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SPRING / SUMMER '02 By Richard Kleefield, DDS This is the forty-eighth newsletter distributed to all of our patients, parents and colleagues. It is our hope that you will find its content interesting, stimulating and worthy of comment. Please feel free to speak with any of us at your convenience. We always welcome constructive criticism and we try very hard to listen carefully to our constituency in order to constantly improve our services to you. OH, HOW OUR WORLD HAS CHANGED Our last newsletter was written just after the attack on the World Trade Center. For most of you who are good deal younger than I am, it could be called, "The Pearl Harbor of the twenty-first century". Although I was very young in December of 1941, I can still remember how shocked and stunned my parents were. I do clearly recall my father’s outrage and that the very next day, he volunteered for service in the United States Army. He served as a physician with Patton’s Third Army with such distinction that he was decorated with the Bronze Star for heroism. The cost of that service was not being able to see my father for three and one-half years…but thank God, he did come back, wounded, but hospitalized in Halloran Veterans hospital on Staten Island for three more months…. but he did 'come back'. Unfortunately, almost three thousand of our citizens were destroyed and along with them, the hopes and dreams of thousands of children and their families. That we had felt the sting of death so intimately in our country’s greatest city, in an instant finally dashed our belief in "personal security". Perhaps the greatest lesson we have learned from this seminal event is to now be able to identify with so many other countries throughout the world that have experienced "global terrorism" for so many, many years. The pictures of destroyed buildings and human beings broadcasting on our evening news now, have taken on a much more personal meaning. These events are no longer remote images. Above all, we have now acquired a genuine sense of vulnerability, but along with that acquisition, a new and better appreciation of our families and life itself. From a personal perspective, I have come to view each day as a genuine gift and an opportunity to extend my hand in friendship and respect for my fellow human beings. This event has also reminded me to always express my love to those for whom I care, each time we meet. Although there is palpable fear, still expressed by a reluctance to travel abroad and even domestically on airlines, and apprehension about another attack, our people have demonstrated a remarkable resilience. Confidence in the economy is slowly improving and a willingness to invest in the future are hopeful signs. Because of my memories of Pearl Harbor and the war that followed, I most particularly recall a phrase uttered by President Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It was an inspired recommendation. He said, "The only thing we have to fear is...fear itself". Instilling fear is precisely the goal of terrorists. Their despicable actions have united our nation as it was, sixty years ago. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who planned and led the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor made a prophetic observation only thirty minutes after the attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He said, "I fear that all we have accomplished is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." In my opinion, history has repeated itself and, as was the case then, that we shall prevail. THE PHILADELPHIA CAPER Recently, our staff and doctors journeyed to "The City of Brotherly Love" for the annual national meeting of the American Association of Orthodontists. Each year this group of more than ten thousand gather to present the latest scientific research and technological advances in the practice of Orthodontics. As well as clinical displays, there are a host of workshops for staff and doctors on a variety of subjects from technical performance to personal care. The interaction between staff and doctors from all over the country in and of itself always seems to reenergize an already superb staff. Orthodontics is a relatively small dental-specialty and the camaraderie engendered serves to benefit patients across the nation. Our group has always prided itself in being in the vanguard of technical innovation. Through the tireless efforts of Dr. David Romeo, our practice has been fully computerized for almost twenty years. Our analytical and diagnostic resources have constantly progressed providing us with a level of precision unheard of in most contemporary practices even five years ago. One of our greatest sources of satisfaction has always been our ability to educate our patients and parents as to the nature of problems presented to us.  We have frequently been told that the quality of information that we provide during our initial examinations and subsequent consultations is clear and concise, allowing patients and parents to make a truly "informed consent". Apropos our consultations, we now have the ability to interact with the central processing units via wireless networking technology, using laptop-computers in each consulting room. This allows us to present our analysis to the patient and parents, visually, while discussing our proposed treatments. To that end, we have now procured CD’s which will demonstrate the theoretical start-to-finish progress of various types of treatment problems by visual sequence on the consultation laptops. Therefore, patients and their families will be able to get, in minutes, a "preview" of what will take place over the course of several years of treatment. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius is quoted as saying that, "One picture is worth a thousand words." Due to the advances in computer technology, I believe it is now fair to say that a series of pictures is now worth a million words. Please feel free to request a demonstration of these upgraded systems. We think that you will find it absolutely fascinating. KUDOS TO MY "FORGOTTEN" FRIEND In most of our office newsletters I often seek to recognize what is truly the heart and soul of our practice, to wit, our superb staff. We doctors clearly understand that by the efforts of these devoted and talented people that we have been able to achieve greater success than we ever dreamed possible. In our last newsletter, I proudly cited and demonstrated the longevity of our staff which is incredibly rare…and appreciated by us. In doing so, I inadvertently omitted one of our most talent, loyal and hardworking staff members, Mrs. Joan Antolini who has been with us for nearly six years. Joan lives with her husband Randy and her teenage daughter Cassie in the Naugatuck Valley and therefore has a considerable commute to our offices. She has been a member of the orthodontic profession for approximately twenty years. Prior to joining our practice, Joan was an assistant and laboratory technician to one of our fine colleagues in Fairfield, Dr. John Gisondi. Upon her arrival, she was already a supremely skillful chair side assistant and laboratory technician. Approximately two years ago, our Westport laboratory technician departed and we called upon Joan to step into the breech. To our surprise and joy, she has reactivated these abilities and now produces the same wonderful quality work that has been the hallmark of our laboratory technicians over the years. Not only that, but Joan can and still does deliver outstanding chair side care whenever and wherever it is required. Every "great club" needs a skilled "switch-hitter" and in Joan, we have the best! SCHEDULING EFFECTIVELY As we approach the end of the school term, and the summer, we remind you that our format changes during the vacation period. Without the burden of scheduling in deference to school commitments, we somewhat invert our schedules. We see more short-appointments during the morning hours and attempt to slightly shorten our afternoons so that the staff can enjoy some of the later day hours. We also suspend our evening hours proximate to the ending of regular school classes and resume them when school beings again in the Fall. Given the fact that our practice has grown exponentially over the past three years, our schedules are very tightly packed so it is imperative that you schedule future appointments at each visit to the office. We also appreciate your cooperation in canceling an appointment at least 24 hours prior to any scheduled appointment. We have a waiting list of patients who would be only too happy to use the time. Please try to reschedule an appointment at the time you choose to cancel. Failure to do so can result in unduly protracted treatment times that can significantly delay the removal of appliances. So, please, bring or have your calendars available when contacting our offices. As well, our computerized appointment reminder program will attempt to contact you in the evening prior to your next appointment. We hope that you have found this helpful and convenient to use. EMERGENCY CONTACT Fairly recently, we decided to adopt and alternative to our wireless "pager". Since all of us have chosen to avail ourselves of the convenience of cell-phone technology, the "covering doctor" can now be reached more directly and expeditiously. If you are unable to immediately reach the doctor, the cell-phones have a direct access voice-mail message service. In so doing, it is our desire to be available with a minimum amount of delay in responding to any emergency. If you have or have ever had any difficulty in receiving emergency attention, please call it to our attention at once so that we may endeavor to rectify any problem. END Now, more than ever, we wish to express to you how very grateful we are to you for entrusting your care to us. We regard your expression of confidence in us as a signal honor. We have had a tremendous number of patient-referrals which we indeed regard as the highest compliment that we can receive and we attempt to reflect with utmost credit upon those who give such recommendations. We look forward to the joys and beauties of spring and to somewhat carefree summer excursions that hearken back to summers past. However, we will now be more mindful of the great privileges of living in this free and beautiful country and the responsibilities of a people so blessed. Almost twenty years ago, my dearest friend who was a physician passed away at the age of thirty-nine. Although his widow and children were gripped with great sadness, they were filled with gratitude for having this most generous of men as a husband and father. In memory of her husband, his wife started a program for heart-attack patients called, "Sharing and Caring". This program became so successful that it is now a nationwide entity. But, perhaps its greatest legacy to us is embodied in its very name. If we as a people adopt that name as a way of life, in my opinion, we will leave a better world for our children and all those who follow.