Category Archives: Leadership

All about character: What my time with the Army National Guard has taught me about being a dentist

The Army Blackhawk helicopter banked over the mountain ridges of California before soaring through the canyons and hovering over treetops doing their flight maneuvers. A giant grin was across my dusty face as I savored every moment. I had joined a soldier who was doing a preventative medical visit for another battalion at Fort Hunter Liggett. There was… Read More »

Questioning our role in health care in response to COVID-19

It feels strange to say, but I feel very lucky right now. In the face of an unprecedented pandemic ripping apart the fabric of our society, workplaces, and daily lives, my life has resumed largely as if nothing changed. My family is healthy, and my office is perhaps busier and more productive than before COVID-19 took hold, only… Read More »

A reflection during a pandemic

My name is Dr. Peter Markov and I am a pediatric dentist and the owner of VK Pediatric Dentistry in Arlington, Virginia. I shut down my practice for three and a half months starting in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing during my dental school education, pediatric dentistry residency, or private practice experience could have prepared me for… Read More »

‘Be careful not to drown’: A simple reminder on our responsibilities as dentists

During the last year, we have been swamped with the preparations for our newly built office in San Antonio. Various office design concepts, construction details, OSHA compliance requirements, and numerous systems to improve patient flow and comfort have been our everyday issues these days. This is a dream come true! We have been planning for this major step… Read More »

Hitting the pause, reset buttons during COVID-19

When COVID-19 emerged as a global threat, we learned very quickly that now is not the time to sit back and wait for direction but to use our own resources and internal compasses to guide us in making difficult decisions. We realized we were all learning as we go, so to speak. There was no time to gather… Read More »

The only wrong answer

A police officer has never asked me to step out of my car. . . That is a truth for me that, in 31 years as a white American male, I’ve never thought twice about until now. It has just always been another part of my life that was unquestionably. . .normal. Normal because I grew up in… Read More »