By: Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, Publisher, DentalTown Magazine

“Planet America” is a six-billion person marathon race. About one billion people are at the front of the pack doing five-minute miles, while 800 million people are at the back, going to bed hungry every night. Why do the rich struggle with obesity while 800 million others fight hunger and malnutrition? In a word, price. The price of food is so cheap that rich people can buy an abundance of it. The poor simply do not have the money. Why? In another word, corruption. Third-world countries have not committed to democracy, the rule of law, and Locke’s theory of checks and balances. In the long run globalization will correct this, but like John Maynard Keynes said, “In the long-run we’re all dead.”

Every dentist at the front of this race has a moral and ethical responsibility to become more involved in community service or missionary dentistry. Community service is giving back to your local community, while missionary dentistry is usually traveling far and away to some exotic corner of the earth mired in misery. You only get out of dentistry and your community what you put into it. Since happiness is always an inside job, I can assure you that every dentist who gets involved feels great satisfaction.

Just as dentists share tips and advice on root canals and crowns, it is also beneficial for dentists to share tips and advice on giving back some of your dental knowledge, skills, and wealth for community service and missionary dentistry. The DentalTown message boards (http://www.dentaltown.com) has 81 different forums. Number eight is “Charitable Dentistry—Missionary Dentistry —and the Spiritual Side of Dentistry.” This section is very popular, with over 2,357 postings. Many dentists have shared valuable information, tips, and advice. Everyone has also expressed intense satisfaction from donating his or her time, money, and efforts.

The leader in missionary dentistry is no doubt Jerome Smith, DDS of Lafayette, Louisiana. Jerome runs the Mexico Mission. If you are interested in going to Mexico for the trip of a lifetime contact Jerome at (337) 235-1523, or email jerome@jeromesmithdds.com (visit his awesome website at www.jeromesmithdds.com). I had the privilege of going to Mexico with Jerome and it was unbelievable. Think part dentistry, part spirituality, lots of camaraderie, and way too much fun. This is a must for any dentist even thinking about a tryst with missionary dentistry.

Another fantastic experience is with Danny Bobrow, president of the American Dental Company and executive director of Dentists Climb for a Cause, a group that raises money by encouraging dentists to pay for fun-filled mountain climbing trips and then donating the money to the Vietnam Dental Mission. I had the pleasure to join this group to climb Mt. Adams in the state of Washington. The climb was an absolute blast, even though I thought I was going to freeze to death and die. High tech dental consultant and technology guru Lorne Lavine, DMD laughed at me the entire trip as he skated up the mountain like a tiger. I can’t wait to do the next climb this year: Nevada’s Mt. Charleston, scheduled for the first week of September. I’ll be taking Judith and our boys along this time, and I hope more dentists will be able to join us. You can contact Daniel A. Bobrow in Chicago at Dentists Climb for a Cause, (312) 455-9498, or email DBobrow@AmericanDentalCo.com (www.americandentalco.com). Danny really needs some help with dental supplies for their Vietnam Dental Mission so if you can, please help out. You could also contact Lorne Lavine at Dental Technology Consultants, Woodland Hills, California, (866) 204-3398, or email drlavine@thedigitaldentist.com (www.thedigitaldentist.com).

Giving back to your local community with community service can be a bit touchy. The minute you start advertising free dentistry to the poor you are flooded with middle class Americans who want to spend all their money eating fast food, buying cigarettes and booze, while you practice free dentistry for them. Welfare has a tendency to incentivize moral hazard; I have been burned so many times on this that I grew gun shy. So, I want to share a very neat tip on how we manage this dilemma.

I know that a very nice and benevolent dentist named Dr. Michael Prueher does free dentistry on my oldest sister, a cloistered Carmelite nun in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. To return the favor to Michael, I offer free dentistry to the local priests or pastors in my neighborhood. I also inform them that if they personally know someone or some family who is in true need, to just send them to my Today’s Dental family practice in Phoenix with a signed note from the church and I will fix them up, free of charge.

Sometimes it has been an immigrant family from war-torn Bosnia; sometimes it has been an immigrant family from Mexico. Sometimes it’s just a local, down on their luck. I can assure you it is much more rewarding to know that deep down inside, you are truly helping someone, instead of wondering if you are subsidizing dysfunctional lazy behavior from not leading a proper life of industry and frugality.