I am MDDS: Elizabeth Crespi, DMD

What influenced your decision to open a private pediatric dental practice? My father was a pediatric dentist, and I spent my summers working at his practice. I love working with kiddos and getting to have fun and joke with them every step of the way. When I moved to Denver more than 10 years ago, I knew I wanted to open Sunrise Pediatric Dentistry in Cherry Creek. It's been so rewarding to watch my patients grow (it happens so fast) and develop healthy associations with the dentist so they can be empowered to develop healthy oral health habits for life!

How do you balance running a successful dental practice and recharging with your family? I wish I could say I had this down. I think whenever you feel like you’ve finally achieved a balance, something comes up and you have to learn to roll with the punches. I have an amazing team at the office who I can truly rely on, which is a huge help in being able to “turn it off” at the end of the day. I recommend spending lots of your time developing an amazing team and learning everyone’s strengths so you can delegate as much as possible. I wouldn’t be where I am without my team and family. I do lots of yoga and try to practice mindfulness. I think it’s really important to be in touch with how you’re feeling and when burnout starts to creep in, figure out ways to work smarter, not harder so you enjoy your downtime.

You have a heart for philanthropy—can you tell us a little about why you choose to give back and any impact it has on your career? Giving back is really huge for me. I was a board member for Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND) for many years and I’m so grateful for that opportunity. There are so many kids and young adults without access to care right here in our backyard. I’ve treated many kiddos pro bono and am proud to have helped this organization develop several initiatives that impact the Denver Metro area directly. If you haven’t heard about KIND or gotten involved, I encourage you to visit kindsmiles.org and learn more.

On this note, what do you see as one of the biggest obstacles to care, especially for children, and how can individual dentists make a difference? Often it can be the parents. Kids are moldable and I feel I can typically overcome any obstacle I run into regarding the child. Adults are harder! It can be really challenging to overcome people’s perceptions and fears about dentistry, particularly when they’ve had negative experiences in the past. I work hard to gain the trust of our patient families and sometimes it can take time for them to understand that I‘m trying to help them do what is best for them and their child. I think we can make a difference by understanding that everyone has a unique perspective and giving people space to make an informed decision with respect is an important part of what we do when we educate our families.

What is one thing you wish your patients (or their families) understood about dentists (or dentistry)? We know what we’re talking about, so trust us. There is so much training and scientific literature that backs up our recommendations. We always strive for perfection and want to help our patients. It’s unfortunate that patients can have the perception that we are only here to make money and that is what drives our treatment plans. Developing trust is so critical to patient care and it’s something I continue to work on. It’s also important to realize that you won’t be able to change everyone’s opinions and that’s fine too.

Is there a piece of advice that you regularly return to in your personal or professional life? Embrace change! As dentists, we are A-type to the max and I know personally, having a sense of control feels so important. Maintaining lightness and a sense of humor is critical. Working with kids, it’s easy to fall back on that, but it doesn’t come naturally to us. A yoga teacher and good friend of mine always said, we should try to be more like kids! They are the best at living in the moment, always having a sense of playfulness and wonder in how they look at the world.

What would you be doing if you were not a dentist? I LOVE to cook. I could definitely see myself running a kitchen or opening a restaurant in another life.