While treating patients as an orthodontist, there are moments when I feel deeply grateful that I chose this profession. Orthodontic treatment, in a way, imposes a certain attitude toward life on the orthodontist—and I believe that attitude has a very positive influence on life.

1. It is not urgent.

Not always, but in most cases orthodontic treatment is not an emergency. In life, we sometimes fall into the illusion that our present situation is an emergency. This illusion often becomes a major source of unhappiness.

Because of the nature of the profession, orthodontists are almost forced to remain calm. The more we rush, the higher the risk of side effects and relapse. And even then, the actual impact on the treatment duration is minimal.

This characteristic of orthodontic treatment has had a profoundly positive influence on my life, including my mental state.

Yes—there are very few true emergencies in our lives.

2. Always moving toward a destination.

Orthodontists know the ideal proportions of facial structure and the ideal angles and positions of teeth. Since it is impossible to make every measurement perfect, a key task of an orthodontist is to establish a well-considered final destination—often a compromise tailored to the patient’s condition (what we call “compromise treatment” in orthodontic terms).

Through this process, orthodontists repeatedly train themselves to define the destination of a long journey clearly from the very beginning.

In the short term, each decision may not seem optimal. The path may even appear crooked at times. But in the long run, it ultimately leads toward the destination in a straight line.

This resembles what a good life looks like. The nature of orthodontic treatment encourages me to set long-term goals in life and to steadily move, step by step, toward the life I aspire to live.

3. Focus on the one procedure that needs to be done today.

Orthodontic treatment involves many tasks. After all, we are trying to solve the positional problems of 24 to 28 teeth while simultaneously achieving functional occlusion.

Yet in the end, a successful case is built from the accumulation of one correct procedure performed today.

Of course, many complex factors must be considered. But ultimately the best thing I can do is simply perform the one procedure that needs to be done today.

This idea resembles the philosophy often expressed by thinkers: focus not on the past or the future, but on living today well.

Doing well the task that I must accomplish today—
that alone is enough to create a life that is more than full, happy, and whole.