Wow! It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas 2015. As they say, time really flies when you’re having fun. I am so blessed that my career has been centered on a field with which I am passionately in love. Every day is an exciting day for me. I can truthfully say that I have never arisen in the morning regretting having to go to work. I look forward to my days and the privilege of treating you, our patient. It has been a difficult transition for me to cut back on my workload and I want to thank you for your patience in allowing Dr. Pettit the opportunity of stepping in and assuming a greater role in office procedures.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, so many childhood memories. I remember the thrill of waking up on Christmas morning, seeing the special gifts that Santa left under the tree and the joy of finding just the right present and opening it, knowing that Santa always knew best.
This year, Linda and I will have Christmas with my son and his family in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We will close the office from December 23 to January 3. This gives time for my staff to enjoy their families and the Holidays, as well. My hat is off again to such a wonderful staff. They make the delivery of care so much easier here at MedCenter TMJ. They are extremely well-trained and dedicated to making sure that your experience here is of the greatest quality and greatest success. I hope that you will tell them how much you appreciate them during this Holiday season. It would mean so much to me and to them.
Beginning in January 2017, Dr. Pettit will assume the majority management position of the practice. I will remain with my current schedule working three days a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I will now have the opportunity to take more time off so that Linda and I can do some traveling that we have postponed for many years. Due to the fact that she will be turning the financial management of the practice over to Dr. and Mrs. Pettit, Linda will be able to retire. For our remaining years, Linda and I will assume more of an advisory role for practice management. Linda is very excited about this. She is a loyal wife, mother, and employee of this practice for 38 years. Most of my success I can attribute to having married the most wonderful woman in the world.
As we look forward to 2017, I am excited about several events. I am the Program Chairman for the American Equilibration Society’s annual meeting in Chicago in February. My Co-Chairman, Dr. Andy Miles, and I have been working diligently for the past three years to put this program together. We have planned three days of wonderful education for dentists around the world who want to learn more about the biomechanics of jaw function as well as Orofacial pain. I will also teach an all-day dissection course of the head and neck as a pre-conference event. This is a new course for the AES and I’m excited to be a part of it. In March, Dr. Pettit and I will attend the annual Parker E. Mahan Study Club meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Mahan was my professor at Emory University School of Dentistry and the person that I credit as my mentor in the field of Orofacial Pain. Other things will be happening throughout the year. We will be reporting these events in the upcoming newsletters. Stay tuned!
Just a word of personal appreciation: I thank each one for your loyalty and commitment to your TMJ care. Together we form a magnificent healthcare team. Without your compliance, the success we enjoy would never come about. I am not going to be leaving the practice anytime soon. I will continue my current schedule for 2017; but more than likely in 2018 and 2019, I will cut back to just two days a week. After that, it all depends upon my health. As long as I am healthy, I will continue to practice. This practice is my passion and I am totally dedicated to making your healthcare the very best possible.
I wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. God bless you and God bless America.
Sincerely,
Ronald C. Auvenshine, DDS, PhD
Diplomate, American Board of Orofacial Pain