When you see something, say something! This statement is sadly now familiar to us all in the era of increased Homeland Security. We are admonished to not just ignore something that doesn’t seem right but to report it to someone who might be able to investigate and prevent a problem. We all need to do it regarding Homeland Security. How many of us actually do that in other areas of our life?
Growing up as I did I was taught not to boast or make anything I was or did seem superior to others. I was pretty much taught to not bother others, particularly as it might relate to how someone looked. About 8 years ago I couldn’t take it any longer after receiving a holiday card from one of my son’s in-law relatives. I’d been seeing these two beautiful blond girls each year in the annual holiday card, and the gumminess of their smiles had become something I could no longer stand. I asked my daughter-in-law if it would be okay to contact this family member on her side of the family and suggest that the girls 1) had a significant problem 2) there was a great solution, but she would not find it at the traditional orthodontic office in their town 3) they could find the solution in the office of a general dentist I had trained who was about an hour from them. My daughter-in-law told me to go ahead and SAY SOMETHING! I did. The mother was extremely thankful and acted on my recommendation. As they say, “The rest is history”, and this story couldn’t have turned out better.
Recently I was part of a family gathering on the East Coast where I again saw these two girls again in person. Now in high school, they are absolutely gorgeous with beautiful smiles that are no longer gummy. Their faces have grown forward nicely thanks to the treatment which encourages proper rest oral posture. Neither has worn full braces to get their unbelievable smiles. Their airways are likely better than they would have been which may even help them live longer. Neither will go off to college wearing retainers because they don’t need them! Their retainers are their tongue, lips, and cheeks because they have adopted proper rest oral posture because of Orthotropic® treatment.
These two girls now have great smiles that aren’t gummy smiles all because I “saw something and said something”. It’s wonderful to be able to help people have better facial balance and better smiles merely by “saying something” when you know there is help.
