Five dental professionals recently connected with Becker's to share the reasons that influenced them to go after a career in the dental industry.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What were the reasons that you chose to pursue a career in dentistry?
John Cordes. President and CEO of Rightway Consulting (Chicago): I decided to assist the dental industry and community because I believe in what the industry provides to communities. Coupled with the desire to take a proactive approach to safety and regulatory compliance. Dentists hold safety in the highest regard, as do we at Rightway Consulting.
Kevin Dow, DDS. Dentist at Chicago Style Smiles: I love fixing things and working with my hands. As a kid I was always breaking things down and building them back up. When I was exposed to different areas of medicine, dentistry really seemed to make sense to me. I get to work with my hands, work with the public and help people, and fix broken things like I did as a kid. What wasn't there to love?
William Hunt, DDS. Dentist at William Hunt, DDS PA (Forest City, N.C.): I decided to become a dentist at age 4. It is all i ever wanted to do. To help people doing such a cool job seemed like a good thing to do. As I progressed through school, it became more interesting and exciting. Dental school was a lot of work, but enjoyable. In practice for 45 years, I still love it.
Huzefa Kapadia, DDS. Dentist at Detroit Sterling Dental: I chose dentistry mainly after I applied to medical school and didn't get in. Now I'm very glad I became a general dentist. I love to fix people's smiles and remove dental infection from the mouth. I especially love doing molar endo, and after 21 years, I now actually enjoy doing root canals. I also love the flexible and "normal" hours. I don't work evenings or weekends, which is fantastic. I usually start at 9 a.m. and try to get done before 5 p.m.
Frederick Lally, DDS. Dentist at Endless Smiles Dental Group (Tunkhannock, Pa.): This is an easy question for me. I chose to become a dentist because I liked being able to help people, enjoyed doing fine precise things with my hands, liked biology/medicine and wanted a job where I could work for myself and be my own boss.