Navigating COVID-19

5/6/2021 | President's Message: Embracing the "Amazing" in Life

For the past year, these messages have been focused primarily around COVID-19, quarantines, lockdowns, PPE, vaccinations etc. I know we are all tired of it, but it continues to dominate our thoughts.

With that, I want to recognize that many of our members have lost loved ones to this disease. I have personally lost a close friend and other friends not as close. They will all be missed, and I send my sincere and deepest condolences for those of you similarly affected.

But today, I want to talk about life. I saw a wonderful quote I want to share with you. For this, I went straight to the source of all wisdom… Instagram. It says:

“Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary, mundane, and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living a heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it is breathtakingly beautiful!” – L.R. Knost

The awfulness of the past year has definitely been checkered with plenty of amazing and mundane experiences. I have learned that through it all, Texas AGD has been a beacon of light and has been there every step of the way to provide me, volunteers, and members with updates and resources to help us “hold on through the awful,” as Knost suggests.

As many of you are aware, Texas is in the midst of its biannual legislative session. During this time, our state legislators draft a budget, lay out our federal districts, set standards for agencies, regulate taxes, and make laws that impact all citizens including us, the general dentists. I want to assure you that you have a great team of professionals working daily to monitor these processes and they are doing all they can to protect the positions that are most important to general dentists specifically.

Additionally, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is holding its annual scientific session in Austin, Texas in June! What an amazing opportunity for us. For a national meeting, this may be the easiest and most convenient one we will encounter for some time. Dentists from all over the country will be coming to Texas to enjoy our Texan hospitality and culture. Many, including myself, will attend the convocation ceremony and receive their FAGD and MAGD awards, as well as the LLSR. I hope to see many of you there in cap and gown with family beaming with pride at your grand accomplishment!

The event I am most looking forward to is our own Lone Star Dental Conference to be held on September 17 and 18th. This is one you will definitely want to attend! If you enjoy super high-quality CE and engaging exhibits you will want to be at this event! We are all hopeful that in-person events will be uninhibited by then and we can catch up with old friends giving good old-fashioned Texas handshakes and hugs. You have an amazing team at Texas AGD creating an event that melds relevant CE and fun, meaningful social events. I’ll be there and will be looking for you.

As we all move forward, vaccinations are flowing, immunity is building, and there is excitement in the air. My hope and prayer for you all is for less awful days, and many, many more amazing days ahead!

Sincerely,

Ben Bratcher, DDS, MAGD
Texas AGD President