A Story of a Life Well-Lived in Dentistry

I am happy to say that over the course of my career many dentists have told me how I have inspired them in one way or another. But there is a dentist I know who inspires me.

I first met him several years ago at the campus and was instantly impressed with his energy and his level of engagement with the profession. At that time, he had already been an enthusiastic CEREC user for several years and told me he was looking into adding cone beam technology to his practice. He told me about his latest clinical advances, and as I listened I was struck once again by his drive and commitment. This is a man who is in love with what he does.

But that’s not what makes his story extraordinary. What makes this forward-thinking dentist so different is that he is 85 years old.

Dr. Reynolds Fischbach has been in practice since 1955 and he has always been a leader. He was only the second dentist in his area to get an air turbine. That was in 1958. He was among the first in his area to introduce a contour chair and to perform dentistry while sitting. He introduced computers into his office long before they were common in business, let alone in dentistry. (He remembers how the local dental society thought that was “unprofessional.”) In his 80s, he started doing e.max lithium disilicate crowns, so he went out and brought in two automatic ovens so he could do the final baking himself on-site.

I think of Dr. Fischbach every time I hear a dentist tell me that he’s five or 10 years from retirement and therefore doesn’t see the value of investing in any new technology. I think of him when I see a dentist talk about having “30 years of experience” when really it’s more like one year of experience repeated 30 times. I think of him when I hear a dentist say she is too old to re-think her clinical approach or learn radically new techniques, or whenever I hear anyone use the economy, cost concerns or team issues as reasons to avoid taking the next step. These are stories we tell ourselves, and too often they are self-limiting stories.

As I wrote about recently, it’s those barriers we put up ourselves that are often the most difficult to overcome. This doctor continues to prove every day that there are other stories you can tell yourself – empowering stories that knock barriers away rather than put them up.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be like him when I grow up.

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