Read time: 5 minutes.

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• What I’ve Learned

• Business Idea

What I Learned:

There’s a funny scene unfolding.

I’m not sure if I should look away, but I can’t stop staring.

The orthodontist leans forward in his chair to place an anterior bracket. But as he leans forward, the mother leans forward too. 

He leans forward even more. 

She does the same. 

He lifts his elbow in a box-out move.

But her head snakes around.

Now they’re practically touching heads.

The mother grabs her daughter’s hand and squeezes it. 

I don’t know what’s about to happen, but between the head butting, audible “Ma’am…please….Ma’am..”, the mother’s reassurances to her daughter, the doctor’s aggressive elbow—I can’t help myself:

This is comedy. 

And tragedy.

As soon as the doctor finishes, he scoots back in frustration, throws away his latex gloves, and walks into the consultation room.

The mother relaxes too.

And the daughter whips out her phone

She starts scrolling TikTok

—But she does this part without her mother’s hand holding.

“Overprotection in the real world and under protection in the virtual world are the primary reasons why children born after 1995 are often referred to as the anxious generation.”

So writes Jonathan Haidt.

And its true.

I’m much more worried about my daughter riding her bike in the neighborhood unsupervised than I am about her scrolling online..

….and that’s where I’m dead wrong.

The #1 demographic in orthodontics is teenagers, ages 12-14.

We all share a responsibility in this industry to help.

Social media is the cigarette smoke of this generation. We’re now grasping the full extent of how harmful it can be in heavy douses.

Jonathan argues his NYTimes Bestseller The Anxious Generation for four pillars:

1. No smartphone before high school

2. No social media before 16

3. Phone-free schools

4. Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence

But I argue for something simpler:

No one denies orthodontics changes lives. 

This industry sells hope, betterment, confidence, and well-being for 24 easy payments of $240/mo. 

But this can exceed far beyond just their smile.

No medical or dental provider will interact with as many teens as an orthodontist will in a week. 

And statistically speaking, millions of teens are depressed, socially-isolated, and the interaction they’ll have in orthodontic practice with the team might be the best part of their day.

This week, I encourage everyone who visits a teenager in their chair to offer them what Jonathan says they’re in most need of in 2025: Hope, encouragement, and to do what social media is depriving them of:

Look them in the eye

Acknowledge their worth

and leave them in a better state.

^{Reference and source material: Jonathan Haidt. The Anxious Generation. 2024. Penguin Press.}

A leader is one who knows the way, walks the way, and shows the way.