Category Archives: Life as a New Dentist

With dentistry, enjoy every day of your work

Happiness. Passion. Fun. Dr. Chang I believe these are the three main qualities that you should look for in your dental career, aside from helping people. Of course, many people pursue dentistry as a career for various reasons, such as fulfillment of their financial aspirations, owning their own business, or to selflessly help people. We choose dentistry because… Read More »

My New Dentist Life: Knowing enough to know what I don’t know

Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in a New Dentist Now blog series, My New Dentist Life, following a new dentist’s first year experience out of dental school. The three-month mark! I am getting better at managing multiple patients at a time, my speed is slowly improving, and my treatment planning skills are tested daily. However, there… Read More »

LGBTQ equality is on the rise; it’s time for dentistry to catch up

The week before starting dental school, I brought my partner along with my family, to my white coat ceremony. At the end of the event, while congratulating my parents, an administrator I had recently met pulled my dad aside and told him, “If you want your son to do well, tell him not to bring his ‘friend’ around… Read More »

HPI: Dentists in urban, rural counties

The supply of dentists has grown over the last 10 years in both urban and rural counties. The supply, measured as the number of dentists per 100,000 population, grew from 63.3 (2008) to 65.4 (2018) in urban counties. In rural counties over the same period, the supply grew from 29.4 to 30.3. Established dentists (those who graduated from… Read More »

No matter the setting: Patients remain at heart of rural, urban dental practices

When Dr. Cassie Berens graduated from dental school, she knew she wanted to work in a small town. A native of rural Iowa, Dr. Berens joined a practice in Atlantic, Iowa, after receiving her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and dental degree from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine – Illinois in suburban Chicago. “When I graduated… Read More »

Getting to know you: Dr. Emily Mattingly

What kind of dentistry/specialty do you practice? I am a general dentist in a group family practice. I see mainly pediatric and adolescent patients in an area where we have a high volume of Medicaid patients. Where do you practice? I practice in rural north central Missouri in my hometown of Chillicothe, the “Home of Sliced Bread.” Why… Read More »