September/October 2018 | Page 11

G ove r n men t Re lat ions If you contribute, thank you! We couldn’t do it without you. Our success is due to your efforts. If you haven’t contributed yet please do so. Please contact your colleagues and encourage them to contribute. Your adversaries are constantly working to (mis) shape the legislative and political agenda of our state. We have to compete and win against a ruthless opponent. If you don’t participate we are guaranteed to lose. If we want to win, and we do, we have to participate in the political process. It is an axiom of politics that you are either at the negotiation table or on the menu. The righteousness of your cause will not make others take action on your behalf. We need your help to fight and win. Monetary contributions are one of the most important tools. One of the best ways to add more tools to the tool box is by contributing to PADPAC so we have the money to contribute to legislators who support us and educate those who don’t support us yet. Just because someone was against us on one issue doesn’t mean we can’t persuade them to be with us on the next issue. There are very few permanent enemies. It’s always worth the time, money and effort to educate elected officials so they can become our supporters if not outright advocates. Another great way to achieve your legislative agenda is by meeting with your House and Senate members. The retiring legislators leave on November 30. The new members start on December 1. Even though the new members won’t be sworn in until January they start work in December. It never hurts to meet with your legislators early and build a relationship. It’s a great opportunity to meet them before the legislative session starts. Just introduce yourself and offer to be a resource on the issues you care about. Some things to mention in your meetings are that dentists are uniquely suited to be the “early warning system” for overall patient health. Most people only see their primary care physician every few years, e.g. when they have a problem. Most people see their dentist twice a year. This enables dentists to head off diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions that would otherwise be missed, potentially for years. This makes dentistry not just curative but preventative. If a dentist catches a serious issue early this can save the patient and our medical system thousands of dollars even on only one patient. Systemically, prevention and an early fix can bring the number of dollars saved, even using conservative math, into the millions. SEP TEM BER/OC TOBER 2018 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL 9