a 75 mile radius to Moab, Utah. It was the heat of the Cold War (I’m thankful every day for that war being over). My father and grandfather were involved in Uranium exploration, in particular the mining and construction of a uranium processing mill. I was living in a camp with some 45 mining and building folks whom along with my father were working on a mill that was unforgettable. These are vibrant experiences. These years flash to my mind from time to time. “Color Country” to me meant more than the landscapes of this fabulous Redrock country. The term also solicits enchanting memories of my “growing years” which included some of the most colorful humans ever. They were the men and women caught up in the passion of Uranium exploration and mining.

Dead Horse Point and Arches National Park are just a short hop from Mineral Canyon deep in the Green River gorge. I highly recommend visiting these sites and surrounding “Color Country” areas at least once in your lifetime! While in the area, also try to take in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zions and Bryce. With minimal hiking into these areas, you will come to discover the unique and tranquil serenity of nature that allows you to hear yourself breath.

We’re so fortunate to be surrounded by such natural beauty. There is a sense of pride that can’t be explained when you stand next to Delicate Arch in Moab or look over the amazing vista of DeadHorse Point into a vast field untouched by humans. Nature, unlike any other force, has left us with such landmarks to admire.

The group returned back to their respective countries and certain they will never forget their experiences in America’s Great West. Cool !

Dan

As a dentist, Memorial Day often causes me to reflect upon the many veterans I’ve known as patients over the years. Regardless of viewpoints on the war, they all paid a high price for their experience. The veteran “patients” that didn’t make it home paid the ultimate price. For many that make it home, they are condemned to carry scars for life, both mental and physical.

Graduating from Loma Linda in the 70s, we all learned IV sedation. Leenie and I will never forget working through a tumultuous and scary couple of hours with a returned vet from Vietnam when the IV, instead of relaxing/sedating him, reverted him back to the scary role of a prisoner held captive by soldiers of the North. I’m certain that what we lived with him over those couple of hours was nothing compared to the actual ordeal. I must admit, as the years went by, I came to realize that as a GP I could achieve most of the benefits I needed from IV sedation, but in a much safer way by sticking to Nitrous Oxide. I thank LLU every time I use it. In important ways, it provides the clinician the capability of rapid reversal by simply switching from Nitrous mix to total Oxygen.

More recently, I was again reminded of the fact that many US immigrants entering at the age of the draft (or simply old enough to enlist) participated as American soldiers and paid their price as US vets. Two years ago, my dentist daughter, Dr Jaleena Jessop, and I encountered a case where a World War II veteran needed rehabilitation. He needed us to work on the “full mouth rehabilitation” I’d done for this veteran in the late 70s. Now, with a few more years of experience under my belt and greater ability to listen, we discovered that Helmut at the age of 8 came to America in the 1930s with all of his family to escape the entrapment and goofiness of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. At age 19, he was part of the largest amphibious armada the world has ever known, landing with the Allies on the beaches of Normandy. We all know the tremendous price these veterans paid.

Regardless the war or the popularity of the war, we all owe a world of gratitude to those who have served. We often hear the phrase “God Bless America”. It is fitting we often exclaim same or similar feelings of gratitude as portrayed by the example of a like phrase: “God Bless our soldiers and veterans”. And, may we all do all that we reasonably can do to minimize the need for war as much as it is possible. As a start, we can begin by living as Gandhi taught: “Become the change you wish to see in the world”.

I thank all soldiers and veterans on this special day of remembrance.

Dan