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Patients typically have a mental construct of the dental experience. Perhaps the room is 5 degrees too cold, and has walls that are an awful shade of off-white. Perhaps the shriek of a dental drill pierces into the waiting room. Aside from the dental work, the aura of the office itself can put patients on edge long before they learn if they need anything more than a cleaning.

Enter Dr. Sara Creighton. During her final year of dental school at the University of the Pacific, Dr. Creighton began planning for her first dental office. From the get-go, she recognized the drawbacks of traditional dental office designs. “The way that [dental] spaces are designed don’t make people feel great, and having proper space design is close to my heart.”

PART 2- Reinventing Himself and His Field

Becoming a Facebook Liaison (and Unpaid Consultant)

In 2010, Dr. Howard Farran of Dentaltown called up Dr. Zuckerberg for help. Dr. Farran couldn’t add more than 5000 friends to his Facebook business account, and needed to expand his business reach beyond his first 5000 contacts. “I said, gee Howard, as far as I know, Facebook will let your business have as many friends as you want.” It became clear that Dr. Farran had set up his page as a personal profile, limiting its reach to 5000 friends. Luckily, Dr. Zuckerberg knew a few folks working at Facebook. He made a couple calls and had Dr. Farran’s profile converted to a business page.

PART 1: Dr. Edward Zuckerberg’s Road from Brooklyn to Palo Alto

Being an entrepreneur isn’t a career. It’s an attitude. It’s a willingness to experiment, take risks and dive headfirst into new and risky projects. Dentists are by their very nature tinkerers, fixers, those able to identify and solve problems. It takes a true entrepreneur, though, to foster an environment and spread this attitude to others.

By any measure, Dr. Edward Zuckerberg has done just that. He’s spent a lifetime experimenting and fiddling with the newest technology in his in-house dental office. And together, his wife and he have raised a very successful entrepreneur, media & TV personality, author/editor and venture capitalist along the way.

I’m honored to present our very first Supply Clinic Spotlight on a good friend of mine, Dr. Matthew Stout. An artist at heart, Dr. Stout shaped his orthodontic residency into one of experimental innovation. Veering far from his comfort zone (and that of most of his faculty), he found himself developing a new product and managing a multi-departmental team at the University of Washington.

Inspired by my close friend Jon Youshaei and his Every Vowel project, I’ve recently decided to start a biweekly(ish) content page called Supply Clinic Spotlight to feature dentists and dental professionals that have contributed to the evolution of the field. It is my mission to seek out innovative individuals, highlight their creative processes, and reflect on the struggles and opportunities of turning an idea into reality.