Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 6

His frustration is evident and yet Dr. Friedman remains calm and philosophical to the end. “One step at a time,” he says. “That’s why I continue to be involved in organized dentistry. Trying to shift the education.” To this end, he has played a key role in the recent development of new special needs dental care resources with CDA, including valuable tips for parents, caregivers, and the dental team on oral health care for persons with autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. In the pediatric field, he is also heavily involved in the development of a pacifier app that allows the user to take a picture of a baby and determine the size and shape of soother the baby should be using, as well as a gnathic app that can determine the relationship of the mandible to the cranial base and suggest interventions that may impact growth and development. It all seems such a long way from growing up in Johannesburg but looking back Dr. Friedman can see a clear path back to those days when he was wiring jaws at the University of Witwatersrand: “Growing up in South Africa you were sensitized to racism and discrimination,” he says. “Sensitized to seeing people in different ways. I think that gave me the sensitivity to look at individuals with disabilities from that perspective.” It’s encouraging to think that something so positive has come from something so dark. That the poisons of inequality and injustice have forged such a force for good in the world of dental health care. You get the strong sense that Dr. Friedman’s work here is far from done. His passion for progress and learning in his chosen field burns as brightly as ever: “I have always tried to find things within the field of pediatrics that push me out of my comfort zone,” he says. “Because that’s where learning begins—at the edge of our comfort zones.” Gabriel Fulcher is digital content editor for CDA Oasis. He is an Ottawa-based writer who specializes in medical, scientific and health‑related content. The Entryway to the Divine Dr. Friedman at a FOP family gathering. He envisions a time when the special needs dentist will receive both the remuneration and prestige that acknowledges the extra training and expertise they have acquired. The original version of this article appeared on CDA Oasis: bit.ly/2ZUiavF 35 Issue 6 | 2021 |