I am pleased to share with you a few pictures of a wonderful productive ten day trip through Columbia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Seven complete day lectures plus two hands on courses were provided to about four thousand two hundred dentists and dental students! Our distributor partners in these countries plus Pablo Santiago and Luiz Abreu can be so proud.

Once again, our fabulous translator who lives in Guadalajara accompanied us on the trip. Ramon is seen in the picture at left. Ramon does such an incredible job of translating simultaneously that I like to introduce him to the audience. Ramon is more than a translator, he brings his wit and style to the equation in ways the audience really connects with. His blindness does not hamper him in the least; in fact, his other senses are probably at higher attention than for most of us who see. Poor translation can kill a program. Ramon’s translation is tops, thus enabling the lectures to come across first class.

Our message was teaching dentists how to provide more affordable dentistry. We built on the added importance of this with the downturn seen in the global economies right now. Most all dentists could really connect to this message/need. Many are starting to feel the need to offer less expensive, less invasive treatment options to their patients. This is something we’ve built towards for some years now and hence are positioned in a good way to provide education and materials to dentists for this type of caring dentistry.

Pablo, our regional manager for the area, accompanied me on the trip and was there for every need. He exemplifies our great team spirit, Core Values and Vision. This was a hard working, driven few days -- often driving through the night, reaching the next city after midnight and getting up and driving an all-day program through once again. All on the team, including/especially our distributors, were motivated, caring and giving it their best every waking moment. Fun stuff!!

Examples of programs:
Bogata: Around 400 dentists
Costa Rica: 460, 10% of all the dentists of Costa Rica!
Guadalajara: 2000!

All programs were positive. The hands-on programs involved professors and Deans! There were a lot of great questions and interaction. And...nothing is better than sharing with professionals who really want to learn.

Thank you Pablo. And thank you to all our great distributors in these countries who promoted the programs in quality ways.

Dan