Dreams come true!

Dr. Ivan Goryalov
www.usmivki.com

"I am Ivan Goryalov. I come from Bulgaria. Bulgaria is in Europe. It is a small and very beautiful country…" These were the introductory words of my presentation at International Symposium ALEXANDER 2006, which took place on May 11-12 in Dallas, the USA.

I was invited by Professor Wick Alexander to deliver a lecture at this prestigious world orthodontic meeting and share my experience and observations. I had the opportunity to stay in his clinic for a month and get acquainted with his technique and philosophy.

I felt very happy because one of my dreams was to learn from the best orthodontists in the world, i.e. "to have it from the horse's mouth". However, I felt rather worried as well! I figured out a variety of logical reasons because of which this may not happen: I may not receive a visa, it is too far, I could not leave my patients for so long, I do not have enough money, I do not speak English so well that I could deliver a lecture before such a big audience, the other lecturers are very good, and so on, and so forth… However, my wish to follow my dreams was stronger so I decided to go. With great enthusiasm I passed all the administrative procedures for American visa, drew a loan from the bank, rearranged my patients' schedules and settled the rest details concerning my departure. It was not easy at all but everything happened according to plan!

After three flights in a row Sofia - Paris - Atlanta - Dallas I arrived in the hotel! I felt very excited because this was my first time being outside Bulgaria.
In the clinic I was warmly accepted by professor Alexander, his son d-r Moody Alexander and the whole team. Everything here was so different from my idea of a clinic. All things I wanted to see and learn were being shown and explained to me. I used my photo and video cameras to photograph various details of the arrangement, procedures, treatments and management of the clinic. Patients of all ages were having fun during the treatment. At the end of their treatment every patient received a certificate for successfully finishing the journey towards their beautiful smiles.

A couple of days before the symposium, there began to arrive orthodontists from all parts of the world. It was great fun. The whole team, the guests and the patients enjoyed it very much.
On the day before the symposium there was a cocktail party where participants from Japan, China, the USA, Morocco, Costa Rika, the Nederlands, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Bulgaria had a wonderful time. It was unique to share our happiness and really enjoy ourselves. There were people of various ages but my colleague from Mexico, whose name was also Ivan, and I were the youngest.
We all had one and the same mission - more beautiful smiles for a happier world.

It is incredible to realize that, on the one hand, we, the people all over the world are the same and have the same wishes, fears and dreams; on the other hand, however, each of us is unique and one of a kind which makes the world so various and beautiful.

On the day of the symposium, typically in American, the organization was perfect. There were spotlights, professional cameras and all lectures were documented on DVD which was to be distributed all over the world.

I was extremely excited because I was about to deliver a lecture together with one of the best lecturers in the world and it would not be in my native language. I realized that in order to make my dream come true I should leave my comfort zone. At that moment, just before it was my turn to speak, I wished I could disappear.

The topic of my presentation was "Objective evaluation of the treatments of two patients with similar diagnoses (dental and skeleton class 1, open bite), treated according to the systems of Alexander and Damen".

The purpose of my presentation was: (1) to give facts, not my opinion (2) to openly share my success and failures (3) to illustrate the treatment stages by clear photos.
The lecture was very good and I received support from the whole audience. I am proud of being able to represent Bulgaria at this big symposium.

Two days full of interesting topics.

Professor Alexander's presentation demonstrated durable successful results if his rules were strictly observed during the treatment and failures if these rules were not observed.
The lectures of d-r Chuck Alexander, d-r Moody Alexander and d-r Cliff Alexander were impressing. When the Alexanders deliver lectures the whole audience has a lot of fun.
The Japanese colleagues presented perfect treatments of difficult cases - class 3, open bites with stable results, followed up to 20 years after the treatment.

All lectures were very good and everybody learnt plenty of new things.
The language of orthodontics is the precise documentation including standard models, radiographs and photographs and treatment analyses before, during and after the treatment. This is necessary for the exchange of knowledge and experience among the stomatologists all over the world.

In the evening after the first day of the symposium, there was a typical cowboy party in the Texas rancho of the Alexanders. The women and the children had organized everything - barbeque, live music, night fire and a lot of dancing. On the next day we said good-bye to one another with the wish to meet again at the next symposium.

On May 13, a day after the symposium I celebrated my 28-th birthday together with d-r Moody Alexander, his wife and their four children. It was a real Texas day full of lots of fun. I thank them wholeheartedly for making me feel so extremely happy!
I stayed in the clinic till the beginning of June. Along with that, every Friday, I visited the Baler University in Dallas and studied there together with the post-graduate students in orthodontics. D-r Moody Alexander has lectures and seminars in this university. There I also received a lot of valuable advice from professor Wick Alexander's brother - professor Moody Alexander and from professor Edward Dzhenekov as well.

I also had the opportunity to visit the clinic of professor Leonard Tibets - one of the leading parodonthologists in America. I visited d-r Roger's clinic in restoring stomatology. I observed the results from the work of the facial-maxilla surgeon professor John Stella which were really impressing. This is the team that makes perfection possible. Or, as d-r Moody Alexander said in his lecture, "It is a fact that nowadays stomatology gives the patients excellent solutions but it is a fantasy to believe that these solutions can come from only one stomatologists. Quality solutions are given by a team of specialists."

Every clinic was like a well-working machine in which everybody knew what exactly they should do. For them perfection was a daily round. This well-greased machine I had seen was a result of the continuous and purposeful work for forty years.

The greatest heritage professor Wick Alexander will leave to the present and future generations is the so-called "Room of Truth", where there were more than fourteen thousand treatments realized according to his system, documented with the help of models, analyses and photographs. Part of the publications in the American orthodontic magazine was from researches carried out by post-graduates on the base of analyses on these treatments accomplished and followed in time. There is no other clinic in the world with so many documented cases.

All this information and knowledge was available to me so I took a lot of photos, videos and documents. Professor Alexander allowed me full access to his system. He also gave me his consent to use everything I want in my practice as well as give it to everybody who would like it. These are ready solutions and I accept them as gifts from God.

I have the chance to take one of the best systems of work and documentation and introduce it to my office. This is exactly what I am going to do and I will learn from this world experience. We are not only part of Europe but part of the world as well. All borders are nowhere else but in our heads. My message to all stomatologists in Bulgaria is to think on a large scale and be members not only of the European Union but of the World as well.
All the information is available and I will present it to the orthodontists from club "Alexander" - Bulgaria as well as to stomatologists, post-graduates and students. Professor Alexander himself is coming to Bulgaria for the fourth year in a row on December 4, 5 and 6. He will deliver lectures on Early Treatment / Borderline Treatment.

I would like to thank professor Wick Alexander, d-r Moody Alexander and all the people from the team of the clinic for everything they did for me! It has been an honor to learn from such good teachers! I promised that at the next symposiums they would be able to see what I have learnt and applied.
I would like to thank all the people I met in America who made me realize that there are no frontiers and the world is one for all.

I realized that to follow my dreams means to act, to learn from my own and others' mistakes and successes, to follow the advice of the great masters, to walk my way patiently, consistently and with faith. This is how I am growing and becoming better and better. My clear intention and wish for development and change encourage me to ceaselessly overcome my own fears and doubts. By doing the things I want and like I become a part of the world community that leads the world towards happiness, peace and goodness. I am happy that being only 28 years old I am part of this world change.

I thank my parents, my brother, my fiancee, my friends, my colleagues from club "Alexander" for their support and the team of company Konsident for speeding up the process of changing the stomatology in Bulgaria.
I thank God who never leaves me!