First I want to share a song with you. I know, I know. That’s so My-Spacey and Gen-X of me. But hey, I’m a Xennial, technically, and I digress. . . Below is the track I played on repeat while I wrote this post. I kept panicking about finally turning the blog live on May 1st. The line “I got nothing to share. No, I got nothing to say,” reverberated in my mind while I hesitated. On top of that, I had nightmares that included all of the other full-time pediatric dentists in the world calling me an impostor. But I have some great encouragers in my life and they are the reason The Mama Dentist is here today! Thank you, fam. Is anybody waving back at me?
Why I chose pediatric dentistry as a career
I love children. They make excellent company and prove themselves time and again as some of the most interesting people in the world. It comes as no surprise, then, that I also love motherhood. Nothing fills me with joy quite like watching my own tiny people live and grow and learn. As long as my three are young and mostly at home, I plan to work part-time as a pediatric dentist and soak up as much time with them as I can before they head out into the world. A professional career as a dentist offers me enormous flexibility and allows me to spend the majority of my time at home with my children for the time being, which I treasure. Most days it truly is the best of both worlds. Then 2020 reared its ugly head.
2020 forced me to re-evaluate my career choice
Like many people, 2020 afforded me ample time to evaluate my work-life balance. I took an early leave of absence from my part-time position as a pediatric dentist due to all of the unknowns associated with the emerging COVID-19 virus and the fact that I was pregnant with our third child. My middle child, A, arrived prematurely at 32 weeks after I experienced a placental abruption caused by escalating high blood pressure. Throughout that pregnancy with A, my anxiety level rose in parallel with my blood pressure, creating a vicious cycle that ultimately resulted in her early arrival. She is thriving now, but I didn’t want to risk a repeat of that experience with my third in the midst of a global pandemic.
Where did that leave me for the remainder of 2020. . . and the rest of my career
I contemplated leaving dentistry and never returning. On my final day of work before the pandemic forced itself into our collective realities, a family presented to the clinic and disregarded our office’s instructions to reschedule if anyone exhibited signs or symptoms of illness. I vividly remember examining the eldest sibling as the youngest child, about three years old, stood next to me and coughed. I asked the mom to hold him and offered a mask, but she declined and left him beside me to continue to cough.
I realized as I sat there that she wouldn’t be the last parent to dismiss my concerns. If I wanted to protect myself and my growing baby, my gut told me to stay away from dentistry for a time. Until I could protect myself and my baby in a consistent and predictable manner, I planned to stay home and my spouse would support us. That was the end of March 2020.
Visions of dentistry danced in my head throughout 2020 despite my prolonged and self-inflicted absence. I literally dreamed about my job and missed the interactions with staff and families where I shared and taught what I know. I enjoy talking to parents and their children, figuring out who they are and what they desire and need, and working together to create a plan for improving or maintaining their child’s oral health. That longing drew me back, and I returned to pediatric dentistry in February 2021. I plan to stay indefinitely, but his past year taught me that there’s wisdom in finding alternative venues where I can put my dental knowledge and training to good use.
Why I chose to start this blog
The idea for this blog arose quite by accident in early 2021. I began to prepare for my return to dentistry but felt reluctant to abandon the creative hobbies, photography/videography and writing, that I’d nurtured over the past year. Would it be possible to grow in ability and expertise in all the areas that now interested me without sacrificing one for the other? Would juggling them all require sacrificing time with my family, or sleep, or my sanity? Did I need to let some things go?
The answer arrived, as often happens in my life, via a divine nudge. Within hours of each other on one random Saturday evening, three friends from across the country reached out to me with questions about their child’s teeth. I thumbed out lengthy responses on my cellphone, and one reply grew so long that I ended up typing it on my computer before I e-mailed it to myself, copied it, and texted it back to my friend. (I know. I am THAT friend. I text novels). I hit send, and the lightbulb clicked on above my head. Eureka! I should start a blog and write about pediatric dentistry. What better way to practice and improve my writing than to blog regularly? And what better way to hone multiple skillsets at once and continue to grow in my knowledge of various subjects simultaneously than to meld them together.
My plans for the future
That leaves us here at the start of The Mama Dentist. After many tears and nights-turned-mornings of frustration spent website building, my site finally appears functional, and the future looks bright. My days back at the dental office inspire me with topics to discuss here and leave me eager to meet my keyboard in the evenings. Not only that, but I love that I’m creating an easily accessible resource that will contain clear, simple, real-talk-with-my-fam-style answers to common pediatric dentistry questions.
My list of potential topics grows longer by the day, and I eagerly await readers who will add questions of their own. I hope to incorporate my love of photography into the blog and perhaps even branch into videography via YouTube tutorials or TikToks if I get brave. I need to watch a few make-up tutorials first and update my turn-of-the-century routine (I wish that were hyperbole – HA!). This year presents boundless opportunities to learn and teach about pediatric dentistry, and I’m grateful you’re here with me for the start of it all.
Tune in next post for information directed at parents and family practitioners regarding when a child should first visit the dentist and the importance of establishing a dental home at a young age. Thank you for reading!
