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Navigating Dentistry: From Construction to Career Fulfillment with Dr. Kristine Aadland (Part One)
7 Plays4 hours ago
About the Guest:
Dr. Kristine Aadland is a General Dentist based in Vancouver, Washington, just outside Portland, Oregon. Having graduated in 2006, Dr. Aadland has nearly two decades of experience in dentistry. Initially starting as an associate, she quickly transitioned into building and owning a practice, now expanded to a thriving establishment with multiple chairs and partners. Beyond clinical practice, Dr. Aadland is also a speaker and educator, particularly involved with implant training and digital dentistry, sharing an enriching journey that spans technical expertise and patient care advocacies.
Episode Summary:
In this special episode of "Beyond Graduation," co-hosts Drs. Savanah Craig and Ronnetta Sartor welcome Dr. Aadland, an accomplished General Dentist, to explore the dynamic world of post-graduation dentistry. With a vibrant discussion weaving through Dr. Aadland’s nearly 20-year career, the episode dives into pivotal themes of professional growth, industry expertise, and the art of balancing multiple roles within the dental field.
She shares the evolution from aspiring practitioner to innovative practice owner, highlighting a varied career embracing technology and patient-centered care. Listeners gain insight into Dr. Aadland’s unique journey from construction into dentistry—spurred by an unexpected conversation with a collegiate roommate—and how it shaped a career focused on empowerment, technology integration through CAD/CAM digital systems, and thoughtful patient interactions. This conversation ultimately underscores the power of adaptability and passion in crafting a personalized career path in the dental industry.
Key Takeaways:
- Leveraging technology and digital systems can profoundly enhance both clinical practice and patient experience, as exemplified through Dr. Aadland’s use of CAD/CAM systems.
- Transitioning among roles—from associate to practice owner, and educator—highlights the dynamic opportunities available within the field of dentistry.
- The importance of mentorship and community support in overcoming professional challenges and encouraging continuous personal and career development.
- A focus on patient care, particularly helping phobic patients overcome their anxieties, is central to a fulfilling dental practice.
- Navigating unexpected career paths can lead to rewarding transformations and professional satisfaction in dentistry.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- Kristine Aadland, DDS: @drkrisaadland
- Aadland-Moody Vineyards: @aadlandmoodywine
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- FutureDentists: @futuredentists
- IgniteDDS: @ignitedds and @ignitedds_coaching
- A-dec: @adecdental and https://www.a-dec.com/find-a-dealer
Gain deeper insights by tuning into the full episode to explore Dr. Aadland’s compelling journey in dentistry. Connect with us on social media for more inspiring content and join our community as we delve into life beyond graduation with real conversations and expert advice.
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Transcript
Introduction to ADEC's Smart Start Program
00:00:00
Speaker
ADEC's Smart Start program offers first-time practice owners their deepest discounts on equipment and furniture for two years, plus other savings and complimentary services. Ask your ADEC rep for details and start smart with ADEC.
Navigating Careers in Dentistry
00:00:13
Speaker
Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers.
00:00:24
Speaker
There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. All right. So welcome back to a special episode of Beyond Graduation.
Guest Introduction: Chris, GP Dentist
00:00:30
Speaker
We've got a guest with us today. Renetta and Chris and I are going to just chit chat.
00:00:38
Speaker
Chris, welcome and tell us a little bit about yourself. Oh, well, thank you so much. I'm honored to be here and excited.
Chris's Journey into Dentistry and Teaching
00:00:43
Speaker
i am a GP dentist up in Vancouver, Washington, which is right outside of Portland, Oregon.
00:00:49
Speaker
I have been practicing. It's hard to even say. I graduated in 2006, so I'm like getting close to 20 years in a blink of an eye. It's just crazy. That's great. That's awesome. It goes by so fast. I used to always be the one of the youngest docs in the room, and now I'm like, oh now I'm getting to one of the oldest. Yeah.
00:01:05
Speaker
Yeah. I love what I do. Very good. Well, you do. you wear many hats. I think this is why I've been so excited for for this episode is because I want to know all the things. You just seem like such an amazing and badass person. So I'm so excited. oh you guys are so sweet. Thank you.
00:01:27
Speaker
You know, dentistry is one of those really fun careers because you can take it in so many different directions. And there's a lot of seasons to life and we can accommodate dentistry to that. For me, my seasons have been, i dove into dentistry headfirst, loved it, loved all the things about it. And then I realized what makes me excited to go see patients every day. So I kind of catered my practice
Focus on Restorative Dentistry and Technology
00:01:46
Speaker
to that. And then Because I'm such a CE junkie, love to learn, i ended up getting involved on the speaking and teaching side. There wasn't a lot of women on the podium. And i I had one of those kind of moments of it's hard for me to ask other women to be up there if I but wasn't willing to be up there.
00:02:03
Speaker
And so... kind of dove into that headfirst. And then now I'm at my tail end, not tail end of career. like I'm going to be practicing for a while, but I have to start thinking, okay, what's beyond dentistry? And so that's led to some other adventures.
00:02:18
Speaker
Very cool. what is What are the things in your practice that light you up that you have catered your practice towards? Yeah. Yeah. So when I got in, I wanted to do everything from endo to restorative to implants. And I realized I'm like one of the only ones that i don't love surgery. I did not love endo.
00:02:39
Speaker
I like the mechanics of it, but I am a really phobic patient myself. And so when patients are in a lot of pain or if they're really nervous, I kind of take on that energy and it was really stressful for me. And so I love to stain and glaze and characterize I love the impact I can make when I get to recreate someone's smile.
00:02:58
Speaker
Sometimes it's a full smile. Sometimes it's a single central. Sometimes it's it's just having that patient have a really good experience so that they're not terrified. Like I tend to be in the patient's chair and i like to build with my own hands. So for me, it's getting into that CAD CAM digital world. I i use a CEREC in my office for a lot of my restorative. And so when I get to physically paint the tooth and make it match,
00:03:22
Speaker
it There's nothing like it for me. Very cool. How soon did you pivot into those things when you opened your
Building and Expanding a Dental Practice
00:03:30
Speaker
own practice? Did you do that as an associate? What is what was that journey like?
00:03:34
Speaker
So I was an associate for a couple years, always knowing I wanted to build my own practice, but it turns out banks don't really want to lend you money straight out of school if you can't show that you can actually produce. And so I had a really unique opportunity where the doctor I worked for, he had two practices. So I got to go into his satellite office and he had all the technology in the world, especially at that time. Like he had a cone beam, he had a CEREC, and this is before, I mean, this is back in 2006 before it was really popular.
00:04:03
Speaker
He also placed implants as a GP back then, which was also really rare if you think about it. um So I got to really see what it did for patients. And that's what really turned me on to it.
00:04:14
Speaker
So then two years into it, I opened my own practice. I built a building from scratch. So it took a hot minute to do that. I started, i built my building. My building's like 14,000 square feet, but my practice is not the entire building. So I knew I was going to bring in other services.
00:04:31
Speaker
Like my idea was I'd have my GP practice and then i would bring in other specialists around me to help support that. But I started with three chairs and then grew. Today we have 10 chairs. i have two other partner doctors. They joined as they were associates prior, joined as partners about a year and a half ago.
00:04:49
Speaker
We all love doing different things in there. And so my pivot really started with my first associate as I was getting busy. My hygiene team was growing. And then I started speaking, being gone. It's hard to be a solo practitioner. And then if you're leaving, your whole practice has to shut down.
00:05:06
Speaker
Now today, I can't imagine practicing by myself. I really love having other people there. just ah it takes a lot of weight off. and sometimes we don't even see each other through the day, but you can have that one patient that you might not connect with as well, or you might have lost trust along the way. And then to have someone be able to step in and help with that is tremendous. So, um, yeah, the pivot, I'm trying to remember what year i think, letta Dr. Len has been with me 10 years.
00:05:36
Speaker
So eight years in is when i think she stepped in. I had a couple other associates prior to that within that year. Yeah. But as we know, that's always a marriage too. So, ah yeah. So are the specialists within your office or they're like within the building?
Innovative Practice Features
00:05:51
Speaker
They're in the building And so I have a periodontist, an orthodontist, and then a spa.
00:05:57
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The spa came about because my second year into my practice, I just loved this idea of having – built a workout facility. So it was like a bar gym, but it had yoga, bar, gym.
00:06:10
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Zumba, all the things. And then I built a little healthy cafe and spa inside there. And so so like I didn't have to leave my building, right? Like I could be healthy and I could work out and be in my practice.
00:06:22
Speaker
And so I had that and ran it for a while until I realized like I was waking up at 5.30 to open the gym and I was leaving at 10.30. And I had all these fitness instructors I had to manage on top of my practice. And it was taking so much of my energy away from my practice. And I thought like this wasn't – it wasn't fun anymore. and And needed to focus on the actual profitable side of that. Like dental practices are much more profitable than fitness studios, it turns out. So I ended up selling that and a spa came in.
00:06:50
Speaker
So now I have a spa there, which is awesome. But I don't – the cafe, we were a little too healthy for our time. We had to put a Reuben on our schedule – or on our menu. Yeah. Just to get people to eat. Because but I think today it would have been fantastic, but we were just time. You were ahead of it. Ahead of your time. too ahead, yeah. So is it like a spa spa or is it like Botox?
00:07:11
Speaker
No, it's a spa spa. And then we do do Botox
Challenges with Botox and Fillers
00:07:14
Speaker
in our office. So we got into Botox fillers. Now we kind of cater that a little bit more towards dentistry as far as we really stick to Botox- a lot of TMJ work. I mean, sometimes if you get headaches up top, then it ends up kind of dispersing there as well. But fillers, as much as I love cosmetic dentistry, fillers is a lot of patient maintenance and managing expectations.
00:07:37
Speaker
And that again, we just we we tried it and then we pivoted because we thought, well, this isn't where we want to focus our time is managing how to make your lips look bigger, which is really what the fillers were doing with some patients. So yeah.
00:07:50
Speaker
Anyways, we've tried a lot. Yeah, you got to try it. So you're used to wearing many hats. Yeah. Yeah, I stay busy. Renetta, what were you saying? Oh, no, just, yeah.
00:08:02
Speaker
So many, many things. Yeah, so many hats. I was agreeing with what you were saying. Very good. All right. So then how did you get into the teaching and all of that world? And i mean, we met at Implant Pathways, so doing hands-on stuff, doing speaking engagements. What was that journey like? Yeah.
Teaching CEREC and Mentorship
00:08:20
Speaker
So I started, let's see, I think back around 2012 area, i was doing a lot with CEREC doctors. I was doing a lot with CAD CAM because of CEREC and I would fly down and do the courses. i got asked to be a mentor in there. And at first I had that same reaction, like, why would I want to be a mentor? Like, I don't want to be in front of all these people. I like to help. So the helping side was great, but being in front of the room, i was not comfortable at all.
00:08:43
Speaker
And one of the women who was helping facilitate everything called, and she's like, I'm getting the same reaction from every woman. Like I really need women to help. We have a good population of women coming in They want help. And I was like, and I'm not that person. Like I've been actually, i grew up running heavy equipment. Like I grew up in construction, way more comfortable in front of men than I am in front of women. Cause women can be a little scary and intimidating sometimes.
00:09:07
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And she's like, no, come on, please help me out. Everyone's saying no. So I said, yes. helped out and just put one foot in front of the other. I ended up taking some speaking classes. i got asked to speak. My first time was at DS World, which at that time was Serona World on this big stage. I was absolutely terrified, but it turns out i ended up breathing on the other end. I i got through it, got feedback and and just, I don't know, i just kept putting one foot in front of the other. As people were asking, it was hard to say no. And I
00:09:38
Speaker
i I don't want to say I liked putting myself in uncomfortable positions, but you can really start to grow. And even my dentistry really started to grow because now all of a sudden where I'm taking pictures and it's from the education side and then realizing, okay, how can I explain this to other people with workflows? it helped a lot in my own private practice as well. So...
00:09:57
Speaker
started that way. And as I met Justin, he had Implant Pathway, which is where we met. What I just absolutely fell in love with on that side is they do a lot of live patient education, meaning there's 32 ops. These patients come in from all over, really all over, but mostly the Phoenix area. That's a huge population there.
00:10:17
Speaker
And the patients get a lot of work done for free that they would not be able to afford otherwise. i mean, we know dentistry is so expensive and And it's anything from implants to implant restorations to, I mean, now crowns, we do a lot of restorative using technology to do that.
00:10:33
Speaker
And so it's just this win-win because doctors get to learn a new technology or a new technique. They get to do it in an environment that looks like their practice. Like if they're all these beautiful ADEC operatories, you have a mentor that is literally over your shoulder. So if you mess up, there isn't much we can't do to fix it, which is great because that's always that fear.
00:10:54
Speaker
um And then you get to go home on that Monday morning and relive it and hopefully do whatever you learned. So the patients win because they get free work. The doctors win because they get to mimic the environment that they're going to return to when they go to work. And then we have great industry partners who we love who get materials out in front of docs in a hands-on environment. So just that whole balance and ecosystem, i
Impact of Implant Pathways
00:11:20
Speaker
just couldn't ask for more. So for me, it was such a give back and a way to do that because it's – I love to travel and do mission trips. I've gone overseas also to do dentistry, but this is something so tangible that I can fly.
00:11:32
Speaker
For me, it's like a two-hour flight and really make a huge impact for these patients. so Absolutely. Yeah. Never a dry eye. when ah For my courses personally, I do a lot of restorative. So I use CEREC and we do a lot of same day smile changes, smile design. And i mean, it's there's just never a dry eye. Everyone tries to gather around to see what those reveals look like. is The patient's looking in the mirror and tears everywhere, including me, like half the time I'm filming the reveals of just bawling. It's life-changing. is because patients are walking around.
00:12:04
Speaker
put the hand in front of their mouth and they're so embarrassed and and then they get to walk out with confidence. And it takes a little bit for them to feel that, but I get to do the post-ops on a lot of the patients and they're just so thankful, so, so thankful.
00:12:19
Speaker
so It reminds me why I want to be a dentist. I think that maybe keeps you can keep she going too. Yeah. How did you get from construction to to dentistry?
From Construction to Dentistry
00:12:28
Speaker
Who was your, or what was your path into this world? It was so completely random. I truly thought, i went into engineering for school, thought I would be doing construction my whole life. My parents owned company that built bridges. So built bridges all across the country.
00:12:43
Speaker
And that's what I knew, focused on. When I was in, so when I was in, let's see, my sophomore year of college, the whole field of construction very much changed. And I was running heavy equipment and I was out in the middle of nowhere. My dad ended up stopping by my job site. I did not work for my dad. I was not allowed to.
00:12:59
Speaker
i got to work for some subcontractors. And he stopped by the job and he's looking around and he's like, is this what you want your life to be like? Like you're going to be out in the middle nowhere, always the only woman out there. he's like, you love people. Like this is what it's going to look like if you want to go down this route. He's like, maybe think about other opportunities.
00:13:18
Speaker
So at the time in college, I was living with a hygienist and she was so passionate about dentistry, which I just thought was crazy because again, super phobic patient, terrified of all things, dentistry, medical, whatever. And she, i was writing, literally physically writing a checklist because that's, you know, what you do.
00:13:36
Speaker
and Now today I would be like a Google Sheets. And she was looking over my shoulder, looking at my checklist. She's like, you would make such a good dentist. And I was like, that is the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me. like,
00:13:48
Speaker
Why would I make a good dentist? Because my experience of dentists were like these really old guys who were rough and gruff and mean. And like, I just clearly saw the wrong dentist growing up at tender care. mean, there was nothing tender about it. So she's, she encouraged me to come to her practice. And so I walked in,
00:14:09
Speaker
I put on my big girl pants. was like, okay, I'll come see what you do. So I walked into her practice and the music was fun. There were two docs and it smelled good, which is such a weird thing to remember. But like, I just always remember dental office smelling so gross.
00:14:24
Speaker
And everyone was like laughing and having fun. And I was like, is this really where you go to work every day? Like I just, it seemed nothing like it. And I was talking to the docs and they were just great. And, you know, they were very giving like, Hey, we will help you in whatever you need as long as you will pay it forward later.
00:14:40
Speaker
And so of course I like sat in the back room, observed what they did, have no idea. Like I didn't know what a filling was or a crown was or anything, you know, as a patient, you just kind of sit there with your mouth open. But I loved the energy of it.
00:14:52
Speaker
And then we start talking and I realized like, oh, Ann, you only work four days a week? Like, this is awesome. Like they were skiers. Yeah. So I knew I got to ski every Friday or be on the water every Friday. and like sold. Still had no idea what a dentist did.
00:15:07
Speaker
But I just went through the process. Yeah, took my DAT. And I mean, really, it was probably my junior year of dental school where I was really like, oh, so this is what I'm going to be doing every day. Like, this is a crown and this is a bridge. But fell in love with working with my hands, being able to help the people. Like, I just attract phobic patients because i think i that's what I put out in the world. So trying to help them transition, that is not as scary anymore. And and that's where, again, I love the technology and those like creature comforts to really help patients transition.
00:15:37
Speaker
know what they're getting, having that good communication, getting them in and out efficiently with my technology and trying to make it a little less scary. That's my crazy story. that's That's a crazy way to end up in chemistry.
00:15:51
Speaker
Yeah. All because of my roommate. and She's reached out to me now. It's so fun. Like she, i was going to school near in Seattle at the time. So she's still up in the Pacific Northwest. And she's like, I just love watching your journey. And like, I give you all the props. You're the reason I'm here today.
00:16:07
Speaker
So. It's interesting how you you mentioned putting one foot and in in front of the other. It's almost like, you know, it it came to you along the way.
00:16:18
Speaker
All you had to do is just have a little bit of faith. Yeah. So that's great. That's a great, great message to all of us out there. Just just keep plugging. Absolutely. And life is full of pivots. And I think, you know, when I graduated dental school, in my mind, like you graduate and you have a path and you're stuck in that path.
00:16:36
Speaker
Like you open a practice or you join a practice and you're going to be there for the rest of your life. And I think especially going through with Pathway and seeing all these younger docs coming through,
00:16:49
Speaker
Life is so fluid and they're not afraid to move across the country and work somewhere here for a while and and pivot much quicker than... I thought was possible. And life still goes on and still happens. Like is if you have good friends, good colleagues, good network around you to support you in that, like don't be afraid to just keep going forward.
00:17:10
Speaker
Like you don't have to be stuck in life. And dentistry is pretty cool that we get that opportunity to make it whatever we want and that you could go open a practice or could go teach or could do all of these things.
00:17:21
Speaker
It's really Absolutely.
Collaboration with ADEC
00:17:24
Speaker
So ADEC brought you to us today. Tell us about your journey with ADEC and how how they've shaped your practice and all of those things.
00:17:34
Speaker
So I live about 40 minutes north of ADEC. So I'm in ADEC country. so we've always been fully supported. Like that's all I knew going to school. They are an amazing community.
00:17:45
Speaker
company in general. So we'll have a lot of events down there. And when you get to learn about the family and even the impact that they've made within their own community, it is wonderful. But then for me personally, having that engineering background, like being able to tour the facility, not only is everyone so happy in their own environment as they're creating and building, i just love that they will fully support the practice. So the quality is outstanding. They've always been really good about just supporting dentists in general.
00:18:14
Speaker
I had, I mean, there was no other option and when I built my practice. It was just, of course it was ADEC because that's where we're here. And so started with three chairs and then built out. It was funny, there was a small time where i because I love technology, I i drifted away. ADEC would happily tell you that when I built out a new section of my office,
00:18:34
Speaker
it It wasn't ADEC, but came back to ADEC because the new technology wasn't everything that they said it was going to be. And my chairs were down more than they were up. And i didn't have that customer support, which was huge. So, and then i really appreciate, I've had opportunities to work with them even on when they are testing out new products, they'll come in because our office, we have a, we have a very, don't know how to say this.
00:18:56
Speaker
um I don't want to say a practical office, but I have a team that we work hard. We turn rooms fast. Like we're, We take insurances. We do all the things. Yeah. we and We have a lot of wear and tear on our products. So yeah like yeah we get asked to beta test because if something's going to happen and if mistakes are going to be made, it's going to happen at our office. Like things get dropped. things like It's not like a so little tiny one-op boutique practice where we we move.
00:19:22
Speaker
So yeah anyways, so we've had an opportunity to like beta test some things with them because it's very real. Yeah. Real world. It's real in our office, yeah. And i appreciate, like, they have this whole team focusing on ergonomics for women.
00:19:37
Speaker
Like, I have 20 women in my office, and that is a really big difference. And they'll sit, like, these engineers will come sit in our practice and in our ops and just to watch us and watch how we move and like, what are the things that we grab for and how do we set up and, and each provider is a little bit different in their, their creature comforts, right? So thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation.
Conclusion and Sponsor Mentions
00:19:58
Speaker
If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend, connect with us at Savannah Craig DBS and at Dr. Sartor.
00:20:10
Speaker
And remember, you are not alone on this journey. ADAC certified pre-owned equipment is a sustainable, affordable choice that makes genuine ADAC equipment available to every doctor. Each package is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. So if you see one you like, contact your dealer. For more information, go to www.adac.com backslash findadealer. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching. We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.