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- This is Riz Hatten
with the Becker's Dental PST SO podcast.
I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr.
Suzanne Ebert, vice President
of Dental Professional Career Services at the
American Dental Association.
Dr. Ebert, thank you so much for being here today.
- Thank you so much for having me, rose.
It's great to be here.
- It's great to hear. To start us off,
could you introduce yourself
and tell us a bit about your background?
- Absolutely. I am, as you said, Suzanne Ebert.
I am a general dentist.
I've got a little over 20 years of clinical experience.
I've been a solo practitioner in private practice.
I've been adjunct faculty in academia
and I did a little stint in public health where I was the,
uh, adjunct faculty, extramural rotation
director for senior dental students
at the University of Florida.
So currently, uh, for the last five years I've been working
with the American Dental Association
and I'm really excited to be heading up a new
key initiative at the A DA
that's really all about helping our professionals
navigate their professional career path.
- Fantastic. What an interesting background. Thank you.
My first question for you is,
what are the biggest issues you're
following in dental today?
- Well, it has been so cool
because here at the a DA,
we have been really laser focused in the all of 2023
I'm discovering and really ideating solutions
to the major roadblocks that are faced by our dentist
and working with them to craft real solutions.
So some of the biggest issues
that we're actively working on solving throughout the A DA
are things like licensure, portability,
insurance reimbursements, even associate
contract evaluation
and helping our docs with their negotiation skills.
And one of the things that really excites me is helping them
to figure out what is the right job
or practice modality
that's gonna really fit the dentist's personality
and individual needs.
Because, you know, let's face it, we all know
that when you find the right position,
you're gonna be happier and more successful long term.
- Right. That all sounds really interesting.
What are you most excited about
and what makes you nervous when it comes to dentistry?
- Well, now I've seen, uh,
dentistry from multiple areas I am most excited about the
real commitments that I'm seeing
among my professional colleagues
to really embrace the future of dentistry.
There just seems to be a new level of respect
for all the young doctors that are out there.
I mean, they've successfully entered the profession
and combined with that, there's a greater, I think,
appreciation for those staff members.
Our auxiliaries, our hygienists, they work so hard
to make our lives easier.
And as far as what makes me nervous,
I guess I'm seeing more and more
of our doctors who've been out, it seems like
around five to seven years.
They're just not content with where they are
or how they're practicing.
And what they're telling us is
that maybe they're feeling a little bit stuck
and they're unsure of who to turn to for advice.
And that's where the American Dental Association is putting
forth just a ton of energy and resources.
We wanna provide those doctors with a trusted, you know,
truly neutral source of information.
And excitingly on my end is even, you know,
providing them a point person to listen
and just guide them to all the great support
materials that we have for them.
- That's great to hear. What can dental dentists at
different practices do to make sure
that the other dentists in their practice feel supported?
- Oh, I just think that having a network,
having somebody right there on site, especially
for these young doctors to be able to turn to
and have a very respectful,
and I think that's often the key,
is a very respectful relationship
and dialogue about
often conflicting views on how
to provide the best patient care.
So I think having an open dialogue with your onsite mentors,
and then again, having somebody
or a place that you can turn when
you know maybe something doesn't quite seem right
or you're having a problem,
is there somebody else that you can go to?
I think it's just so important to have that network.
- That's really interesting.
You know, what you said about mentorship.
Do you have, um, any experiences yourself, um,
where you may, may have had like a really good mentor
that helped support you?
- I will never forget one of my residency program directors,
Dr. Collins, he was a periodontist
and, uh, at my GPR that I did in Florida
back in the nineties, boy, I hate to date myself.
Um, he just, again, it all came down
to the respectful relationship that we had.
He was very open to thinking outside the box along with me
and helped to really encourage me to view
not just the individual situation,
but how it would affect the next step.
He always made me think, what's the next step in the process
and how is the decision that I make today going to affect
what happens tomorrow, the next day, 10 years from now?
And that was a wonderful mentoring relationship.
- That's amazing. You're definitely lucky there
to have such a great mentor.
My next question for you is,
what will the most effective healthcare leaders need
to be successful in the next two to three years?
- Well, our healthcare leaders really have a responsibility
to the public and their professional colleagues
to have a willingness to adapt.
I mean, we all know that things are changing
so quickly in healthcare overall,
and our leaders on medical, dental,
all healthcare providers need to be very open-minded about,
you know, using new technology, understanding new ways
of working, and even new ways of learning,
uh, significant skills.
Um, perhaps maybe even, you know,
using vr virtual reality type, uh, technology
to learn different skills.
But I would say most importantly, a willingness to embrace
that oral health is a reflection
and a significant contributor to overall health.
We have to work together as a healthcare community in order
to achieve the best outcomes for all of our patients.
- That's really interesting.
Could you talk a little bit more about the importance of,
of oral health to overall health
and kind of what initiatives are being taken in the dental
industry to really promote that idea?
- What I love right now is the research
that's going into the chronic inflammation
of periodontal disease
and how it can contribute to Alzheimer's.
We've all heard about the links between perio
and cardiac issues
and you know, low birth weight babies, you know, diabetes
and how it can affect periodontal health.
But this particular piece of research that links
the chronic inflammation associated with periodontal disease
to Alzheimer's, I mean, wow, that is something
that makes us all sit up and take notice.
And then of course we have all of the, you know,
sleep apnea, the breathing issues.
You know, how do we as a dental community
effectively communicate with our medical colleagues
and vice versa to make sure that we're all involved
in a comprehensive treatment plan for our patients.
It's just such an exciting time
in healthcare overall.
- Wow. Well, thank you so much Dr.
Ebert, for your fascinating insights today.
Um, thank you so much for joining us,
and I look forward to
connecting with you again in the future.
- Thank you so much for having me. This was great.
- It's so important for leaders at the top of organizations
to keep learning, stay sharp, grow their networks,
help our audience better do this in a more simplified,
personalized, and meaningful way.
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