M. David Campbell

The TIME is NOW!

The economy is not the best and some of us are seeing a slow-down in the numbers of new patients, and a reduction in our gross production. However, the time is NOW that many more people require our help in providing needed dental care. The time is NOW that even a few donated dollars are more important than ever. The time is NOW to thank those who have donated to the Foundation in this past year.

Oh, I hear many of you telling me that the reduction in patient load, and in revenue, is affecting your bottom line, as well. I hear my older friends worrying about their retirement funds and their 401Ks. Dave, they say, times are tough for me, too!

But, my friends, you will be able to eat your dinner tonight, while a homeless man at the Men's Free Dental Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, helped by our grant may not get his new dentures to eat before going for a job application. And while we worry about whether we flossed correctly that night before retiring, a little kid is crying in a poor Paris suburb because his teeth hurt from dental decay due to not getting treated that day because the Dental Social Bus did not have the funds to make that stop for him. While we sit at home with our own oral health in excellent condition, and that of our families, there are adults and children in our own neighborhoods who are in pain that will not go away, that cannot eat nutritiously, who have too awful an appearance to get a life-sustaining job, just for the want of a few dollars. Yes, life is tough.

Tomorrow your 401Ks and money markets will recover, there will be new patients flooding your free time and empty chairs, but the time is NOW to extend your help through a few dollars in the right places to the crying child, the homeless man who cannot eat, the unemployed mother begging for a job. You give us the change in your pockets, and we will see that it gets to the right place to help the dental needy. We will handle our end if you can help out getting another grant fulfilled in these desperate times. The time is NOW to help out like we have never needed to do before!

Because we have received more grant proposals than ever before, this is an indication of two things. One, the Foundation is being recognized throughout the dental community as an important source of help. And two, there is an increased need for dental treatment in the United States as well as in other countries.

The time is NOW to say how much I have enjoyed my term as President of the Pierre Fauchard Academy Foundation. The time is NOW to see and be a part of what PFA dentists have done in this world to help out fellow human beings, and it has been a truly impressive undertaking. The time is NOW to be proud that so many of you have trusted our Foundation to use your money wisely to help others. And I am!

I thank all of you again for this wonderful opportunity to serve. Let us look ahead to a future where we can continue to serve the dental community that has provided us with so many benefits in life.