It has been just over a year since my dental work has been completed. I started to write this letter shortly after but decided to wait a year and see if I felt the same. As we all know, when we first get something new we are so happy, everything is all bright and shiny and we smile continuously, our hearts are so full. Then after awhile the new starts to fade and we begin to see the blemishes, the little faults that we overlooked with the bright and shinny. We realize that it was nice but maybe not as great as we first thought. When I first came to your office, I had broken my tooth after eating a piece of olive bread. It was of course a tooth in the front where it could not be overlooked when I spoke much less smiled. For many years I had been so embarrassed to smile because my teeth looked so bad. As a preteen I had a horrible experience having two teeth pulled and believed all dentists to be something less than human, so to speak. Then I met you and your staff. The first time I walked into your office I felt as if something was different. The water fountain in the lobby sounded of peace, the smell as I entered your waiting area smelled good not the normal smell of a dentist office, the smiles from your employees with an offer of something to drink. It was all so different. It felt like going to a friend’s home to share a cup of tea after having a bad day. Then I met you, the kindness, the understanding you showed to me felt so real and your smiles your laughter made me feel so at ease. The way you took so much time to explain and hands on things to show me what you could do, what you had to offer. The way you listened to all my fears, my past experiences, my hopes and dreams of what I wanted.
There may be some dentist’s out there that can do the kind of work you do but I believe with all my heart there is no one out there who can give what you so sincerely give, your genuine concern and caring for others.
There are times in our lives that we feel as if we have nothing to smile about, sicknesses, deaths of loved ones, the times we cry instead of smiles and laughter. Those are times in our lives that can’t be changed. Times we must all endure. Then there are the times we try so hard not to smile, not to laugh because we are embarrassed about what other will see when we smile or laugh. We cover our mouth to smile, we turn our heads or look to the floor so others won’t see our broken, missing, chipped, or stained teeth. I did that for years, as I am sure others have also.
I want to say, “Dr. Herrman, do you know how wonderful it feels to look someone in the eyes and smile and be proud?” Then I know that you do, that is why you do what you do and that is the person that you are. I ask myself so many times why I waited so long. I found the old saying about “when you smile, others smile with you” to be very true. To hug your friends and laugh together, to kiss your husband and not have the smell of bad teeth. It’s all so good, so great. I could go on and on. I want to thank you from my heart for helping me to achieve the gift of confidence, the happiness I feel when I can laugh or smile without being embarrassed. If everyone could know the difference your smile makeover would make in their lives, you would not have enough hours in the day to help everyone.
Again, thank you so very much. Donnis Gainesville, Mo.
