b'Tell us about your familyexpecting a son. Her blessing was important. The other factor was an I met my wife at the dental school. She became anincredible program and program director that we had at CU. orthodontist. She is a third-generation dentist andWhy did you choose to become a periodontist?always wanted to be one. Because of immigration regulations, I had to leave her in Russia for almostI was placing and restoring implants, performing sinus lifts, extracting seven years before she was able to join me in America.wisdom teeth, and performing other surgical procedures long before Those were tough times, as I was spending half of myresidency.At that time, I remember questioning myself. Am I doing these time in Russia, and half of my time in America. My firstprocedures correctly? Am I using the right materials and techniques? daughter was born in Moscow, and I couldnt see herI started attending seminars and courses. I still felt that I lacked a for two years. This was an era before smart phonesprofound understanding of what I was doing. Once in residency, I felt and FaceTime. She is 17 now and aspires to be anlike I found what I was looking for - foundations for everything that we orthodontist like her mother. Currently, she helps me atdo. Plus, I always liked the microsurgical approach, minimally invasive my practice a lot. techniques, and saving teeth. Were you involved in any dental activitiesAre you working in private practice, academics?before dental school? I do both and I love it. At CU we had DISC training and one of the Before I was accepted into dental school in the U.S., Imodules is discovering what needs to be changed in your life to improve was trying to work as much as possible in the field ofyour overall happiness. I was right in the middle and needed nothing to dentistry. I was an assistant in several multispecialtychange. I am happy as a clam. I work with patients, students, residents offices first; then I became a CEREC Technician.and feel I have achieved a perfect balance.Working with CAD/CAM made me interested in new technologies and esthetics. I started taking classes andWhat do you enjoy most about your current workworking in a dental lab in Queens, NY, working withas a periodontist? porcelain. What an incredibly fascinating field! The trueI love to think that my specialty improves the lives of others. We are art of color, light, shape, and beauty. One thing that Iin pursuit of expanding our horizons and helping our patients and did miss during this time in my life was doing dentistrycolleagues achieve a healthy state. I feel I never get tired from working with my own hands, helping people, and bringing smileswith people and my patients. I work in a practice with an endodontist, to patients.and I think its a great opportunity to learn emerging therapies in their Where did you attend dental school?specialty. Managing an office is a challenge, but its worth the effort to be able to serve the public. When I am at school, I enjoy working I attended Moscow State Dental School. Dentalwith my awesome residents, all of whom are very talented. I always get school is a five-year program combined with medicalsatisfaction from sharing different techniques with them and seeing them education. We had rotations in dermatology, internalgetting excited. medicine, gynecology, and oral surgery, to name a few.I had to quit school as my family immigrated to theWhy did you pursue board certification?U.S. as political refugees. My happiest day was whenI didnt know it was optional! Its a challenge. It was a challenge to get I received a call from Dr. Beth Towne, the Internationalinto dental school, residency, practice, and when this all happened, Student Program (ISP) Director at the University ofI started thinking, What else can I do to get to the highest level of Colorado (CU) saying that I was accepted into theexpertise and standard of care? I still have the same question, am I Program.doing things right for my patients? What would my mentors do? Being a Where/when did you complete yourboard-certified periodontist, I feel I need to always keep my expertise at the highest level. I also hope that I am setting an example for my children periodontal residency? to never stop exploring and to work hard to pursue your dream.After graduating from the ISP Program, I had no intentions to do any residencies. All I wanted to do wasWhat does board certification mean to you?to start working. It was my wife who first told me that ITo me, board certification means that I am moving forward, and I only came home excited when I did something surgicalcontinue to learn and improve my knowledge. It is also a confirmation at work. Only after her permission I agreed to apply tothat I am moving in the right direction, and it allows me to have an extra periodontal residencies and be back in school for threelevel of confidence in my practice. It was not easy to achieve, but if one more years. At that time, we had two girls and werestays up-to-date and continues to learn, it is not impossible. AAP Periospectives| 43'