Your personal dental story – what you learned along the way.
We asked a sampling of Net32 customers to provide us with some insight into their stories.
The following questions were designed to ignite dentists’ thinking:
What advice would you give your younger self? What do you wish more dentists knew getting into the industry?
What was one of the biggest challenges you overcame becoming a dentist? What did you learn?
What excites you most about the future of dentistry? Where do you see the industry evolving?
Here is one dentist’s story that may resonate with many other dentists.
Meet Dr. Shukan Kanuga, a dentist who started dental school in India, immigrated to the US to complete her dental training, and successfully completed a residency in Pedodontics.
What advice would you give your younger self? What do you wish more dentists knew getting into the industry?
“Be prepared for a life long learning and self-evolution. Clinical dentistry is way more than “fixing teeth” and involves a resilient, upbeat personality, great communication skills, business management, Human Resources management besides the gentle healing touch!”
What was one of the biggest challenges you overcame becoming a dentist? What did you learn?
“Little did I know that I would be going through additional years of dental school and training on the other side of the world when I started dental school at the age of 18 in India. There were a series of challenges including immigrating to the US, graduating dental school from UCLA with flying colors, getting accepted into residency training with a pregnancy and child birth right in the middle. The biggest challenge was being able to care for an infant daughter in dental school and a rigorous hospital based residency program. It made me a better mother, a more empathetic pediatric dentist and enhanced my multi-tasking and time management skills to a level I had never imagined I could achieve!”
What excites you most about the future of dentistry? Where do you see the industry evolving?
“Oral health being an integral part of overall health and the medical management of Dental Caries, which is a larger epidemic than Asthma in the US, is where dentistry is headed and it is very exciting. It is about time that we focus on the disease rather than treating its manifestation, aka ‘cavities’ with mere drilling and filling, the surgical way.”
What additional wisdom has guided your dental career?
“The relationships that I have built over the course of the last decade with my colleagues, staff and patient families, thanks to this wonderful profession are invaluable and a hidden bonus I’d never imagined I’d get when I started pursuing this career path.”
Get acquainted with Dr. Kanuga, her team, and her dental practice Kidz Dental Care.
Key Take-Aways from Dr. Kanuga’s Dental Story
Reflect on your dental journey. Be prepared for a lifelong self evolution.
Ideal persona. Upbeat personality, resiliency, great communication skills, and a gentle healing touch.
Recall a defining moment in your dental career. How did that decision create new opportunity? Who has mentored you along the way and how did they shape how you practice dentistry?
The future of dentistry. The medical management of Dental Caries is where dentistry is headed and it is very exciting. It is about time that we focus on the disease rather than treating its manifestation, aka ‘cavities’ with mere drilling and filling, the surgical way.
