A Brand-New Book — 9 Years in the Making – from Dr. Pitner
Happy New Year!
I hope 2017 is off to a great start for everyone. I know these first weeks have been very exciting for me. As of this month, I am now a published author, and my book, Improve Your Smile, Transform Your Life: A Guide to Orthodontics for Adults, is now available. Getting my book ready has been a huge undertaking. Depending on how you look at it, I have either been working on this book for the last 12 months, or for nine years.
The original nugget of idea formed when I was working on my master’s degree in applied positive psychology back in 2007. As part of the program, we had to complete a capstone project, and I chose to submit a book proposal with an example chapter about the psychology behind a smile.
Diving into the research, I learned so much! What happens in our brains to cause us to smile? How does the smile impact our brains even after we’ve stopped smiling? How does happiness influence our health, success, and overall well-being? A smile is basically the only psychological marker for happiness, and there was so much research for me to do on the subject.
I intended on continuing my book even after the program was over. However, as it tends to happen, life got in the way, and I realized I didn’t have time for a project of that scale. The book got pushed to the side, though it never really disappeared. A corner of my brain always remained dedicated to that first chapter, kicking around ideas.
In the past year, my book idea came back to the front of my mind as I started creating Pitner Downtown, our orthodontics office specifically for adults. I saw that, while there are resources available on general orthodontics — traditionally geared towards children and teens — there was very little readily available information focusing on orthodontics for adults.
I knew it was my job to write the book to fill that gap because I have met so many people, especially adults, who just won’t smile. They’ve spent their whole life learning how not to smile because they’re embarrassed about their teeth. Knowing what I do about how important a true smile is, I wanted there to be some way for me to share that knowledge with everyone, so no one is being denied the benefits of a smile.
This book was an amazing opportunity to take all the stuff I know academically and all the information I’ve learned working with actual people in the real world. My book answers questions a lot of adults have, like “Are there options that won’t make me look like a preteen?” or “Can you move teeth in an adult?” The book also covers all of your treatment options, as well as the new technology that makes treatment faster and easier.
Featuring facts and science, with all my favorite stories and real life experiences, the book is basically everything I could ever want my patients to know, presented in a way that I hope is both interesting to read and incredibly useful.
Improve Your Smile, Transform Your Life: A Guide to Orthodontics for Adults is available on Amazon. I’m so excited to have this book finally on paper — or pixels for e-book readers.