I would like to make an announcement today: [View all]

[PCIntern]

After forty years as a practicing dentist and erstwhile “businessman” here in Philadelphia, I have sold my practice to a local dental conglomerate. To answer three obvious questions before I begin: yes I have a contract for up to eight years to practice in my former office, yes I got my price which was substantial, and yes I’m very happy and by any measure, an excellent, devoted employee.

All that being said, I want to express the reasons I sold my life’s work. First, I’m 66 years old and you can make a case that the practice is at its peak value. Second, the technology of modern dentistry requires a huge investment which in no way could I afford and it is unfair for my loyal patient population to not have access to the best care possible. We are talking perhaps $300,000 in investment which for me would have been catastrophic economically because the combination of diminished returns due to insurance reimbursement and rapid depreciation of such assets would essentially bankrupt my retirement. Third, as a dentist you never know when you’ll have a career-ending injury or condition/disease. Back issues, neurological issues, cardiac issues, and of course cancer (which is very prevalent in the dental population educated in my era - due in no small part to massive exposure to horrifyingly dangerous chemicals utilized in those days, not a danger to patients but definitely to practitioners/students).

Fourthly, and possibly most importantly, we are headed to a recession through which I would not survive economically. Many years ago in Aphilly there was a bookstore chain called Encore Books. The owner is and was a very shrewd and sharp guy. The day Amazon announced that it would be selling books online, he put his business up for sale and I believe that Rite Aid purchased it for millions. It failed in the short run. The point is you have to know when to get out. If this bastard in the White House does what I think he’s going to do , we are in for a rough ride. I’ve managed through several recessions, the last one nearly (literally) killed me. I wasn’t going to go through it again. No way no how

I’ve been here at DU for over fifteen years and consider it like my family but better. I look forward to many more years communing with all of you and fighting the good fight. I would suggest that we temper our angers manifest during the primaries and focus upon the singular goal of defeating the malignantly narcissistic sociopath and his minions. Good luck to us all and good luck to The United States of America.