Julia Skidmore, DDS
It does no good to write about the Joplin, Mo., tornado that hit on May 22 without focusing on the volunteers and support we have received.
I recently toured the temporary schools and state-of-the-art educational environments that combine new technology and interdisciplinary teaching, all constructed in 55 days (it can take 21 days for me to get cases back from the lab!). The national focus has been on education, but the dental community is also rebuilding stronger than ever.
Dentists are now sharing offices, which has forced a streamline sharing of ideas. Yes, we still have our regular dental needs to meet; however, dentures flew away, faces were crushed, and dental labs were blown away, as were practices.
We couldn’t care for our community if it wasn’t been for the national, even international dental community. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, the fund-raisers through dental societies all over the nation, and the dental supply companies that were on-site the day after the storm.
After a disaster it is more apparent than ever how important the implementation of technology is in our practices. We needed fast turnaround (volunteers and government workers could be called and could leave the next day).
Without my E4D, we could not have patients properly stabilized patients. Our office has been inundated with new materials since four practices were under one roof for a period of time. I encourage everyone to utilize new cements, new bonding agents, efficient techniques, and technology on the computers. All of these are in the literature, such as in Dental Economics®.
You never know what tomorrow holds, and your patients need the long-lasting, predictable care that today’s technology affords. Please learn from those of us who had to learn the hard way.
Thank you all again for your support to our community. Words cannot express our appreciation on behalf of our dental community, our families, and all of our patients. We couldn’t have risen from the rubble without you.
Ask Dr. Julia Skidmore about adding www.modental.org to your web broser for Joplin tornado response information.
Julia Skidmore, DDS, practices general dentistry in Joplin, Mo. You may reach Dr. Skidmore at [email protected].
