The Hard Road Ahead Has Dentistry in Good Stead

When this year comes to an end, there likely won’t be the same sense of renewal that comes with the start of a new year. I think most of us are pretty reconciled that 2021 will mostly feel more like an elongated 2020. Of course we can still make resolutions and do some reflecting but my sense is that we will have little mental space for that until a vaccine is universally available.

We certainly have recognized the necessity of adaptability in this most unnatural way of communing. Even as we forego many of the usual things we do for entertainment and R&R, I think we surprise ourselves with the ways we still manage to have some sort of social life. Added to this is the ripple effect of our economic interdependencies and the new challenges of making ends meet, let alone generating profit, in this molasses-like, stressful year.

And yet, because our field is dentistry, a good percentage of us have cut a pathway for moving forward, business-wise, perhaps at a faster...