Invaluable Mentorship, Friendship, and Life Coach

Mentorship used to be how many in society taught the next generation a trade or a skill – and mentors were respected and PAID for their assistance and advice. I have been very fortunate in my life to have a friend and mentor who I greatly respect, but who didn’t sign up to be a mentor and wasn’t paid for all his help.
In all areas and arenas of life I feel very lucky, blessed, and grateful to be where I am. As we all move forward in this journey of life, appreciation is not, and should not, be far behind. While I know that I worked very hard (and will continue to), I am also very aware that I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the advice and help of many people along the way. For everyone, I’m sure this statement holds true. Included in that list of people are my family and friends and a few mentors. And it is one specific friend and mentor in the dental field that I want to post about today.
I met Dr. C – my friend and mentor over 12 years ago when I was just a fledgling college student looking for a job and more exposure to the world of dentistry. I applied for a job helping in the front office of Dr. C – an established periodontist in the community that worked very close to my college university. I helped out a few days a week in the office – with insurance and scheduling and office management – allowing me a taste of the front office world of dentistry. And I worked there for a year after college while I applied for dental school. Little did I know then that this job and the people that I met there, and relationships I made, would be some of the most influential in my life.
When I reflect back on the many years that have gone by and his involvement in my life development I can truly say that not only is Dr. C a friend and mentor, but has been a life-coach as well. Dr. C was my employer and knew that I wanted to go to dental school. He was one of the people to review and even edit in RED pen some of my personal statement for my dental application!!! He encouraged me to apply outside of California for dental school thus encouraging me to go to school on the east coast (something I wouldn’t really have considered if not for him). When I received an interview for entrance into dental school he coached me on interviewing skills and the interview process. When I went to the east coast for my studies and we still kept in touch – over holidays and emails. His previous office manager is like a second mom to me – and recently helped me with all my wedding flowers and arrangements. When I wanted to return to California for residency, he offered and applied to help teach the specialty of periodontics to me and my co-residents during our year of study! If that wasn’t enough he even helped me find one of my current jobs, in a time when the economy is so terrible.  I mentioned both him and his previous office manager in my June 2011 wedding speech- they have been THAT influential in my life. I’m exhausted just LOOKING at all he has been involved in. I have called him many times and we have spoken at length about jobs and work and I even called him TODAY to ask him about a possible job opportunity and situation. I realize that next to the opinions of my family and a few friends, his thoughts and opinions are ones that I highly value.
In turn, I have also been rewarded by not only his advice and friendship but also seen his life progress as well. During the course of knowing him, he met and married a beautiful and smart woman, bought a lovely home, has two wonderful boys who are amazing bright and growing SO fast, and seen him and his practice continue to be a success and leader in the community. As my own life becomes more and more complicated and the days become more and more busy, I reflect and realize that he didn’t have to help me or do all these things. He has a life and family of his own and a busy schedule and patients and bills and his OWN life to deal with and figure out, let alone mine. And it makes me all the more in awe and appreciative.
So this post is in honor of my mentor and friend and life-coach Dr. C. It is also in honor of mentorship – and appreciation – and how by having a mentor it makes me not only grateful but also happy and willing and hopeful that I can have even the smallest kind of influence on someone or others as he has for me.
Do you have a mentor or friend that has influenced your life? I would love to hear your story!
image courtesy of: primarygoals.org

Do you let insurance dictate how many times you go to the gym? It shouldn’t be so with your dentist!

I’m not writing this entry to lecture. But I do want to make a point, a comparison. There is an emphasis these days on the importance of health and taking care of YOU and the health of your families. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day they tell you. And MANY people spend a lot of time (and finances) on fitness – yearly gym membership, gym clothes, energy and protein drinks, yoga wear, yoga mats…as you know - the list continues. The industry survives & health professionals hope, so do you. 

But this emphasis on health issue does NOT seem to be included when it comes to dentistry! There are many people who faithfully come to the dentist – it is part of their routine and a priority in their life. But there are equally as many, for those lucky enough to even HAVE dental insurance, the feeling that “I am going to do what I’m able to do within the guidelines of my insurance policy.”

I was working on a patient the other day and after treatment was complete I told them that their treatment was all done (yay!) AND that we would like to see them every three or four months (ideally three months if they could manage it). There was a blank stare, uncomfortable silence, and then a look at me like I was nuts. Then they asked “does my insurance cover it? Because I think they only cover two a year.” 

This is a response that I have come to expect – almost like a common pleasantry that people exchange. But if your gym told you that they would cover you only a few times per year, would that keep you from going? Perhaps it would deter some, but most would still just go! And if your gym said that you only get two classes each month that they would cover and then the rest must be covered by you would that keep you from going? NO! More likely than not, you’d still pay to go! So WHY NOT this mentality for dentistry? 

Before I was a dentist I worked in a dental office for two years answering phones, setting schedules, presenting treatment, AND reviewing insurance. I KNOW that there are some terrible and restricting insurance policies –with waiting times, calendar years that start in the middle of a weird month half way into the year, and maximums that seem to disappear as soon as you became eligible to use. And I know that dentistry is not inexpensive, and that if severe treatment must be performed then it can cost an arm and a leg, or teeth in this matter. 

But please remember that, we (and of course I am not speaking for all dentists just as I can’t speak for all patients) are trying to help you make dental treatment decisions that are going to be the best for you in the future. Regardless of cost we will tell you the most ideal option that we think is the best for you and your situation and then present you with the next best option and so on. YOU have the power to make your decisions for yourself. Your mouth. Your body. Your health. Your finances. And YOU always have the right to say no and go by insurance. But PLEASE do not let insurance policies dictate what you can and cannot do. We buy insurance policies to help us, and we have them to help us, but they should not be dictating your treatment choices. Only you can do that.

So we don’t have a set price for membership like the gym – say an average of $24.99 per month. But we are a part of your lifetime membership to good health and prevention. Because without teeth, how can we smile, how can we eat, how can we enjoy life, how can we chew? It is a quality of life issue….and we want what is BEST for you. So please try to remember to INCLUDE us in your life's health plan and not just because your insurance policy reminds you we are here!!

image courtesy of: about-face.org.

Yes, I am your dentist and Yes, I am a girl

I have been blogging for a while personally, but never as a dentist. I thought I'd start this particular blog because I want to share a different dental perspective- daily issues I as a dentist (and we as dental ladies in the dental field) have to deal with -  life balance, leadership, public health and oral health care issues, and of course patient care...and MORE! I am a little frustrated that all that is advertised out there is that we all hate the dentist and we had a terrible experience when we had our wisdom teeth pulled.  I wanted to share the dental field in a different light - humorous while at the same time talking about serious and real issues (a formidable task - but I'm going to try)

I work very hard (five sometimes 6 days a week) I'm a girl, I'm married, and I'm a dentist and I want to have a family and yet I have to stay up to date on dental issues that help me help you, while still having a life- and I'm trying to balance it all. And who isn't? I see so many female dentists, dental professionals, out there who are successful and accomplished and balance it all. I aspire to be them - I graduated in 2007 (so I'm considered a relatively NEW dentist - but 5 years goes fast!) and did residency and yet everyday while I'm practicing there is constant learning to be done - we will never know it all, as much as want to say we will. When I have something I need to research, or a task I need to learn, then I retain it better, I become a strong advocate of it - So while I'm learning, I'm going to share. With you.

For many many years women have been fighting for their rights to hold their own in the workforce, and I have been so fortunate as to benefit from this. My class at NYU was over half women (GO LADIES!!!!). So I want to hep you know that YES, there are a LOT of women in the dental field that help it be successful and help with your dental care. Dentists CAN be girls, dentists can be pretty, funny, empathetic while at the same time intelligent and competent. The face of dentistry is changing - the person behind the mask can be a girl, a woman. And so "a Dental Perspective " begins...