Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Navigating Public Health Dentistry w/ Dr. Alayna Schoblaske
28 Plays9 months ago
Alayna Shoblaske, a dedicated dentist based in Medford, Oregon, as she shares her journey from dental school to serving in a public health setting. Discover the rewards and challenges of practicing dentistry in underserved communities, and gain valuable insights into loan repayment programs like the National Health Service Corps scholarship. Learn about the crucial role of organized dentistry and how it empowers professionals like Elena to make a difference. If you're a new dentist considering a career in public health, this episode is a must-listen!
About the Guest:
Alayna Schoblaske is a dentist based in Medford, Oregon. She grew up in Oregon and attended dental school at Oregon Health and Science University. After completing her dental education, Alayna did a GPR at the VA hospital in Washington, DC. She then returned to Oregon and began working at a federally qualified health center (FQHC), where she still practices today. Elena is passionate about public health dentistry and providing high-quality care to underserved populations.
Key Takeaways:
- Alayna Schoblaske's journey from dental school to working in a public health setting in Oregon.
- The benefits of practicing dentistry in a federally qualified health center (FQHC) and the ability to provide comprehensive care to underserved populations.
- Loan repayment programs, such as the National Health Service Corps scholarship and the Students to Service loan repayment program, can help dentists alleviate their student loan debt while working in public health.
- The importance of organized dentistry and the opportunities for mentorship, networking, and advocacy it provides.
- Advice for new dentists interested in public health, including getting involved in local dental associations and attending meetings and events to connect with other professionals in the field.
Connect with Alaya Schobloske on IG: @alaynathedentist
Learn more about the ADA New Dentist Committee
Connect with New Dentists on the Block: @newdentistsontheblock
Connect with Tanya Sue Maestas: @tsmaestas.dds
Full video on Youtube
Swing by Peyruis | https://soundcloud.com/peyruis Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unreported License (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Dr. Elena Shoblaski
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to New Dentists on the Block, a podcast featuring new dentists sharing their experiences in the world of dentistry. Successes, challenges, and life in between, navigating dentistry together one experience at a time.
00:00:16
Speaker
In this episode, we have Dr. Elena Shoblaski, a general dentist and dental director at La Clinica, a FQHC in Medford, Oregon. She earned her DMD from the Oregon Health and Science University School of Dentistry and completed a GPR at the VA Hospital in Washington, D.C. Elena is the editor of the Oregon Dental Association
00:00:38
Speaker
and a member of the American Dental Association New
Living in Oregon and Dental School Experiences
00:00:41
Speaker
Dentist Committee. In this episode, we talk about loans and loan repayment programs, organized dentistry, and practicing in a public health setting. Alaina Shoblaski, welcome to New Dentist on the Block. How are you doing today? I'm really great. How are you? I'm doing well. Where are you coming to us from?
00:00:58
Speaker
I am in Medford, Oregon. So that's in Southern Oregon. I am much closer to California than I am to Portland or Washington for about four hours south of Portland on the interstate. Oh, cool. Okay. Very cool. Are you an Oregon native? I count myself as an Oregon native. I was born in Southern California in Redlands, but my mom is from Oregon and we moved back to be closer to family when I was five. So this is where I grew up.
00:01:28
Speaker
Okay, very cool. And where'd you go to dental school? I went to dental school at Oregon Health and Science University. So oh, it's just you. So I'm keeping it consistent. Very cool, very cool. And were there any cool things that you all did in your dental school program as part of your curriculum?
00:01:45
Speaker
Um, we were one of the pilot classes of an interprofessional education curriculum. So we got to take some classes. Well, we didn't do any classes, but we did some seminars kind of with medical and pharmacy students, my first and second year of dental school. Um, the other big thing is that we moved into a new building. So we started my first year of dental school in what we call the old dental school. And while they finished building this brand new building that was an integrated building for
00:02:15
Speaker
medical, nursing, PA, dental, pharmacy, all of the health professions students. And then we got to move into that building this summer between my first and second year. So that came with a lot of fancy new equipment and a lot of troubleshooting as well. But it's a really cool building and the most windows that I think I will ever have in any clinical setting.
00:02:38
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I bet. So, you know, Houston also got a new building. This was after, you know, before we had started, I was there during the summer program. So I was able to kind of see the old building and the new building.
Weather and Professional Involvement
00:02:51
Speaker
And I agree, more windows than I've ever seen ever in my life, which I feel like they were just trying to feed a sunlight to try and keep us happy. But yes, I think they did do a little bit more than that. In Oregon, you will take all the sunlight you can get before the gray, rainy comes. Yeah.
00:03:07
Speaker
Yeah, I bet. Which is so funny because here in El Paso today, it's super gloomy and rainy. And I thought about you this morning. I'm like, how funny. I'm going to speak to somebody who's probably from a rainy area on a very rainy day in El Paso, which is pretty rare.
00:03:19
Speaker
You could send some of the rain to us. We are we are dealing with wildfires and smoke. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I have seen that on the news. Sad stuff. Mother Nature as of late has been pretty scary. She's got she's got some different plans than I do. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Alina, I'm so excited to welcome you to New Dennis on the Block. For our listeners, Alina and I have crossed paths through our involvement in organized dentistry. Alina, what district do you represent on the New Dennis Council?
00:03:48
Speaker
11. So that is Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. Very cool. And it's your first year? Is it your second? This is my first year. Cool. Were you involved in organized dentistry as a dental student?
00:04:04
Speaker
I was, yes, I was pretty, a pretty active member of our ASDA chapter. I think technically my title was community service director or coordinator. Um, so I didn't serve as an officer, but I got to go to two annual meetings. So I got to go to Anaheim in 2014 and then Dallas in 2016. Oh, cool, cool. Yeah. So we might've crossed paths. Yeah, absolutely.
00:04:30
Speaker
Yes, I went I didn't go to Anaheim 2014 I started dental school But I did go to Dallas that I think that was my first annual session give or take what year did you graduate? 2017. Okay. Okay. Cool. Cool. Cool. Yeah, so I That's good of those conferences went to all of the District 10 were asked a district 10 district 10 district meetings. Yeah kind of that's how in Oregon there's a really good relationship between
00:04:58
Speaker
the Oregon Dental Association and the Dental School, so got to know some of the ODA leaders and staff members through that connection and then that was a pretty natural transition into ADA leadership. Very cool, very cool. Did you go to Danielle Marciniak's meeting?
00:05:18
Speaker
She was elected as trustee in Dallas. Okay, okay, cool. And then, yeah, she coordinated. Her district, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, no, I think I'm getting my years mixed up. Okay, it could be wrong. Yes, I would be lying if I remembered specifically. I remember SoHives meeting. You want everyone to remember SoHives meeting? I want to remember SoHives meeting. That was in Seattle my fourth year. Okay, okay.
00:05:46
Speaker
Oh, that was your fourth year? Okay, then maybe not. So I think Danielle was actually elected my fourth year. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. It would have been there after. I missed her meeting by a year. Yeah. I think everyone still talks about SoHive's meeting because of all the money he fundraised. Yeah. I raised a lot of money. Yeah. We got to have dinner at the Space Needle, which was really cool. So cool. Like the best story ever, in my opinion. Yes.
Public Health Dentistry and Loan Repayment Programs
00:06:10
Speaker
Yeah. Elena, after dental school, did you do AGD, GPR, any kind of residency program?
00:06:16
Speaker
I did. I abandoned my organ roots. I moved to Washington DC and I did a GPR at the VA hospital there. Oh, very cool. Did you do a one or two year? One year. Very cool. Very cool. And now you're in a public health setting. Were you always in a public health setting or how did you end up there?
00:06:35
Speaker
Yeah, I actually, funny story on my GPR, Abby Halpern and I did the same GPR program. So she was here after me. So I got to hand over the baton to her as I got to do it. I love Abby. And anytime I can talk about Abby, it's a good time.
00:06:51
Speaker
Oh yeah, we'll shout out. We'll shout out. Absolutely. So yes, I have always been interested in public health. I actually took two years off between undergrad and dental school. And during those two years, I spent some time working for an education nonprofit that worked with low income schools and helped support teachers and students in those schools. And the number of times I
00:07:17
Speaker
I have always been interested in dentistry. I kind of knew that I would go back to dental school. And so when I would mention that to teachers, so many of them said, oh my gosh, do you have any resources for our students? I have kids that miss school because of their teammates or that just don't have a toothbrush at home or don't have those resources. And it broke my heart so often in that position to be able to say, no, I don't really know much about the dental landscape right now.
00:07:44
Speaker
And so that really shifted my perspective on how I wanted to practice and what setting I wanted to be in. And so that really drove me to public health and specifically community dentistry. So I applied for the National Health Service Corps Scholarship. I did not get the scholarship, but I did.
00:08:04
Speaker
get accepted into the students to service loan repayment program. So that was a commitment that I made in my fourth year of dental school to work in a federally qualified health center for three years in exchange for 120,000 of loan repayment.
00:08:22
Speaker
pretty good deal. And they allow you to do a GPR. So that's what I did my GPR, got that experience in and then moved back to Oregon and started working right away at like the FQHC where I still work today. So my FQHC or my NHSC commitment is
00:08:44
Speaker
long ago completed, but I'm still here because I really, I love our mission. I love the people that I get to work with and I love the patients that we get to serve.
00:08:54
Speaker
That's super cool. I'm an HSC scholar. I got the scholarship. Congratulations. Thanks. I'm almost done with my commitment and so hopefully another few weeks actually. It's fun to get the certificate. I'm counting down. I think I went over on my days this year. If you get involved with the scholarship or loan repayment programs, you're only allotted X amount of days. I went over my days and now they're just pushing it out, which is fine.
00:09:20
Speaker
Not a big deal. Thankfully, they're able to work around you. But there are a lot of great programs for any of our listeners out there who are interested in loan repayment. Loans are a huge deal for practicing dentists, especially new dentists who are coming out with these insane amount of debt. But the students to service program is great. And I'll ask you a little bit more about that because I don't really know much about that program. But there is also... Well, actually, let's talk about that now. How is that program different than the loan repayment program?
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah. So I always, I always talk about the different programs and sort of three tiers. There's the scholarship, which you make an upfront commitment. You know this well, but for listeners, you make an upfront commitment, usually in the first or second year of dental school. And in exchange, you have most, if not all of your dental school tuition and fees and expenses paid for. Sometimes there's a little bit of extra that you do have to take some
00:10:17
Speaker
I still have loans out, but perhaps I lived larger than I needed to in dental school, but that'd be just me. And Houston was a little bit more of an expensive city as well. I think Portland would have been the same way, exactly.
00:10:31
Speaker
But a significantly lower debt. A hundred percent. And so exchange with that for every year of dental school that they pay for, you make a year commitment to work in an FQHC. So that's a more competitive program and requires a commitment at the beginning of your training experience.
00:10:51
Speaker
I went the more middle of the road pathway and that is that you make a commitment in the fall of your fourth year. So you get a chance to go through your training, you get to maybe rotate in public health, you get to
00:11:06
Speaker
to have some mentors and try out some different styles of dentistry and have an idea of how we want to practice and at that point, you make a three year commitment. And like I mentioned that is for $120,000 of tax free loan repayment.
00:11:22
Speaker
And so that's a pretty good deal, not quite as much bang for your buck or bang for your year as the scholarship program, but still pretty great. And you can extend that an additional two years for an additional 20,000 each year. So the maximum would be five years for 160,000. And then the third level of program is actually a kind of pay as you go option.
00:11:51
Speaker
So once you find yourself working in an FQHC, you love it, and you think it's a place that you want to stay for a while, you can apply for a year-to-year loan repayment option. And I think that varies from about $15,000 to $25,000 per year, depending on funding and availability and how high of a need of an area that you're in.
00:12:13
Speaker
So those are the three different commitment levels. You can commit at the beginning of dental school for the most loan repayment. You can commit at the end of dental school, but before you start working for a medium, a middle amount, or you can commit once you're already working for the lowest amount.
00:12:32
Speaker
I thought I knew about all three really well, but I actually didn't know students to service super well. So that's really good for, you know, I get a lot of first year students who ask me, you know, what do I do? I really want to do something like this, but I'm not ready to make that commitment because I don't know if I want to specialize. And this is a great program for that.
Federally Qualified Health Centers and Loan Success
00:12:50
Speaker
Obviously, like you mentioned, you know, you may not get the biggest bang for your buck in terms of commitment goes and loan repayment amount. But I think that that's still a great way to alleviate some of the burden.
00:13:01
Speaker
and to figure out what you want to kind of do in life as a dental student. So I think that's huge. Did you? Go ahead. I'm a big proponent for working in an FQHC as a supplement to a GPR or an AGD or as a replacement for, especially if you're in an FQHC where there are other
00:13:21
Speaker
dentists that you're working with. That's one of my favorite things about my clinic. I work with seven other dentists, and so the amount of mentorship and treatment planning consultation and support, both clinical and moral support that I get on a daily basis is incredible.
00:13:41
Speaker
And so I think it's a really nice place depending on how many coworkers you have. It's a really nice place for new grads to land. Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more if you are a student who's graduating or maybe somebody who isn't feeling fulfilled in their practice setting that they're in.
00:13:57
Speaker
Public health, community health is the place to be, in my opinion. Obviously, we are biased. We are new people who are in the public health setting. But I think it's a great way to kind of build your skill. It's a great way to give back to the community and you just kind of continue to learn and grow. I would say that if you're not really interested in AGD or GPR, because maybe you want to dive in and start making some money,
00:14:20
Speaker
But maybe you're not ready to dive into a private practice of some kind. This is a really great way to go to kind of build that skill and keep asking questions. I think that if you can find a mentor, for me, my AGD was great because we had a lot of mentors around that we could still kind of toss questions back and forth. And that was a huge year for me. We're now, I'm kind of alone in this community. I'm able to kind of manage it a little bit better.
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah, I agree completely. Did you decide to up for a few more years after your commitment ended? I extended for one more year. So I ended up going for one more extra year of $20,000. So I ended up getting $140,000 total in repayment. And then actually at that point, I had been paying down my loan
00:15:09
Speaker
the balance. I graduated with about $280,000 in debt. And so the $140,000 took away about half of it. And I continued to pay down that other half and got a little bit more aggressive during COVID when there was no interest. And so actually by the time that
00:15:27
Speaker
if there was an opportunity to re-up for one other year, I had pretty much paid off my love. That's awesome. I'm proud of you. That's huge. My respect. Yeah, I didn't take advantage of that no interest time. I just kind of said thank you, Uncle President Biden, for giving us that and I'm hoping to stay here for 10 years and we'll see if you cancel that when we're all said and done.
00:15:50
Speaker
I hope not. Yeah. I went back and forth between whether I wanted to go from PSLF or wanted to pay them down. And I think that it is highly likely that I will still be here or in another year in five more years at the 10 year mark.
00:16:06
Speaker
Um, but I kind of wanted to give myself that flexibility. Yeah. That, that financial freedom that you probably, having that out of the way is, is huge. And so PSL life for our listeners is also another program that you can look into if you go to the public health route, if you stay in a public health setting or an educational setting, um, you can, I guess a federal setting as well too. Uh, if you stay in for 10 years and make the minimum amount that you need to make based on your salary,
00:16:32
Speaker
towards your loans, you get to, they, I guess, race them all in 10 years. So that's huge. I mean, that's great. So, you know, if you come out with like $600,000 in loans, that's awesome. You just kind of stick it out for 10 years and you do a lot of good in the community. Absolutely. Yeah. And there's a lot of leadership opportunities within community health and public dentistry as well. So I spend
00:16:57
Speaker
one day a week in an administrative dental director position in my clinic. And so I think that's another really neat thing about public health and community dentistry is that it's not necessarily 40 hours a week of hands-on dentistry. You get to mentor and teach and oftentimes work with dental students or
00:17:18
Speaker
support your clinic in other ways. So that 10 year commitment is not necessarily 10 years of commitment to 40 hours a week. And actually they just, I was talking to a friend yesterday and they just lowered the requirement for PSLF down to
00:17:35
Speaker
either 30 or 32 hours a week is considered full time. So it used to be full time as considered by your employer. So your employer got to define what full time meant, but now they've defined it as, I forget if it's either 30 or 32. Oh, that's huge. I wonder if the NHSC will follow suit. Probably not, but maybe. Maybe. Yeah.
00:17:59
Speaker
Elena, I would love to know kind of your pros and cons, favorite things, least favorite things about working in public health and if you're okay with it, I'll also share some of mine.
00:18:07
Speaker
Absolutely. I'd love to hear yours. Yeah. My favorite things, I've talked about some of my favorite things already. So I really love our mission. We serve about 60% of patients, of our patients have Medicaid. In Oregon, Medicaid has been expanded pretty broadly and includes comprehensive dental care for both adults and children, which is really awesome. So we're able to provide comprehensive and
00:18:35
Speaker
coverage and treatment for most of those adults and children. The remainder of our patients are a small section of patients that have private insurance, and then the rest are patients that have no insurance. And so we offer a sliding scale for them. I'm sure very similar to your clinic.
00:18:52
Speaker
And so it's really neat to be able to offer high quality, comprehensive, compassionate, fun, accessible dental care to patients that might not otherwise be able to afford it. And we also, about a third of our patients speak Spanish as they're
00:19:09
Speaker
primary language, and I don't personally speak Spanish, but I have two wonderful dental assistants that act as healthcare interpreters and also assist me procedurally. And all of our receptionists and all of our call center team are bilingual.
00:19:27
Speaker
And so so many of our patients say, it's wonderful that I can come here and speak my language and be comfortable and not have to strain myself or have a family member act as an interpreter or something like that. So that's certainly a pro, being able to meet people where they are and deliver care that works for what they need.
Medicaid Patients and Solo Practice Challenges
00:19:49
Speaker
I love the people that I get to work with. So like I mentioned, I work in a big group of dentists. We all share a room.
00:19:56
Speaker
And the amount of fun and collegiality and learning that happens in that room is huge. I love the benefits of working in public health. So I get about seven to eight weeks off every year that is paying time off where I don't have to worry about
00:20:18
Speaker
colleagues have got that taken care of. And I get a 403b match. I get health insurance. I get a CE stipend. Our organization also has a really robust learning and development department that offers leadership trainings and communication trainings and lots of both clinical and nonclinical learning opportunities. So we get an additional up
00:20:48
Speaker
to two weeks of training every year for free through that program. Awesome. So I really feel like I've been able to learn and grow as a person and the dentist here. So those are the big pros. And as far as tough stuff, I think that certainly
00:21:08
Speaker
where we obviously were a big ship. We are an organization of about 450 people. We have a large number of dentists. We serve
00:21:19
Speaker
40,000 patients in our dental department every year. And so there are certain times where the way that Elena would do something butts up against the way that it works best for our clinic to do something. I have a great degree of clinical autonomy. That is one of our primary values. And so I've never felt pinched in that regard.
00:21:41
Speaker
I've never felt pressured to do or not do treatment. We have amazing materials and really good technology here. So I feel really good about the care that I deliver to my patients. But sometimes when it comes to the workflows and the administrative stuff and all of that, I have to take a step back and let go of some degree of control or influence.
00:22:04
Speaker
So that can be hard and our patients have tough lives. And so I think that as much as my heart opens and expands and grows with them, it also breaks for them.
00:22:22
Speaker
we see a lot of substance use disorder, we see a lot of behavioral health, both diagnosed and undiagnosed concerns. And so I think that there's an extra degree of care that I need to show up with every day and that can be really rewarding and it can also be really exhausting.
00:22:39
Speaker
So, I think those are the tough things. How about you? Very well said. I can't follow that. I just think, I mean, you articulated that so well, but I 100% agree with you on the pros there. You know, the autonomy to do what's right for the patient is excellent. I have never felt pressured to do anything against my will. You know, if I don't feel comfortable with a procedure, I'm never forced to do anything that I'm not comfortable with.
00:23:04
Speaker
Materials are great. I kind of have a free hand in ordering what we'd like to use. So I try and order materials that I like to use. We help patients where we can as well too. The sliding scale is huge. And so for those who aren't familiar with what a sliding scale is, most places you bring in your income and you're given a discount based on that income. So that's great for those who don't have insurance and they can get a discount still.
00:23:28
Speaker
Oftentimes, and this varies from clinic to clinic, but at our clinic, oftentimes they may come in and they're coming in for a full mouth extraction. I can do it all. They may just pay $25, which is kind of huge and kind of crazy, but it's kind of exciting to be able to help the community in that way. I would agree with all the pros. For me, the cons, being the only one at the clinic that we're at, it can be really tough.
00:23:52
Speaker
you know, it's a funnel and everyone wants to be seen and everyone wants to be seen yesterday. And so people get really upset with me and that can be really hard because I'm only one person. And so we have other clinics where patients can go to throughout southern New Mexico, but transportation can be an issue.
00:24:07
Speaker
So everyone kind of wants to come here and it's hard and sometimes we get into some tips because they're not being seen quick enough. But unfortunately, until I conclude myself, or we can get another dentist, it is just me. We are gonna start bringing in some of the students from the El Paso Dental School, hopefully in the next few months or so, for sure within the next year. So I think that that'll for sure help us out with some of the patients that are on our waiting list.
00:24:34
Speaker
But for me, that's probably one of the biggest cons is that we're just kind of, we see as many as we can in the day and still there are some patients that aren't happy, but we can't please everyone at the end of the day. And you've got to take care of yourself as a human too. That's right. I remind myself of that when I'm feeling guilty or overwhelmed of that. I give my best care and I show up as my best self when I'm
00:24:57
Speaker
moving at a sustainable pace instead of an unsustainable pace. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. And speaking of guilt, you know, we do get a wonderful amount of time off, but I still feel guilty sometimes taking that time off. And I think that that's, yeah, I think that that's a, that's a dentistry thing kind of universally. Cause I've, I've heard that sentiment being shared across the board. Yes. Yeah.
00:25:17
Speaker
So Elena, tell me a little bit about just pivoting a little bit about some of your favorite things of being involved in organized dentistry and your role as a new dentist and that involvement, what that looks like for you
Organized Dentistry's Impact on Career
00:25:30
Speaker
now.
00:25:30
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, my path to where I'm at now is what the last five years have looked like, well, six years. I was sitting in our resident room in Washington, D.C., and I got a text from the current president of, well, the current president-elect of the Oregon Dental Association, who is now actually our executive director. Dr. Barry Taylor is his name.
00:25:52
Speaker
And in stepping into the president role, he had previously been the editor. So he was having to resign from editor to step into the president role. And so he texted me. He said, Hey, are you moving back to Oregon? I said, I think so. And this was I hadn't accepted my job yet. And he said, if you do, do you want to be editor? And I said, I think so. And
00:26:20
Speaker
fast forward six months, I moved back to work in and there was no one else interested in stepping into the role of editors. Okay, great. I got to...
00:26:33
Speaker
run for that position uncontested and was elected as our editor. And in Oregon, the editor serves as a non-voting member of the Board of Trustees, and then also always serves as an alternate delegate to the ADA House of Delegates. And so I've been able to participate in the House of Delegates every year since I moved back to Oregon. So my first was San Francisco, and then COVID, and then Vegas, and then Houston, and then this year Orlando.
00:27:03
Speaker
And that has been such an awesome experience to be able to meet other new dentists and experienced dentists across the board, meet dentists that are practicing in different areas and in different ways. I think it's really helpful for me to get out of the bubble of my daily practice.
00:27:26
Speaker
and it gives me really good perspective for things that I'm extra grateful for, things that I might be striving for, opportunities that I have to learn and grow, and also just to laugh to be able to talk about
00:27:42
Speaker
how hard it is to prep the distillable 131, you know, just be able to have that camaraderie with my colleagues. The travel is really fun. That is a part of it that I really enjoy. And to be able to travel and spend time with other dentists is really huge. I have learned so much about the practice of dentistry through the dental association as well, through our advocacy at both the state
00:28:10
Speaker
and national level. So many times my colleagues will say, how do you know that thing about the Dental Practice Act or about insurance policy or about reimbursements or scope of practice? And the answer is always, oh, I read it in an ODA email or we talked about it at an ODA meeting or I watched an ADA presentation on that.
00:28:37
Speaker
And so I just feel so much more well informed. And I think that translates to how I can take better care of my patients as well. That trickles all the way down to my clinical care about a year ago.
00:28:51
Speaker
Dr. Linda Edgar, who was our trustee and is now the president-elect of the ADA, approached me about the opportunity to step into Brooke Fukuoka's position on the New Dentist Committee. She was finishing her term, and so we needed a replacement. And those are big shoes to fill, but it's big. We love Brooke, yeah. We love Brooke. We love Brooke.
00:29:12
Speaker
And she has mentored me really well through the past year to help that transition. And the new day's committee is awesome. I know you've gotten to interact with us, our representative on the communications committee, but it's just before I started,
00:29:31
Speaker
everyone said it feels like a family and I was like yeah I mean sure it's a committee but even in just two meetings that we've had and a third coming up in Orlando it really does feel that way it feels warm and inviting and fun and honest I think we really are willing to
00:29:52
Speaker
to point out what organized dentistry is doing really well and needs to celebrate and also where we have some areas to grow. So I'm really excited for three more years on the committee to get to continue having fun and honest conversations. So exciting and a little bit of jealousy because there are so many great people who are on there now, even including John Vogel, we'll throw him in.
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, but there are just some excellent leaders there and I'm excited to see what all the leaders, including yourself, continue to do throughout their trajectory in their leadership in dentistry. Thanks. I would love to know, hot question, what do you tell a new dentist who doesn't think that organized dentistry, the ADA, is important?
00:30:38
Speaker
I start by inviting them to go to a local meeting. I think that the value of organized dentistry starts really close to home, that I can talk about advocacy wins and I can talk about the fact that the ODA passed a bill this year that will save dentists up to $7,000 on their credit card fees every year and things like that. I think that that is valuable and matters, but I think that
00:31:07
Speaker
For me, the largest impact has been the relationships and the mentorship that I have gotten, and I think that that starts small. I think that there's some really neat things that the ADA app is doing to promote mentorship, and I'm excited about that.
00:31:22
Speaker
And I think that you're going to have a more successful mentorship relationship, often with someone that is in your community and knows the specifics of where you're practicing. And that you can go and shadow them or grab coffee or become a part of their lives. And so that's my first invitation. If they're local, I say, come with me. We meet on the second Thursday of every month and have CE and a little bit of social time.
00:31:49
Speaker
If they're another part of District 11 or another part of the country, I help them find their local component and encourage them to attend a CE event or a meeting and to not just sit in the back corner, but to talk to someone at that meeting and learn a little bit more.
00:32:11
Speaker
I also encourage them to open the emails. As you know, we're figuring out how to communicate better with multiple generations, and I think that we will get better at that in the coming months and years.
00:32:28
Speaker
But there really is, there's so much information coming, coming at you. And so find, find the way that you like to engage with the dental association, whether that's following them on Instagram or, or reading the ADA news or
00:32:44
Speaker
attending the House of Delegates every year, there's different options depending on your favorite communication style. But those are where we tend to start. And then we can have conversations about tangible benefits and discounts and your dues easily get covered. But I think that if the relationships aren't there, there's not as much sticking power.
00:33:10
Speaker
Very well said again. I love it. Thanks. So for our more seasoned dentists who are listening, you know, a few things that I've heard here, and even those who are not maybe well seasoned and still pretty new, but are involved, one thing that stood out and something that I've heard kind of time and time again is an invitation from somebody to come to a meeting to get involved, I think can go a long way. So I think that we all needed to kind of do our part and invite somebody who might be skeptical to come to a meeting and see what the
00:33:39
Speaker
what all the Hub-a-loo is and kind of see if they're interested in getting involved. Cause we truly, our generation is future. We got to kind of carry this forward. And I truly worry about what the future of the association would look like. But I hope that those who are listening will feel encouraged to kind of get involved and allow their voice to be heard because their voice is important and can lead a lot of change. Yeah. I think a word of advice or a recommendation too,
00:34:07
Speaker
the more seasoned dentists or anyone more than 10 years out of practice, is that if you see a new dentist that has gotten the bravery or figured out the childcare or arranged their lives to be able to attend a component society, know that that might be your one opportunity to engage with them, to connect with them and to get them
00:34:33
Speaker
to get that stickiness. So go up and say hi. Don't talk to the friend that you see all the time. Go sit next to them and get engaged and figure out an action step. Figure out a way that they can plug into the work that you are doing as a local component because we want to be approached and approaching someone in a new setting can be really overwhelming. So that's something that the more established leaders
00:35:01
Speaker
whether they are new dentists that are established or whether they are past that tenure mark. It can really take a step by introducing themselves and connecting with new faces that they see at their meetings. Yes, a friendly hello can go a long way. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:35:18
Speaker
Elena, I have absolutely loved our conversation today. I'm so excited to connect with you in Orlando when we see each other during SmileCon. But any last thoughts, advice, anything that you'd like to share with our listeners before we close out today?
00:35:33
Speaker
I think we covered it all. I don't do any fun TikToks and dance movies like you, but I do have an Instagram. It's just Alina the dentist. And I try and post about what the ADA is doing, what the Oregon Dental Association is doing, and also what my life is like in an FQHC. So if you won't have any interest in that.
00:35:56
Speaker
You can find me over there and reach out if you are in District 11. I'd love to help you find your local component. I would love to share some opportunities that there are to get involved if that feels scary and you want someone to help you with that.
00:36:13
Speaker
Yes, please reach out to us. Either one of us, please use us as a resource, either for organized dentistry or for the public health route. We would love to help you all find your path in dentistry, both in and out of the actual clinical setting. Absolutely. Elena, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it. And for everyone listening, thanks for tuning in. Thanks for tuning into this episode of New Dentists on the Block. If you would like to connect with Dr. Elena, you can find her on Instagram at Elena the Dentist.
00:36:41
Speaker
Learn more about the ADA New Dentist Committee by following the link in our show notes. If you'd like to connect with New Dentists on the Block, you can find us on Instagram at NewDentistsOnTheBlock and you can connect with me on Instagram at tsmiastos.dds. Be sure to tune in to future episodes of New Dentists on the Block. And as always, we would love if you would leave a review of this podcast and make sure you subscribe to the podcast on YouTube and on all major podcast platforms. We'll catch you next time.