DR. ADI & DR. SH AK We sat down and had a chat with Dr. Shakashira & Dr. Adi in their outstanding office designed by DC Dental. The following is the conversation with Dr. Shak & Dr. Adi: DC Dental: What influenced you to go into dentistry? Dr. Shak: I’ve always been very detail oriented. My mom always gave me the tiny, very detailed things to do. So,when it was time to go to college, I was like “I think I am good with my hands.” I knew that I wanted to do something in the medical field so I went and spent a couple of days with a doctor, a couple of days with a dentist, as well as a couple of days with a pharmacist. I enjoyed my days the most at the dentist so I was like “Okay, I am going to be a dentist.” Dr. Adi: I went to dental school because I like making a difference in people’s lives. When someone is walking in with pain and they are miserable, you can change the whole situation by helping them out and making them feel better. Saving their dentition is one big side of it. The other side of it is the aesthetics side. It is amazing what you can do for people to make their smile look better and improve their self esteem. I like the before and afters because they are impressive and leave a big impact on the patients and everybody is happy. DC Dental: How do you make your patients feel less anxious and more comfortable during their visit?
Dr. Adi: Well, Dr. Shak is an orthodontist so she makes everyone happy! Believe it or not, even though we are very well equipped for sedation, I frequently don’t have to go there. There are a couple ways that I use to calm them down and build a rapport with the patients. You explain to them everything before you do it. Most people are afraid of the unknown, so once you clarify the mystery it is less stressful on them or more straight forward when they know what is coming and what it is used for. They call that technique tell, show, and do. You tell the patient what you are doing, you show them, and then you do it. It was invented for pediatrics but I think it works very well with adults. That other way I minimize their anxiety is with a little bit of humor. You would be surprised sometimes that when the doctor is not so stiff and rigid, a little bit of humor here and there can go a long way with a patient. My signature is to explain the unknown, a touch of humor and down to earth approach. A lot of times you don’t have to use sedation even with the most anxious patients. Every now and then you get someone that had a very bad experience and then you have to resort to sedation or pre medication, but I don’t frequently go there.
Project Description:
New Start Up: Schematic design, Dental detail planning services Operatory Featured:
Flight A12 chair packages with built in monitor mounts Dental EZ Next Gen free standing Cabinetry and Dental EZ Customized Sterilization Center Belmed Nitrous Equipment My Ray RXDC x-rays
Digital Imaging Equipment:
Dr. Shak & Dr. Adi
Gainesville, VA 14 The DC•Impression | www.atlaswalkdental.com 703.646.1211
MyRay X9 3D Ready Pan & Ceph
DC Dental: To date, what has been your proudest moment in your dental career? Dr. Adi: One of them was when Dr. Shak graduated from Howard University. I was excited because our family can enjoy some cooked food again! Thanks to DC Dental we have Atlas Walk Dental, and by all means that is the proudest moment of our careers. Being employees for other doctors for quite some time, we worked so hard to get where we are. All we needed was that final push and then DC Dental came to the rescue. Eddie Ash helped that dream come true and I could have never been happier. I can’t even imagine myself working for other people anymore. Especially now that I know the pride and the devotion that comes with owning your own practice. By all means my proudest moment was March 5, 2014 when Mr. Ash cut that ribbon. Other proud moments were graduation from dental school, and Mrs. Jones dentures finally fitting well (just kidding!). Dr. Shak: Making it into the dental school and orthodontic specialty in the United States. Dr. Adi: For us, coming from overseas and then having to redo everything from scratch and making it happen,
Hometown: Bristow, VA
Family:
Two kids, 13 year old daughter and 6 year old son
Education:
D.M.D. Dr. Shak and Dr. Adi attended Boston University, Dr. Shak attended Howard University for specialty (orthodontics)
Sterilization Equipment: Tuttnauer EZ 10 Autoclave
Mechanical Q1 . 2015Equipment: Specials & Promotions | Dental Ez/RamVac Compressor and Evacuation System
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