Dr. William Winspear
The Fool Who Dared to Dream
Earlier this year, I re-read extracts from an illuminating address on the life of Pierre Fauchard that was presented by Dr. H. Berton McCauley in 2001. Dr. McCauley is a Past President of the American Academy of the History of Dentistry. Whilst Fauchard's life journey is an inspiration to us all, I was particularly taken by his dogged determination in changing the treatment of oral conditions ''from a craft into a profession''--often against strong criticism and personal vilification,
Dr. McCauley recounted:
To be expected, the envy of lesser colleagues was evoked. Fauchard did not escape the penalty of leadership. There were efforts to belittle him and to destroy his reputation. Some tried to block the publication of his text (Chirurgien Dentiste). Pierre's candor and revelation of dental techniques rankled the charlatans who were publicly exposed for what they were. A rumor that Pierre was retiring from practice evoked this response from him: ''The rumor having been falsely set about that I am abandoning the profession, which rumor could not have been invented otherwise than by those individuals who, sacrificing their honor to interest, would attract to themselves the persons who honor this author with their confidence. I therefore find it necessary to give warning that I still continue the practice of my art in Paris.''
I am sure that this scenario strikes a chord with many. There would be very few of us who have not encountered detractors and doubters who challenged our dreams.
From the beginning of time, mankind has gained great encouragement and comfort from ''dreamers'' and their inspirations. Martin Luther King's ''I have a dream'' still resounds as loudly today as it did in 1963. We sing along with Maria, who followed every rainbow 'til she found her dream, and we journey with Man of La Mancha in his personal quest for the impossible dream.
We all have our favorite songs, stories, and poems that provide us with consolidation. Sometimes I recall the words of a song from a musical theater production I saw in London's West End in the early seventies. It was called ''The Good Old, Bad Old Days,'' and it traced the constant conflicts through the ages between good and evil. The lyrics are simple and tell of a man who had a dream for which he held total belief and on which he tirelessly worked. But the people around him could not fathom his vision and readily dismissed it, calling our dreamer a fool. But our hero used this mockery to spur him to work harder, to believe in himself more spiritedly, and in the best traditions of good musicals, his dream came true. In fact, the final line of the song says it all: The world belongs to the fool who dares to dream.
Whilst he was labeled a fool by many of his critics, Pierre Fauchard continued unperturbed in his pioneering of all facets of dentistry. He staunchly defended his studies and consequential discoveries, and ignored the paucity of professional assistance he received initially. Upon his death in 1761, the world acknowledged Fauchard as ''the patriarch'' of the dental profession-- an honor that endures to this day and is revered by the Fellows of the Academy that proudly bears his name. Pierre Fauchard was certainly a fool who dared to dream.