Introduction

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Can you talk about your undergrad degree and any dental degrees you have?

I went to UCI as an undergraduate and then to UCLA for my graduate degree in dentistry. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology at UCI. Dentistry was not my first choice. Originally, I wanted to be an architect or an artist, but my parents thought that was not a good career choice. Interestingly, somehow I ended up as a dentist. I have been practicing general dentistry since 2001. As a general dentist I enjoy doing a variety of different procedures. What you learned in dental school was just the basics in general dentistry. To advance myself and be proficient at many different procedures, I took many continuing education courses throughout my career such as dental implant, third molar extraction, gum surgery, laser dentistry, root canal treatment, etc. I tried to learn as much as I can on everything and anything that peaks my interest. My philosophy is: If you are not good at something, you should not avoid it, but rather should learn to do more of it so you can be better at it. There are a lot of live webinar classes and podcasts nowadays. I do most of my thinking and learning while driving because I used to drive 2-4 hours every day to and from work.

How did you get to where you are today, being your own boss with your own private practice?

I don’t believe in opening your own dental practice immediately after graduating from dental school. I believe you should work as an associate first for as many dental offices as you can. Before opening my first dental office, I knew I had to sharpen my clinical skills and learn as much about the business side as well. I was associating for 5 different dental offices and working 6 days a week while learning valuable clinical and business skills from many different dentists, staff members and office managers. I worked very hard to learn as much as I can before an opportunity to buy over an existing dental practice was presented to me 2 years later.

What does your daily/weekly routine look like? How many patients do you see per day?

I love being a general dentist because I get to do a variety of different procedures every day. Personally, I get bored easily if I do one procedure over and over again. Since I am the only dentist in my practice, I usually do most procedures myself and rarely refer patients out with the exceptions of very complicated third molar extractions, difficult root canal retreatment and bone grafting or sinus lift procedures. However, I do know my limits and know when to refer out whenever necessary. I see between 10 to 15 patients per day and I work 5 days a week on average. I do have 3 hygienists to help me with cleaning procedures.

What do you recommend for pre-dental students looking to get involved with the dentistry field?

First, I recommend pre-dental students to try to do as much shadowing and volunteer work for their own dentist and other dentists in their community, not just general dentists but other specialists as well. That way they will see how different dentists practice. Second, they can also volunteer for the free dental clinics in their local community or dental society like the CDA Cares

program. Additionally, I recommend pre-dental students to get their dental assistant and x-ray license if possible so that they can get more hands-on experience working directly with the dentists before attending dental schools. Finally, they can always read more about the field of dentistry online such as your dental journal.

What about for dental students wanting more practice?

I am sure most dental students are way too busy to have extra time for additional dental practice outside the dental school. However, if the students already have their DA and X-ray license, they can always moonlight on the weekend while going through dental school for additional practice.

Can you discuss any volunteering experiences you or your dental practice have been involved in?

I did give a few dental talks at the local elementary schools near my dental office before. I also donated my time for the CDA Cares program whenever they have it in our local community. The program usually rotates around to different cities every year throughout the state of California. Currently, I do have plans to do more volunteer work with other healthcare professionals from various charity groups for the underserved communities in Mexico and Vietnam.

Being a dentist:

What is your approach to patient care and building strong relationships with patients?

Being gentle, painless and ethical. That is my approach and main philosophy to patient care. Early in my career I realized that every patient has some kind of dental phobia. I have never heard a patient says: “I love going to the dentist so much or I’m looking forward to going to see a dentist,“ unless they’re in a lot of pain. Since I worked with so many kids during my first two years of my career, I learned to deal with many uncooperative dental phobic patients on a daily basis. I think that experience helped me with my patient and pain management skills. I believe the key to any dental success and patient retention is a combination of building patient trust, people skills and good pain management skills.

How do you get patients to come back and build up your brand?

I would like to be known as a gentle, painless and caring dentist among my patients. My approach to building my brand is: If you give exceptional care and service to one patient at a time and when the patients are really happy with your work, they will refer their friends, families, neighbors and coworkers. You basically don’t need to advertise at all; instead the patients will do the advertisement for you.

How do you stay updated with the latest advancements and techniques in dentistry? How do you implement new developments in your practice?

Continuing education is the key to keeping you up to date and sharpening your clinical skills. It’s never too late or you’re never too old to learn new things. With my busy schedule, I often don’t have time to go to classes so I would listen to podcasts while driving home from work or watching live webinars while exercising. I would try to take at least one class per month. I just have to find time out of my busy schedule to do that. That is how I keep updated with the advancement in dentistry.

How do you handle difficult or dissatisfied patients, and what steps do you take to address their concerns?

I always try to keep my calm and cool no matter what happens even when the patient is upset. First, I would try to find out the reasons why the patient is unhappy or dissatisfied. Then, I address those concerns directly until the patient is satisfied. When all else fails then I would refer the patient out. Sometimes, you can’t satisfy every single patient no matter what you do.

Can you discuss your approach to managing and easing dental phobia in patients?

First, you must be calm yourself. Second, you must have a mild and gentle manner. Basically good bedside manner. Third, try to keep the patient distracted and not focused on the dental treatments itself by doing small talk with the patient. Fourth, find out the main reason or the cause for the dental phobia. Sometimes, it can be the shot/injection, the pain involved with the procedure, the anxiety of going to the dentist, the sound of the drill or just a previously bad experience. If you know the root cause of the problem then you can come up with the solution or the treatment. I have taken a few CE courses on patient management which are helpful in my daily practice.

As a general dentist, what procedures do you perform on a day-to-day basis?

As a general dentist, I pretty much do almost every procedure ranging from routine cleanings, fillings, crowns and bridges, dentures, surgical extractions, root canal treatments, gum surgery, dental implants, laser treatment, etc. What you do in your practice depends on your experiences and skill levels. If you can do everything then you should do everything. Theoretically, I want to be a Jack-of-All-Trade and a Master-of-Everything. My belief is: Whatever procedure that I am weak at I will try to be better at it by taking more CE courses to improve myself.

What sets your dental practice apart from others in the area?

In healthcare I believe the main competition is not with other doctors in the area, but rather it is the relationship between you and the patient which determines whether your practice will succeed or not. Patients do not necessarily come to you because you’re the cheapest dentist or the most famous dentist in town. I try to practice within my own philosophy which is to provide the highest quality of dental care with the utmost compassion. Once the patients have the trust in you and your service they will stay with you forever and send you referrals even if you’re not the cheapest dentist in town.

Dental Field-Specific Questions:

What are your thoughts on using digital models and 3D printing to create implant guides, molds, veneers and aligners?

Any new technology or advancement in dentistry is great for the field and I’m totally for it. If you have the budget to invest and implement these new technologies that is great for your practice and your patients. The world is always changing and moving forward so if you can do it do it. Personally, I don’t have a lot of time in my practice to do these things myself so I’ll let the labs or the professionals in their fields do these things for me instead. For instance, I believe every dental office should have an intra-oral scanner for practical reason, but I would rather prefer the labs to create the surgical guides and the orthodontic aligners for me using the provided scans.

What are your thoughts on using dental stem cells towards regenerating teeth?

I don’t have enough knowledge on stem cell research so I can’t really comment too much on the topic. However, as long as the process of harvesting stem cells for research is under an ethical guideline or in an adult, then I am all for it. Any research for the advancement of dentistry is good for the field.

Can you share any examples of challenging dental cases you have successfully handled and the strategies you employed?

I can share with you one unsuccessful case though. One time a patient with a severe dental phobia bolted out of the dental chair and the office as I and the dentist anesthesiologist were getting ready to put him to sleep and do his dental treatment under general anesthesia. I have never seen him again after that day. When a patient doesn’t want to sit still in the dental chair or even want to come into the office then there isn’t much we can do for those patients. I encountered my first dental phobic patient as a second year dental student. When I told the patient that she may need a root canal because the decay is so deep into the pulp, the patient started to cry loudly and everyone in the clinic heard her. She had a really bad experience with a root canal treatment when she was young and since then she became very fearful of going to the dentist. I used the Tell-Show-Do method to calm the patient down. I told her what I was going to do and showed her that there was no pain involved with the procedure and after I did it, she didn’t experience any pain. So she started to trust me and from there she slowly no longer feared going to the dentist. By my fourth year, she was one of my best patients. She became more calm and confident, a completely different person compared to the first time I met her. Because of her, I received an award in my patient management class.