LIVE From New York - It’s Root Canal Treatment!
On a balmy July evening last summer, I received a text message with a very exciting and unique invitation. The invitation was to perform a live root canal treatment in front of 500 dentists at the Greater New York Dental Meeting in New York City. My initial reaction was one of pure excitement and adrenaline!
What an extraordinary teaching opportunity this was and I was 100% ready for it!
This text message started off a tremendous sequence of events and tasks that one person could never do alone. Thankfully, with the full support of KaVo Kerr, I had a team in place to assist me in preparing to take root canal therapy on the road from Chicago to New York City.
The quarterback of this effort was my local KaVo Kerr rep, Ed Rzeszutko. Ed was instrumental in packing up everything; from my ApexID apex locator to all of my twisted files along with every single product and supply that we might need on stage in NYC. Just to be sure, we packed two of everything! There were so many “what if’s” to consider. What if the explorer falls on the floor? What if the rubber dam splits? What if we need more paper points? This process of planning, and then transporting all of my supplies, was in itself a major project.
Arriving in NYC the day before the treatment presentation I was full of excitement! I met with my KaVo Kerr team and we went over all of the logistics. What time will we start setting up? How much time will we have to set up? My live treatment session was scheduled to be second for the day and we would have only 45 minutes to set up. This seemed tight but we had an attitude of flexibility and going-with-the flow so 45 minutes would have to be enough! I was feeling excited, energetic and, mostly, grateful to have been given this incredible opportunity to perform live dentistry on such a big stage.
The Big Day
I arrived at the Javits Center in NYC a few hours before the live event. We were able to scope out the stage and get all of the supplies organized. Ed was right there, by my side, getting ready for our time on stage. The sequence of events that followed truly required the entire KaVo Kerr team to step up and pull off a yeoman’s effort.
The live treatment that proceeded ours went a few minutes late and then they had to clear, clean and disinfect the dental chair and stage set up. So now our 45 minutes of set up time turned into 20 minutes! How can we do this? We are setting up a dental chair and operatory that we have never seen before and, to make matters worse, the doctor that proceeded me was a lefty! Needless to say, the KaVo Kerr team pulled this set up off! Ed, along with Bob Gannon, Donavan Dichter and Philip Brakebill came to my rescue and we started our presentation right on time and completed the case presentation and treatment successfully.
As a customer of KaVo Kerr, I could not have asked for a more dedicated and passionate team to stand behind and support me in this unique endeavor. To take it even further, Ed sat in as my assistant for the procedure and was a real rock star! I am forever grateful to the KaVo Kerr team for supporting me and providing me the tools I needed to provide a live continuing education opportunity at one of the largest dental meetings in the world.
I have found a new appreciation for how many pieces of equipment and how many supplies are needed to complete root canal treatment. Having taken the procedure on-the-road, I also have a new appreciation for how nice it is to practice in my own office!
Thank you to KaVo Kerr and to Ed Rzeszutko specifically, for being great teammates in one of the biggest events of which I have ever been a part.
Click here for a list of Dr. Gilbert's upcoming dental courses and webinars.
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