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Thanks for listening.
Now here's the episode.

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- This is Riz Hatten

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with the Becker's Dental PST SO podcast.

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I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr.

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Suzanne Ebert, vice President

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of Dental Professional
Career Services at the

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American Dental Association.

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Dr. Ebert, thank you so
much for being here today.

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- Thank you so much for having me, rose.

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It's great to be here.

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- It's great to hear. To start us off,

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could you introduce yourself

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and tell us a bit about your background?

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- Absolutely. I am, as
you said, Suzanne Ebert.

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I am a general dentist.

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I've got a little over 20
years of clinical experience.

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I've been a solo practitioner
in private practice.

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I've been adjunct faculty in academia

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and I did a little stint in
public health where I was the,

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uh, adjunct faculty, extramural rotation

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director for senior dental students

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at the University of Florida.

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So currently, uh, for the last
five years I've been working

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with the American Dental Association

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and I'm really excited
to be heading up a new

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key initiative at the A DA

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that's really all about
helping our professionals

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navigate their professional career path.

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- Fantastic. What an interesting
background. Thank you.

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My first question for you is,

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what are the biggest issues you're

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following in dental today?

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- Well, it has been so cool

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because here at the a DA,

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we have been really laser
focused in the all of 2023

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I'm discovering and
really ideating solutions

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to the major roadblocks that
are faced by our dentist

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and working with them
to craft real solutions.

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So some of the biggest issues

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that we're actively working
on solving throughout the A DA

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are things like licensure, portability,

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insurance reimbursements, even associate

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contract evaluation

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and helping our docs with
their negotiation skills.

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And one of the things that
really excites me is helping them

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to figure out what is the right job

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or practice modality

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that's gonna really fit
the dentist's personality

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and individual needs.

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Because, you know, let's
face it, we all know

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that when you find the right position,

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you're gonna be happier and
more successful long term.

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- Right. That all sounds
really interesting.

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What are you most excited about

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and what makes you nervous
when it comes to dentistry?

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- Well, now I've seen, uh,

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dentistry from multiple areas
I am most excited about the

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real commitments that I'm seeing

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among my professional colleagues

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to really embrace the future of dentistry.

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There just seems to be
a new level of respect

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for all the young doctors
that are out there.

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I mean, they've successfully
entered the profession

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and combined with that,
there's a greater, I think,

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appreciation for those staff members.

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Our auxiliaries, our
hygienists, they work so hard

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to make our lives easier.

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And as far as what makes me nervous,

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I guess I'm seeing more and more

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of our doctors who've
been out, it seems like

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around five to seven years.

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They're just not content
with where they are

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or how they're practicing.

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And what they're telling us is

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that maybe they're
feeling a little bit stuck

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and they're unsure of who
to turn to for advice.

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And that's where the American
Dental Association is putting

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forth just a ton of energy and resources.

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We wanna provide those doctors
with a trusted, you know,

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truly neutral source of information.

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And excitingly on my
end is even, you know,

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providing them a point person to listen

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and just guide them to
all the great support

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materials that we have for them.

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- That's great to hear.
What can dental dentists at

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different practices do to make sure

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that the other dentists in
their practice feel supported?

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- Oh, I just think that having a network,

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having somebody right
there on site, especially

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for these young doctors
to be able to turn to

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and have a very respectful,

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and I think that's often the key,

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is a very respectful relationship

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and dialogue about

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often conflicting views on how

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to provide the best patient care.

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So I think having an open
dialogue with your onsite mentors,

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and then again, having somebody

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or a place that you can turn when

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you know maybe something
doesn't quite seem right

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or you're having a problem,

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is there somebody else that you can go to?

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I think it's just so important
to have that network.

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- That's really interesting.

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You know, what you said about mentorship.

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Do you have, um, any
experiences yourself, um,

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where you may, may have had
like a really good mentor

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that helped support you?

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- I will never forget one of
my residency program directors,

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Dr. Collins, he was a periodontist

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and, uh, at my GPR that I did in Florida

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back in the nineties, boy,
I hate to date myself.

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Um, he just, again, it all came down

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to the respectful
relationship that we had.

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He was very open to thinking
outside the box along with me

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and helped to really encourage me to view

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not just the individual situation,

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but how it would affect the next step.

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He always made me think, what's
the next step in the process

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and how is the decision that
I make today going to affect

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what happens tomorrow, the
next day, 10 years from now?

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And that was a wonderful
mentoring relationship.

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- That's amazing. You're
definitely lucky there

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to have such a great mentor.

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My next question for you is,

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what will the most effective
healthcare leaders need

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to be successful in the
next two to three years?

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- Well, our healthcare leaders
really have a responsibility

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to the public and their
professional colleagues

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to have a willingness to adapt.

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I mean, we all know
that things are changing

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so quickly in healthcare overall,

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and our leaders on medical, dental,

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all healthcare providers need
to be very open-minded about,

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you know, using new technology,
understanding new ways

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of working, and even new ways of learning,

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uh, significant skills.

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Um, perhaps maybe even, you know,

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using vr virtual reality
type, uh, technology

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to learn different skills.

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But I would say most importantly,
a willingness to embrace

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that oral health is a reflection

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and a significant contributor
to overall health.

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We have to work together as a
healthcare community in order

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to achieve the best outcomes
for all of our patients.

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- That's really interesting.

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Could you talk a little bit
more about the importance of,

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of oral health to overall health

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and kind of what initiatives
are being taken in the dental

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industry to really promote that idea?

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- What I love right now is the research

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that's going into the chronic inflammation

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of periodontal disease

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and how it can contribute to Alzheimer's.

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We've all heard about
the links between perio

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and cardiac issues

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and you know, low birth weight
babies, you know, diabetes

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and how it can affect periodontal health.

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But this particular piece
of research that links

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the chronic inflammation
associated with periodontal disease

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to Alzheimer's, I mean,
wow, that is something

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that makes us all sit up and take notice.

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And then of course we
have all of the, you know,

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sleep apnea, the breathing issues.

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You know, how do we as a dental community

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effectively communicate
with our medical colleagues

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and vice versa to make sure
that we're all involved

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in a comprehensive treatment
plan for our patients.

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It's just such an exciting time

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in healthcare overall.

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- Wow. Well, thank you so much Dr.

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Ebert, for your
fascinating insights today.

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Um, thank you so much for joining us,

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and I look forward to

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connecting with you again in the future.

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- Thank you so much for
having me. This was great.

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- It's so important for leaders
at the top of organizations

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sharp, grow their networks,

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help our audience better do
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personalized, and meaningful way.

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