Who knew? I’m in the running for the top Invisalign case result in North America. But the story is inspiring.
So when Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans used to come out of the tunnel to 90,000 fans at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum on a Saturday night with Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” blasting away, the hairs on my arms would stand straight up, my heart rate would double, I’d have a serious case of butterflies…and sometimes I’d even shed a tear. And I’m probably gonna be ten times more excited with ten times the butterflies when I stand and deliver a 7-8 minute presentation to about 2,000 DDS-types and their teams at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.
About six months ago, I submitted some clinical results to Align Technology, Inc. for consideration as the top restorative Invisalign case in North America for 2014-2015. I thought the clinical results were impressive…but I knew the human results were inspiring. Selection would be based on the final tabulations of online voting from a select committee of clinicians. I knew it was a long shot, but why not take the shot?
Each and every time my team and I engage a patient we have the opportunity to make a difference. We can help people enjoy better health and a higher standard of life. Sometimes we can even help transform a life; this turned out being one of those times.
First part of May, I received notice that my patient, Jessica, and I had made it into the semi-finals, being selected as one of the top 53 cases. On June 1st, I opened an email congratulating me on accomplishing the best restorative Invisalign case in North America. And…I was also invited to participate in an event called the Shoot-out, to be held at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas during the biennial Invisalign Summit. The winners of all four treatment categories present their cases in the Shoot-out; the overall winner is determined by audience vote.
Jessica, a trained vocalist, had held a corporate job, assisting another of my patients who happened to be a Disney H/R vice president. Jessica was congenitally missing two upper front teeth. In my presentation, I describe her as having been the “smartest, cutest, nicest little ole Jack-o-lantern you’ve ever seen.”
And again, the clinical results were amazing…but the story was inspiring. I describe my own team as my family away from home; I love them. And my team has a certain genius that, frankly, I haven’t seen anywhere else. They can authentically make others feel welcome, liked, and safe…on “Hello.” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was all about taking a shot, seeing an opportunity. With the environment my team creates, opportunity is plainly there just for the asking.
The note I received from Jessica a couple of months after completing care read “Thanks for everything Dr. V, I’m walking around and I just can’t stop smiling. By the way, I left Disney. By the way, I just signed a 6-month contract to be a torch singer, singing blues and jazz…at the Grand Hyatt…in Hong Kong.
Jessica paid us a visit a few weeks ago during a brief trip here before returning to Hong Kong. She consented to sharing about her experience on video and then asked if she could just do one more little thing. In our reception area with no back-up singers or musicians in sight, Jessica belted out “Smile.”
“You’ll find that life is still worthwhile. If you just smile.”
But whoever said a smile can’t bring a tear once in a while?
