Dentaltown October 2016 - 88


EQ in the making
My journey to becoming a
dentist began in a small farming
village in India. Growing up, the
importance of proper oral care
wasn't on our radar, and there were
no dentists in our village. In fact,
it wasn't until I was 14 that I met a
dentist for the first time-a kind-hearted,
good-natured man we drove 50 miles to see
so my grandfather could have a tooth extracted.
The care and compassion the dentist showed left a
big impact on me and inspired my career choice.
Years later, I graduated from dental school in India and moved
to the United States to complete my dental education at New York
University. This eventually led to my residency at Brookdale Hospital
in Brooklyn, New York, and my first position as an associate dentist
in Rochester, New York, in 2002.

Putting EQ to use
Because I was raised in a different culture and English wasn't
my native language, active listening became a key component to
my early success as a dentist. Active listening is less about hearing
just the words, and more about truly listening with an open mind
and 100 percent attention to whomever I was speaking with, to
ensure I responded as best, and as clearly, as possible.
Sometimes dentists can come across as aloof or insensitive,
particularly on busy days. Consequently, it can be easy to ignore
the subtle signals that a patient is sending and to be out of tune with
their emotions. This results in a patient who feels disconnected and
skeptical-a barrier to care that's all too common in dentistry today.
Fortunately for me, the practice owner I was working for in 2002
was someone who took the time to nurture my ability-not only
as a dentist in the clinical setting-but as someone who patients
could get to know.
He taught me the importance of social awareness, the kind of
awareness to better understand my patients and their emotions,
helping me to improve my work with patients who were unhappy
with their situations, whether those reasons were financial, physical
or emotional.
I remember a patient who was faced with receiving partial
removable dentures. As we were doing the impressions, her

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OCTOBER 2016 // dentaltown.com

nonverbal cues made it clear that she
was not happy with the treatment
plan. Rather than continuing to
work on someone who was actively
disengaged, I spent an extra few
minutes learning more information
about her and her priorities, realizing
a fixed bridge would better suit her
needs. After that, she was smiling before
the procedure was done!
As my confidence-and EQ-grew, I wound up
moving into a leadership role in the office as a managing
clinical director. This transition brought in a whole new array of
challenges with a new audience, my office staff.
With my mentor's guidance, I learned to observe interactions
and body language, to be engaged and, most importantly, to be
authentic. It was only then that I finally realized that to self-manage,
I had to put myself in the shoes of those I was leading. It was a
moment of clarity that I will never forget-one that resonates with
my childhood and the demeanor the first dentist I'd ever met back
in India when I was a boy.

Taking EQ to the next level
From there, an opportunity presented itself to own a new Aspen
Dental office in the Cleveland area. What started as two offices in
Brooklyn, New York and Parma, Ohio, has now become a group
of 16 that I own and manage. In this capacity, most of my time is
spent coaching and helping teams-an element of my career that
is thoroughly built on my experience and growth in EQ.
As someone who was never trained in business, I know EQ
played a big role in the success of my professional journey and
within my partnerships.
Being flexible and self-aware is key in management, hiring and
patient relationships-all factors that influence a dentist's success
both as a clinical practitioner and as a practice owner. My personal
transition from associate to multipractice owner required me to
adopt new roles and new forms of EQ regularly with every new
position-a process that hasn't stopped.
In fact, I now try to use these skills to help my colleagues and
associates become better dentists and make better career decisions.
I once knew a doctor who had his own traditional private
practice but was facing economic hardship and wasn't happy with
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