Being a Dentist-Owner from a Student’s Perspective
Being an owner operator of a dental practice has by far been the most challenging role of my life. Even after fifteen years of growing a start up from scratch to a thriving practice today, it’s hard not to think about the what-ifs. Celebrating success is not innate to me, but instead I tend to ruminate over every misstep, be it big or small, and have intense debates with myself about all the decisions I have made over the years. As the saying goes, you only know if you’ve made the right decision once you’ve MADE a decision.
Recently, I was asked to be the subject of an interview for a school project, specifically about my path to becoming a dentist and running my own business. Here are some snippets of the conversation as it was originally transcibed.
This is the introduction of the paper:
She opened her solo general practice, Leslieville Dentistry, in March of 2011. Dr. Fung continues to be the sole dental associate and owner at her practice, meaning she oversees everything that happens at her office. She meets every single patient and treats them with care and respect. While she is not working on patients’ teeth, she keeps up her tasks as the office’s manager and owner. There are countless roles she possesses at Leslieville Dentistry and she is constantly working around the clock, multitasking. Dr. Fung is the closest person I’ve met to a superhuman.
I read this with much gratitude. You never know how you come across, but if I can inspire just one person, I know I’m at least doing something right.
On what exactly I do for the practice:
Everything. I'm here at the office seeing patients for 8 hours a day. I arrive about 45 minutes before, and I stay anywhere between 1 to 2 hours after everyone leaves. Then I have stuff that I do at home. I always finish my notes here, read all the hygiene notes, and close out all the finances. The stuff that I can do here, I do. I don't have access to our office management system at home, on purpose. I don't want remote access. When I go home, I have to do payroll, data entry, supply ordering and pay the bills. Sometimes I have to do continuing education, like courses, so I would say on average, just at home, I might be doing another couple hours.
The interviewer response afterwards, which was “Wow, I knew you did a lot, but I don’t think I knew it was to this extent!”
On what I have learned on the job:
Being humble and patient. Things are not gonna click right away. It's hard because for the most part, we're such high achievers, perfectionists, and obviously you don't want to make a mistake on someone. It might not even click in the first year or in five years, it takes time. When you first graduate, you're overly confident and you think, “Oh, I've done it in dental school.” but that's why we call it practising dentistry. It takes repetition and every single time you do a filling, it is going to be a little bit different. You also need to gain your patient's trust, you might have to clean their teeth 10 times, and then on the 11th time, they're like, “You know what? Those crowns we were talking about, I'm ready now.”. When I have a big case, I prepare everything. I make sure that I know what I'm doing and what my assistant's going to do. Preparation. That's my biggest takeaway. Think of all the possible things that could go wrong, so you can plan for it. You don't want it to happen in the moment and be like, “Oh.” but that takes experience.
The conclusion sums it up perfectly:
I’ve known Dr. Fung for three years, and to hear her story and the path she took to get where she is now is truly inspiring. It was comforting to hear about her resilience and setbacks. Becoming a dentist is a big aspiration, especially from the point I am currently at, so hearing that when she first applied and didn’t instantly get in was reassuring to hear. It shows that she is human and to not give up after not getting the result you hoped for immediately.
Yes, I’m definitely human; one who is flawed like everyone else. I truly pour my heart and soul into everything I do, and I know I can be hard on myself when things aren’t perfect, but at the end of the day, I have to answer to the many people who are all depending on me, and I need to know that I’ve tried my absolute best.
