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Hometown: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Title: General practice dentist with Rofe Dental Associates; President of the United India Association of New England
Can you tell the readers about your work and what you enjoy most about it?
I graduated with my Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from the UK in 1994 and DMD from Tufts School of Dental Medicine in 2006. After graduating from the UK, I practiced in Kenya for six years before coming to the United States. For the past six years, I have been involved in private practice in Metropolitan Boston. Currently, I am a dental associate in Brookline, Mass., where I provide dental procedures such as tooth whitening, Invisalign tooth straightening, routine dentistry like fillings, crown and bridgework, root canal treatments, extractions, dentures and restoring implants to name a few.
Dentistry has always been an appealing specialty to me because, by working closely with my patients, I can help understand their problems, dramatically improve their overall oral and systemic health, and improve their quality of life. In addition, dentistry requires attention to detail, patience and precision in technical skills and a thorough knowledge of the literature. Thus being a dentist provides me with an opportunity to be a lifelong learner.
As a dentist, I love the satisfaction of interacting with my patients, helping them to overcome their fear of dentistry, and seeing them more relaxed and motivated about their treatment. People come to my office wanting a better smile and when I deliver, it’s life-changing for them. The appreciation they show in return is priceless and can make any day-no matter how hard-feel worth it.
To which charitable, community and professional groups do you belong and why?
I have helped in charitable events organized by the Rotary Club, Lions Group, Arthritis Foundation and Dana Faber Cancer Institute. I believe quite simply in giving back to the community as much as I can without expecting anything in return.
I am passionate about developing leadership skills and have had leadership qualities right from my school years when I was a class prefect and head girl of my high school. I was president of my international class at Tufts Dental School, where I was able to organize recreational events for the students and faculty and was instrumental in organizing a fundraiser for Tsunami Disaster in December 2004.
For the past two years, I have been President of United India Association of New England, a social and cultural organization of immigrants from India, and have created social functions which have attracted old and many new members of all ages to enjoy and share their culture with fun and love not only amongst themselves, but also with the members of our adopted country. It is very satisfying to see the community enjoy and keep in touch with their inherited culture.
In addition to my clinical practice, I do contribute tremendous time to organized dentistry. I am very actively involved in my local state dental society. In 2007/2008, I was nominated in the Massachusetts Dental Society Leadership Institute program which led me to be selected as a representative for Council on Membership for Metropolitan District Dental Society. I was recognized as one of the 2010 William Mckenna Volunteer award recipients by the Massachusetts Dental Society, a statewide organization serving nearly 4500 dentists.
As a volunteer for the Yankee Dental Congress, the largest dental meeting in the New England area with over 28,000 attendees and the fifth largest dental meeting in the United States, I have served in many different roles such as room coordinator, presiding chair, member of scientific committee, co-chair for the women’s conference in 2013 and chair of Allied Scientific Committee for 2014. Additionally, I have put diversity in dentistry as major focus within our 4,500 member organization by being a member of the Task Force on Diversity.
At the local level, I am the chair-elect of the Metropolitan District Dental Society and have been president of the Charles River Study Club this past year where I have organized educational meetings for local dentists practicing in the area.
It was also a great pleasure to co-chair our first Tufts School of Dental Medicine Reunion in April 2011.
The professional groups that I belong to include the American Dental Association, Massachusetts Dental Society, Charles River Dental Study Club, American Academy of General Dentistry and Tufts Dental Alumni Association.
I am also a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, where I have completed over 500 continuing education hours and a rigorous exam, culminating in an award given to only about 7 percent of dentists in the United States. This has helped me keep up with the latest technology and enhance my skills.
What are your hobbies and interests?
In addition to watching my Indian serials as a relaxation when I come home in the evening, I do enjoy cooking, swimming and going to the gym to help relieve stress and maintain a healthy mental attitude. I also focus on the importance of maintaining a healthy social life.
In what way do you feel you have most positively influenced the local community and/or your company and professional field?
Personally, volunteering has helped me become a better citizen by giving back some of my time to the community. Professionally, volunteering has provided a great opportunity to network with other professionals and enhance my knowledge base to deliver the best patient care.
During my tenure as Representative for Council on Membership for the Metropolitan District, I helped to reduce the non-renewal memberships by 37 percent in 2009. This was a gratifying experience given that our country was in the middle of the financial meltdown and several dentists were finding it difficult to sustain their Massachusetts Dental Society memberships.
On several occasions I have volunteered on the Mobile Access to Care van which travels throughout the state of Massachusetts to provide oral care to underserved and senior members of the community.
At the 2009 House of Delegates meeting, I was appointed as a Member at Large on the district reorganization task force. As a member of the task force, I assisted to develop a survey through the American Dental Association, which gave some idea of member satisfaction within districts in the dental society. In May 2010, I completed the Guest Board Member of Trustees program at Massachusetts Dental Society which has provided me with a great opportunity to network with other board members and learn about existing and emerging dental issues at the state level.
As president of UIANE, I have continued to organize the traditional cultural events like Summer Picnic, Diwali and New Year’s Eve Party. In addition I have introduced and revived old cultural events such as Holi, Valentine’s Day, Mata ki Chauki and Health and Wellness Fair. For majority of the events held under my tenure as president, the attendance has significantly increased as demonstrated by the sold out events. The increase in vendor participation at our events and the new venues selected by me shows the awareness of our organization by the community and the media.
By participating in an on-call practice on weekends and evenings, I have increased the awareness of the practice in the community. My passion is to serve my patients with compassion and total dedication so they can lead happy and healthier lives. I always try to do better than my best and I try never to give up.
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