Bob Conte 
At some time in our lives most of us have had the opportunity to attend a great live music concert. For some it's country, for others classical or jazz music. For me, I love live rock and roll. Some of my greatest memories revolve around live shows by the Grateful Dead, Springsteen, U2, Jimmy Buffett and just about every artist of that genre. There is nothing like the rush, excitement and energy of a live show by a great group of artists.
These nights, in the moment, are like nothing we experience in out day-to-day lives. We find ourselves immersed in the moment and feel like it will never end. We leave expecting what we felt at the show to carry over for days, weeks, or even years. We tell our friends and co-workers how great it was, but are unable to transfer the feeling. Soon our busy lives take over and what we saw, heard and experienced become a distant memory.
Dental education is very similar for a lot of dentists. We will attend a conference or a weekend seminar and feel excited about our profession. We learn amazing new techniques or valuable practice management skills that will take our practice to a new level. We vow to take what the national speaker has taught us and, on Monday, immediately implement everything we heard. We excitedly share with our staff at the first morning huddle how we are now going to do things differently. Unfortunately, we fail to pass on our excitement and soon the euphoria dissipates and we settle into our usual routine. The staff dismisses the proposed changes and progress stalls.
Recently I attended a rock concert of epic proportions with a dynamic lineup of stars. The 1st Annual CEREC Scientific Symposium in Scottsdale was an action packed weekend of listening to the superstars of our field. Dr. Sameer Puri began the festivities with the “State of CEREC” address and it was all a blur from there. We were introduced to features of the new 4.2 software by the very men who tested the software for us all. We were exposed to new and advanced techniques in all aspects of CEREC dentistry. New materials were unveiled. Esthetic excellence. Amazing discussions in the field of implantology from the masters. These dentists are leading all of us in the revolution that is digital dentistry. We were rocked out of our socks. No one held up their lighters for an encore, but we were on the edge of our seats the whole weekend and didn't want it to end. You could feel the excitement of everyone in attendance.
The challenge for all of us is to keep the momentum moving forward. Don't fall back into the routine. Involve your staff. Excite your patients. Stay engaged at the highest level. Live the message that these rock stars delivered and don't let go of that excitement. The future is amazing. It's going to be a long, strange, trip...
