This past weekend I attended the annual meeting for the American

Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry in Dallas.  Wow – the talent of the

attendees and lecturers was astounding.  I really love that type of

environment because spending time with like-minded, talented

professionals inspires me to continue honing my own skills and becoming better at everything I do. 

Cosmetic dentistry has come a LONG way in the past decade, and I’m happy to be able to provide the best care for our patients in Northwest Indiana, Valparaiso, Chesterton and Naperville.  It’s a really exiting time to be a cosmetic dentist with all of the new high-tech gadgets, spa amenities, porcelain veneer systems, and advanced protocols in sedation dentistry make it easy to provide painless dental treatment in a relaxing atmosphere. 

I also had the opportunity to catch up with numerous good friends from around the country.  I learned as much from my colleagues in the evenings as I learned during the daily lectures. 

I am SOOO glad to be home, however.  After three weekends on the road, I am still trying to catch up on my work and my sleep!  My training is still going very well, however.  I was able to share two challenging swim workouts with a colleague from San Diego, and I even got to run with a couple of friends.  Other than my sore achilles and hamstring, i’m feeling pretty good. 

Jim

Dr. Jim Arnold

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic, Family, and Sedation Dentist

Smiles By Arnold & Associates

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

Naperville Cosmetic, Family, and Invisalign Dentist

Smiles By Dr. Gibson & Associates

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

Well….  I am on the road for the third weekend in a row.  It’s just “that time of year”, I guess.  It’s SOOO hard to be away from Sarah and our amazing kids, but I don’t EVER want to be “just another dentist”.  SOOO many dentists do a course or two and then rest on their laurels for the rest of their careers. 

I’ve devoted over 2000 hours of my life (plus travel, etc) over the past 8 years to be the  best that I can be in dentistry and life.  My team has been INCREDIBLE during that time, too – allowing me to drag them all over the country to learn and grow professionally and personally.  It’s just really hard to be away from home so much. 

PLUS – training is just about impossible.  Last weekend, I had to do a 3.5 hour bike ride on a stationary bike at my hotel in Orlando.  Today, I did a 90 min ride in Dallas on another stationary bike. To make matters worse, it was a TIME TRIAL.  I warmed up for 30 min, rode HARD for 30 min (as hard as i could), and cooled down for 30 min. 

How effective is triathlon training when 30% of  it has to be on a random stationary bike?  How effective is the running when it has to be short and slow due to an Achilles tear and pain?  This is all so challenging and frustrating. 

I look forward to being home for a few weeks with my awesome family.  I look forward to a few great weeks of training – on my OWN bike. 

The AACD meeting in Dallas will be great.  I just needed to vent a little bit!  Thanks for listening! 

Jim

Well, I’ve been on the road WAY too much lately, but I attended another fantastic conference in Orlando this past weekend.  As hard as it is to be away from Sarah and our kids, it was well-worth having attended.  A lot of what i learned was an affirmation of what we’ve been doing for years, but I did pick up some great new ideas.  Now, we just need to find the time to implement them!

Balancing professional, family, and training responsibilities is becoming increasingly difficult.  To stay with my plan, i had to spend 3:30 on a hotel stationary bike this past Saturday.  In order to get to my class on time, I had to get up at 4:30 AM to do it.  THAT was a really boring 3 and a half hours! 

Yesterday I left the house at 5:10 AM for my Masters swim workout, went straight to the office from there, and didn’t get home until about 6:15 PM.  I needed to do 45 minutes of strength training while the kids were with Sarah at Swim Club, and then it was time to put them to bed.  I ate dinner at 8:30 and went to bed right afterwards. 

Today is similar with workouts “book-ending” a really long day at the office.  4:45 AM Computrainer bike session and 6:15 PM run….

Jim

www.SmilesByArnold.com

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

SmilesByArnold Team with Dr. Paul Homoly

I spent all day Friday and Saturday at a great seminar put on by Paul Homoly in Chicago.  I had eight team members with me, and we all learned a ton.  Several of us went through this program four years ago, so it was a great review – and affirmation that we’re doing a lot of things well.  It was the first time for several others, and it will improve their already excellent patient communication and customer service.

It’s just such a good idea to get out of the office periodically to spend time learning together as a team!    I appreciate that they all took time away from their families and other activities to go to the course.  It’s nice to have a team that is so committed to being the best that they can be! 

Jim

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

SmilesByDrGibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

Oops!  I forgot to include links to some of his television appearances.  Additionally, you can learn more about Garrett and his book, Killing Sacred Cows by visiting his website at:  www.GarrettBGunderson.com.

Check Garrett out on these

Media features below:

ABC News Video 1

ABC News Video 2

ABC News Video 3

Garrett Gunderson wrote the New York Times Best Seller, Killing Sacred Cows.  It is an extraordinary book that dispels many of the myths that plague the way that we were taught to view our personal finances.  Unfortunately, these financial myths have become so deeply entrenched in our society that people consider them “untouchable” and ”undebatable” – OR “Sacred Cows”.

Garrett has become a good friend of mine, and he has agreed to share his incredibly valuable time with us this Thursday evening on a teleseminar answering your most important questions related to personal finances, business finances, loans, debt, retirement plans, investing, and whatever else you are wondering about.  His goal is to share a LOT of knowledge with all of us in a short period of time, and you, my friends, are all invited to participate in the experience. 

All you need to do is follow this link to ask Garrett a question and to register for the call:  https://efys.infusionsoft.com/link/4359f46e0/325aa0. 

I assure you that this will be time very well spent and could help you take your personal financial situation to the next level.  Please check out just a couple of his television appearances by following the links below, and you’ll see why many well-known entrepeneurs around the world are flocking to him for advice. 

You can register at NO

CHARGE right now……

http://www.asktogetrich.com

I hope that many of you can make it for the call. 

All my best,

Jim

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

Smiles By Dr Gibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic, Invisalign, and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

The SmilesByArnold Team is heading to Chicago for another seminar this weekend.  We will be spending some time with Dr. Paul Homoly, the best patient communication and customer service expert on the planet. We are fired up about continuing to improve the care and service we provide to our wonderful patients from across Northwest Indiana, and this will be another excellent opportunity to continue that process.

Of course, it’s also nice to get together as a team outside of the office.  We are a family – dysfunctional at times, but a family nevertheless!  It should be an extraordinary weekend!  We’ll try to post some photos upon our return. 

Dr. Jim Arnold

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

The Smiles By Arnold & Associates team recently attended a seminar in Tampa.  The seminar was hosted by the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics. 

Dr. Jim Arnold has been on the Board for the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) since 2004.  He served as the International Fellowship Committee Chairman for three of those years. 

ACE is an organization of exceptional dental professionals from around the world who is committed to being the best that they can be.  While the primary focus of ACE is promoting the advancement of cosmetic dentistry, the group is devoted to helping dentists to maximize their enjoyment of and success in dentistry.  This provides dentists with the tools necessary to provide excellent dental care to their patients. 

ACE hosts continuing education for dentists all over the country on diverse topics ranging from cosmetic dentistry, family dentistry, laser dentistry, Invisalign dentistry, sedation dentistry, sleep apnea treatments, NTI utilization for migraine prevention, spa dentistry, dental practice management, and communication.  Dr. Arnold is very proud of his affiliation with and participation associated with ACE. 

He achieved Fellowship in ACE in 2003, which was a tremendous achievement requiring a full year to accomplish.  After passing a rigorous written exam covering all aspects of comprehensive esthetic and cosmetic dentistry, Dr. Arnold submitted cases to the Board.  Once these cosmetic cases were deemed exceptional, Dr. Arnold passed an oral exam and won Fellowship status.  Very few cosmetic dentists around the world have achieved such a high level of excellence in cosmetic dentistry.

Dr. Arnold was happy to take his three office managers and Dr. Gibson along for the course.  The team came back to their respective offices fired up and ready to take great care of their patients. 

While Dr. Arnold spends most of his time providing exceptional dental care to the patients of Northwest Indiana and Chicago, the people of Naperville are fortunate to have his services, as well.  Please check out our Smile Gallery to see some examples of his work at:  www.SmilesByArnold.com.