8 minute read
WOMEN IN DENTISTRY: THAT’S NOTHING NEW. IT’S WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP WITHIN DENTISTRY THAT IS.
By Dr. Lauren Yasuda Rainey
I pursued a career in dentistry for a myriad of reasons - but mostly because it held the promise of a life of options. The elusive work-life balance unicorn where I could have it all. Balance was no stranger to me - I had been a lifelong classically trained ballet dancer well into my high school years. Balance, on and off stage, in and out of rehearsals, academically and recreationally, somehow there was a time for all of it. Even though I hung up the pointe shoes for good before college, I still found time to dance through college and pursued the combination of martial arts and music through taiko drumming in dental school, residency, and beyond.
However, my life balance came to a screeching halt after purchasing a dental practice in 2016.
In the studio, the ballet mistress or the more advanced dancers were the leaders to follow. In the sim lab, the stone models provided the proper shape to follow for ideal prep design. In practice ownership, though, I was suddenly the point person for all things clinical, HR, payroll & compliance. Yes, I had held leadership positions along the way - and yes, I was involved in organized dentistry at a local level, but the sheer number of decisions I was suddenly accountable for was daunting. That combined with being a young parent, faced with the responsibilities of caring for another person’s life and development–double daunting. It was time to find someone to look up to for guidance.
My career thus far has always had an educational tilt. As a resident, we helped teach D3 and D4 students, and as a young dentist, I went back to teach first and thirdyear students at the Dugoni School of Dentistry, my alma mater. In 2016, after signing on the line to get the keys to the practice, I was still teaching one day a week. Each Wednesday, when I walked in the doors of the dental school building, I was surrounded by people who knew more “stuff” than I did. What better way to find the answers to all the decisions I was suddenly faced with? Over time, the circle of educators I befriended grew. However, when looking around, most of that circle were men. I am so grateful for their wisdom and willingness to mentor me, but where were the people who looked like me and understood some of the unique challenges of being a woman small-business owner?
Dentistry is a very female-centered profession. Most people one encounters in a dental office are women. Approximately 97% of dental front office personnel are women. The American Dental Hygienists Association estimates 98% of hygienists are women. 94% of dental assistants and team members are women. So why did I feel like I did not have women to look up to? Because the women at the top - women in leadership, women as educational chairpeople, women practice owners, are still very much in the minority.
When we say women in dentistry are new - I have to pause. That undermines how we talk about “dentistry.”
Those “women in dentistry” headlines mean women owners, or women doctors, or women in leadership within dentistry. The actual practice of dentistry itself is almost entirely held up by working women, so when we say that having so many women in dentistry is new, it erases the contributions of all the supporting players that have built this profession to support women doctors, women smallbusiness owners, and women leaders. If you have ever worked in clinical dentistry, you know it’s entirely a team effort. The schedule does not get filled magically, the instruments do not clean themselves, and let’s face itthe patients are in the chair multiple times a year for their teeth to feel clean, not to know that their radiographic exam is clear or support a woman-owned small business!
After the dust settled in taking over a practice, it became clear to me that I needed owner mentors to lean on. I found that with some fellow educators, but what was missing were the people who had done this before and who understood me without having to explain every piece. Sure enough, bit by bit, I found them: the women owners, the women leaders, the women who walked my walk before and beside me. Three of them, noted below, have had a direct impact on the trajectory of my career and on women in leadership within dentistry.
First, I stumbled into the Mommy Dentists in Business Facebook group run by the inimitable Dr. Grace Yum. Through that group, I joined a smaller group of regional mom dentists and an even smaller subset of mom dentist educators. In the last two years, I have been teaching mom dentists, specifically, hands-on and lecture courses on direct composite restorative techniques. It has been an amazing niche that gives me great satisfaction. I am in awe of the relationships and connections I have made teaching and mentoring these women.
Then, I applied to and was accepted into the 2023 Guiding Leaders program at Glidewell Dental Laboratories, whose CEO is an effectual leader in the dental industry, Stephenie Goddard. 25 dental professional women are selected annually to participate in their six-month leadership development program spearheaded and curated by Stephenie and her team. The cohort pulls women dental providers from the East Coast to the West, ranging in experience from the first years out of school until providers looking at retirement. The joining thread is that these women are looking to become more effective leaders within their practices and their communities. The clinical aspects of dentistry were touched upon, but the primary focus of the program is on mindset growth, leadership, and communication development.
Due to the diverse nature of the participants, the learning did not stop when the lectures were over. Continuous small group webinars, regional mentorship groups, and meet-ups at dental meetings have cropped up. As supportive as my female dental team members are, there is something exhilarating about surrounding yourself with like-minded, growth-mindset leaders who are also women.
Finally, I was recently invited to participate in a fellowship symposium at one of the world’s largest dental manufacturing organizations. For the first time since 2013, this manufacturer invited participants from the US. It was an honor to be invited by dynamic industry leader, Nicole Russell, the North American Director for Public Relations at VOCO America. She has over two decades of dental industry experience and continues to be one of the few long-standing women at this level of leadership in corporate dental organizations in the US.
The single most empowering fact was that each of the four presenters selected from North America were women dentists. In a room of 70 doctors from 29 countries, only 16 were women, and 9 of us presented our clinical work. In a world where continuing education is primarily taught by male providers, dental school and national dental leadership are still predominantly male; I notice statistics like this at each meeting I attend. While many women are frequently in the audiences of these meetings and symposia, given the sheer number of women team members within dentistry, I am heartened that the numbers of women presenters and moderators are growing, and I am simultaneously bolstered by the talent these presenters bring to the forefront of dentistry. With more women at the helm, in the board rooms, and on the podium, I remain hopeful that there is equity in leadership also coming down the pike.
The American Dental Association Health Policy Institute, in their 2023-2024 report, exhibits a five-year trend since 2019, showing the majority of students entering dental school are women. My sincere hope is with that shift in demographics, our profession will move from a female-supported industry to an equitably-led profession. Dentistry is a complex and dynamic profession, one that deserves to be led by voices all across the gender spectrum. Women in dentistry is not necessarily something noteworthy, but women leaders on the industry side, as well as in the clinical arena, are holding that door open for the rising tide of young women dental professionals coming into their own within our great profession.
References:
1-https://www1.deltadentalins.com/dentists/fyionline/2021/women-in-dentistry.html
2- Campus G, Maclennan A, von Hoyningen-Huene J, Wolf TG; FDI Section Women Dentists Worldwide Collaboration Group; Aerden M, Benyahya I, Bonaventura J, Brolese ELK, Linton JL, Gogilashvili K, Marron-Tarrazi I, Ilhan D, Iwasaki M, Grzech-Lesniak K, Perlea P, Thabet N. The Presence of Women in the Dental Profession: A Global Survey. Int Dent J. 2024 Feb;74(1):110-118. doi: 10.1016/j. identj.2023.07.010. Epub 2023 Sep 24. PMID: 37748962; PMCID: PMC10865874.
3- American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute, Commission on Dental Accreditation Surveys of Dental Education. Accessed June 8, 2024.
About the author:
Dr. Lauren Yasuda Rainey is a general dentist and dental educator with prior faculty appointments at the University of the Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry and is on the education team at Bioclear Matrix Systems. Dr. Rainey is a Speaker’s Bureau member at Catapult Education, an innovative group that provides high-quality dental education. Her practice interests include the use of injection molded composites as an alternative to veneers and crowns in the greater Seattle, WA area.
instagram: @raineydds
