Eight dentists recently connected with Becker's to share the best part of their day-to-day routine at their dental practices.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for lengthy and clarity.
Question: What is your favorite part of your daily routine at the office?
Keith Arbeitman, DDS. Dentist at Arbeitman & Shein (New York City): After 20 years in practice I have chosen to, without exception, surround myself with a team of professionals whose company I truly enjoy. I look forward to seeing them every day and truly love the collaborative environment we've created that we use to simplify the somewhat complex problems our patients need us to solve.
Avinash Bidra, DDS. Program director and maxillofacial prosthodontist at UConn Health Center (Farmington, Conn.): Ultimately whether you are a dentist, a plumber, accountant, carpenter, electrician, chef, etc., etc., you are in the business of human well-being! The ability to directly impact another human being’s oral health, or smile, or making them pain free or making them feel whole again, using my hands is the best part of my daily routine.
Troy Gombert, DDS. Dentist of Parkside Dental Health (Chandler, Ariz.): Like many dentists, our work is our life. Working on teeth while we better the lives of our patients is what we do, day in and day out. I think putting my loupes on, getting my jacket on and walking to the treatment room to start work on my first patient of the day is my favorite part of the day. I prefer to start with larger cases early in the morning to start the day off right. Second favorite part of the day, well, that would be taking off my loupes and jacket!
William Hunt, DDS. Dentist at William Hunt, DDS PA (Forest City, N.C.): Seating the last patient of the day. I get to look back at the day and review in my mind all of the treatment rendered and critique my performance. This usually gives me a boost to provide a full energy treatment. I lose that tired dragging that can come from a hard day, therefore finishing on a high note.
Huzefa Kapadia, DDS. Dentist at Detroit Sterling Dental: My favorite part is creating a TikTok vlog: Life of a Dentist. And in 30 seconds to 1 minute, I show people in a creative way what life as a dentist is like. I try to add humor to it, as well as sarcasm. Dentite is my username. I do mention the extremely high cost of dental school tuition in almost every video as well.
Rick Mars, DDS. Dentist at Dr. Rick A. Mars, DDS (Aventura, Fla.): My favorite part about the daily routine at my office is how many lives we affect every day. It starts with patients that we give the gift of health, the gift of a great smile and the gift of confidence. It continues with our team that counts on us for so much more than a paycheck. It might be support in a tough time or being there to celebrate with them. Dentists are held in very high regard by our patients and teams, and on a daily basis I do everything in my power to make coming to our office not just a professional experience, but a fun experience. I have been doing this for a long time, and if you choose to make being a dentist more than drilling, filling and billing, you will have a much more satisfying career.
Michael Perpich, DDS. Dentist at Northland Smiles (Deerwood, Minn.): The favorite time of my day is when I arrive at the office. I usually touch base with my office manager, who is always there early and we go over the day and anticipate what will go well and when we need help in our schedule. I enjoy greeting the staff when they arrive and we huddle to look at our schedule and we get ready to start our day taking care of our patients. I have an amazing team and always let them know how much I appreciate them!
Owen Waldman, DMD. Dentist of Waldman Dental Group (Scottsdale, Ariz.): My favorite part of the daily routine at my office is the family atmosphere and comradery we have here. It's something many offices don't have and I feel blessed to have it. Being in private practice with a staff I know I can count on, who truly care about our patients, makes our days more enjoyable in a profession that can be hectic at times. The patients can see and feel it (and often comment about it). It's why I enjoy being a small business owner, where I set the tone for the practice, with a staff who has the same philosophy of going over and above for our patients and doing high level, high quality dental work on a daily basis.