The Sand Creek Group had the privilege of being one of 15 behavioral health care organizations to sponsor the American Dental Association's 11th National Institute on Dentist Well-Being held September 15-17 in Chicago, Illinois. The theme of this year's Institute was "Keeping the Life in Your Life's Work". More than 150 dentists, partners of dentists, and state well-being program providers participated in the event.

   Joan Sirotiak and I represented both The Sand Creek Group and the Minnesota Dentist Wellness Program. Sand Creek is the provider of the Minnesota Dental Association's Dentist Wellness Program. It was a valuable opportunity for us to meet and share information with other people who provide well-being services to other state dental associations throughout the country. With presentations running on three tracks, the Institute offered something for everyone.

 Track 1:
Where Work and Life Meet

Track 1 was for attendees interested in personal growth and exploring the place where work and life meet. Sessions on this Track included Haydn Shaw's presentation on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families", Dr. Scott Stacy on "The Myth of Invincibility", Dr. Ben Bernstein on "Experiencing Joy", and ADA Manager of the Dentist Well-Being Programs Linda Keating's presentation on the findings of the ADA's 2003 Dentist Well-Being Survey.

 Track 2:
Impaired Ability to Practice

Track 2 was for attendees who wanted to know more about issues that can impair a dentists' ability to practice. Sessions running on this track included

Dr. Lynn Hankes' presentation "Cunning, Baffling, Powerful and Patient; Risk Factors for Relapse in Health Professionals with Substance Abuse Disorders", Dr. Patrick Sammon on "Drugs of Abuse and the Neurobiology of Addiction", and Rob White's presentation "Getting Dentists Into Treatment: It's Like Pulling Teeth". Mr. White speaks from experience. He is the Clinical Coordinator of Maryland's Dentist Well-Being Committee.

 Track 3:
Assisting Impaired Dentists

I spent most of my days attending sessions on Track 3. This track addressed the advocacy and regulatory issues faced by those who offer assistance to impaired dentists. Sessions I attended included a presentation by the award-winning assistance programs from Tennessee and Pennsylvania titled "What Makes a Great Program?". Other workshops were given on "Sustaining Established Programs" by Margie Graves of North Carolina's Caring Professionals Program and Dr. James Oles, Chair of the Michigan Dental Association's Committee on Peer Review and Well-Being.

   For me, the most eye-opening was a presentation by a representative from the Drug Enforcement Administration who spoke about her role in addressing prescription drug abuse among dentists and their staffs. Her bottom-line recommendation to dentists: "dispensing drugs from your dental clinic will simply get you in trouble." Basically, having drugs on hand is too tempting, they are easy to get addicted to, and your staff may be tempted to steal them.

How a Day Begins
Each day of the Institute started with an open AA/Alanon meeting for any who wanted to attend. Many of the dentists attending the Institute are recovering alcoholics and/or recovering addicts. Other participants are the spouses or children of alcoholics or addicts. For all of us it was a great way to start the day with inspiration. If you have never attended a twelve step meeting, it is a powerful spiritual experience. (I have included the twelve steps to accompany this article. They are helpful in overcoming many of life's problems, not just addictions.)

   Many of the dentists I heard from in formal sessions, or spoke with informally, told me the stories of their lives of addiction and how their chemical(s) of choice ruled their lives. All told me that when they were actively using their drug or booze they felt shameful, and that each felt he or she must be the only dentist with this deep dark secret of chemical abuse.

   Each story of recovery spoke to the transfromational power of the twelve steps, to the support these individuals received from other addicted dentists who lived their dedication to the twelve steps and sobriety, and to the strength of the human spirit. Most of these dentists have been clean and sober for years, some for decades. They now volunteeer to bring healing to other dentists. They are an inspiration.

 Minnesota's Own
I discovered that the assistance program model we have in Minnesota is unique in the country. No other state association has a program like the one sponsored by the Minnesota Dental Association. This is a program that not only supports an impaired dentist to become clean and sober, but the Minnesota Dentist Wellness Program offers a wide, "broad brush" of service to help all dentists with life concerns; everything from finding elder care for a frail parent to financial counseling, grief support, and stress management.

   You do not have to be an impaired dentist to benefit from the Minnesota Dentist Wellness Program. But if you are a dentist struggling with a habit of self-dosing on nitrous oxide, self-prescribing drugs, writing prescriptions for others so that you can barter for illegal drugs or sex, or if those close to you often comment on your alcohol over-consumption, know that you are not alone. Many have gone before you and can lead the way. There is a whole system working for you that is here to help you. It is a system that will work with you and preserve your ability to safely practice dentistry, if you are committed to changing.

 Next Number
In Minnesota there are four organizations working together to provide help for the chemically impaired dentist. They are the Board of Dentistry, Health Professionals Services Program (HPSP), The Sand Creek Group, and Dentists Concerned for Dentists. Each organization understands that chemical addiction is a disease and works with the dentist who strives to be sober.

 The Board of Dentistry and HPSP have roles that also include monitoring and enforcement to insure the safety of patients.

Sand Creek provides a broad-brush assistance program including counseling and chemical assessment for dentists and support for family members and dental clinic staff.

Dentists Concerned for Dentists (DCD) are dentists who have been in an addicted dentist's shoes and have an intimate knowledge of what it is like and what it takes to get clean and sober. Some DCD dentists are trained and certified chemical dependency professionals. DCD provides peer support and can also help a dentist into treatment. DCD also facilitates a twelve step support for dentists.

To contact the Minnesota Dentist Wellness Program, please call The Sand Creek Group at 1-800-632-7643 or call Dentists Concerned for Dentists at (651) 275-0313 and take the first step to finding a better life.

Please Let Us Know What We Can Do For You
Since returning from the Institute, representatives from Sand Creek, the MDA Wellness Committee, the Minnesota Board of Dentistry, HPSP, and Dentists Concerned for Dentists have met to discuss ways our organizations can work together more cooperatively to support the health and well-being of Minnesota's dentists. We welcome your input and suggestions.

The National Institute on Dentist Well-Being is held every two years. If you are interested in attending the next (12th) National Institute on Dentist Well-Being, please watch for more information as September of 2007 draws near.

*Dr. Stein is president and CEO of The Sand Creek Group, Stillwater, Minnesota.

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1.   We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

 2.   Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3.   Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4.   Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5.   Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6.   Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7.   Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8.   Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

 9.   Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10.  Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11.  Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

 12.  Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.