Name: Nico M
(First Name and Last Initial)
Advisory#: 13

Name of your host: Diederik Millenaar        Relationship to you: Father

The Interview: (ask your host these questions)

1. What is your job title?

Certified Specialist in Pediatric Dentistry.

2. What is your job description?

“I (Pediatric Dentists) provide premium care and comprehensive dental specialty treatments for infants or children without all their adult teeth” – Diedrik Millenaar

In other words, My father is a Dentist who specializes in fixing/cleaning children’s teeth. He often offers dietary instructions to ensure that cavities are easily prevented and provides brushing and flossing techniques. Children often have more anxiety than adults about going to the Dentist so Pediatric dentists (children dentists) are trained to handle anxious children with numerous tactics.

3. What are the duties and tasks you perform at your job?

As a paediatric Dentist, my father performs many duties and tasks to continue an efficient process within the office. As I shadowed my dad at work, I noticed that great communication skills are very important for Pediatric Dentists to have. By being able to thoroughly explain the procedure to the parents as well as justifying the cost, people will have faith in your confidence. Not to mention, not all children enjoy going to the dentist so keeping a calm composure and tone of voice is important to relax the patient. Other than body language and social skills, other important tasks are performed as well. My dad instructs oral hygiene skills to parents, implants crowns to protect bacteria from entering damaged nerves within the teeth, removes teeth that are beyond fixable and designs spacers to create room for adult teeth to emerge. I understand that all these tasks seem very technical and boring but when you watch the operations in action it they are quite fascinating. One incident in particular that caught my eye was when my dad and his colleagues removed four teeth from a five year old girl. Each staff member remained tranquil and collected while efficiently removing all four teeth. I admired how the dentists worked as a team and supported one another to safely extract all four teeth without a fuss.

4 What qualifications do you have for this job in the following areas:

a) training?

– One year general practice residency at Children’s hospital in Vancouver, B.C.
– Two year paediatric dental residency at Lutheran medical center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

b) Education?

– Highschool Diploma.
– Bachelor of Physed University of Western Ontario.
– Doctor of Dental Science (DDS). University of Western Ontario.

c) Experience?

– Almost 20 years of private practice pediatric Dentistry. (19 years).
– First five years spent working as an associate dentist for someone else’s practice.
– Opened up his own paediatric dental office 15 years ago.

d) Skills and attributes (personal qualities)?

– very detail oriented.
– skilled with hands.
– enjoys meeting new people.
– working independently.
– efficient.
– playful/ enjoys working with children.

5) What are some things you like about the job?

Some things my father likes about the job are being to work manually/ with his hands daily, create detailed work, be an expert in a particular workforce, meet new people and play/chat with children. Ever since my dad was a child he enjoyed constructing play dough structures and aligning soldiers so he was destined to find work that involved detailed manual labour. Throughout my father’s childhood his parents constantly switched jobs so he wanted to become an expert in one field so he did not have constantly transfer occupations. This childhood experience mainly fuelled his drive to become a pediatric dentist. As far as connecting with people socially goes, my dad has always been a social/ extroverted person so he enjoys being around new and familiar faces.

6) What are some things you dislike about this job?

Some things my dad dislikes about being a pediatric dentist is meeting close-minded parents, the business aspect and overly fussy/ crying patients. My dad often offers dietary instructions and brushing tips to prevent future cavities but when parents ignore these guidelines future cavities occur. This is frustrating because the objective of a dentist is to cure and prevent cavities so when children are continuously being treated for cavities it upsets my dad because the problem is easily fixable. Many parents do not brush their child’s teeth if he starts to cry or moan and forget to keep an open mind about preventing cavities. Not to mention, my dad hates competing Excel, business worksheets for his office because he says it ” bored’s him to tears”. Last but not least, when children are crying and overly fussy it prevents my dad from safely being able to operate on their teeth and frustrates my father. Many children cry momentarily while at the dentist of are anxious upon arrival (which is perfectly acceptable) but when the crying is constant and disruptive it can be frustrating to dentists.

7) How do you anticipate this job changing in the next 5 years or so?

In the next 5 years my dad envisions his job not changing too drastically the competitiveness will increase due to incoming graduates. Vancouver recently opened a paediatric dental training centre so many more dentists in the future will be looking to open up practices downtown and in the Tri-Cities to begin their new life-chapter. This ensures that all pediatric dentists including my ad will have to be exceptionally good at their job to keep their cliental. Eventually my father will hire a dental associate so he can work less and enjoy Vancouver’s beautiful attractions once my sister and I move out. Overall these are the few changes my dad believes will happen in his job for the future and strongly agrees that robots/ artificial intelligence will not overtake his job.

Student Reflections:

1. Give three reasons why you would like this job ( be specific)

a) Teamwork with staff: While I was observing my dad at work I noticed the healthy relationship and respect all the colleagues had for each other. They were constantly joking around off duty and help each other succeed while completing their tasks. I aspire to work in an environment similar to this one because it is extremely positive and close-knit.

b) Very social work environment: Jobs that isolate you in a small cubicle for eight hours have never intrigued me because it seems very boring and depressing so I was intrigued that pediatric dentists are constantly moving and interacting with people. My father continuously met with patients throughout the day and spent time laughing with his staff on breaks. This is an ideal work environment personally because I enjoy interacting with people and discussing topics with people who share common interests. The office my dad works at fills my criteria beautifully because one on one interactions with parents and children are constant throughout the day of pediatric dentist and colleagues who share common interests are right by your side. Often in school I feel restless when seated for Long hours so a job that involves lots of movement intrigues me as well.

c) Leadership skills and/or lead a staff to succeed: Since my dad owns his office he helps his staff make critical decisions and recognizes their strengths to create a hard-working, positive zone. Many bosses focus on minor mistakes and never applaud the good actions performed at work which causes stress and an un-enjoyable work environment. I liked how pediatric dentists like my dad make their employees feel appreciated by acknowledging their strengths and helps them grow in their field by loaning friendly advice. I am very fond of teamwork and working hard to make sure the team benefits so I would enjoy leading a staff in a field we collectively enjoy.

2. Give three reasons why you would not like this job

a) screaming children: As I shadowed my dad at his office I observed my dad as he extracted two teeth from a four year old boy. The boy was crying for over 15 minutes before he breathed in some nitrous oxide to fall asleep for the procedure. My eardrums were ringing the entire time and I felt really uncomfortable being around the deafening noise of a young child crying and screaming. After the successful appointment I asked my dad if this situation happens often and he said ” Yea,occasionally”. First of all I applaud my dad for being able to stay patient during an episode like that because I was extremely annoyed by the incident. I understand that children are sensitive and cry more often but I personally would not like a job where treating children who are crying uncontrollably is a regular occurrence.

b) Use of needles: Ever since I was an infant I have been afraid of needles and despised them. As a pediatric dentist, my dad uses needles to numb soft tissues to relieve pain during sealants and extractions. Although I am sure I could overcome my fear of needles by practicing with the often, my mind was still off-ease while watching the numbing medication being injected into the gums.

c) over-protective/ nervous parents: Throughout my eight hour day working along-side my father I noticed many parents interrupting their child and answering questions that my dad specifically asked the child. This was frustrating to me because I imagined myself in my father’s shoes asking the child questions. The objective would obviously be to develop a relationship with the child but if the parent kept interrupting the child’s response then that connection is lost. Not to mention the child could get nervous around the doctor the less they know about him. Incidents like these would annoy me because it inflicts with the purpose of the job. All in all this is not my fondest aspect of being a pediatric dentist.

3. Is this job for you? why or why not?

Although I respect my dad’s line of work and his office, I am personally not going to pursue the career of becoming a pediatric dentist. I enjoy business and flipping for profits so I do not believe being a pediatric dentist would make me love my job. I admire the staff and positive work environment built around my dad’s office but I would not enjoy being a doctor and dealing with oral hygiene daily. In the future I could possibly open dental franchises because it involves a more business related opportunities rather than dental work. This way I would being able to interact with the staff at separate franchise locations and work in a field that I enjoy.

4. Explain the value of the TYKTW experience in relation to your ideas about your post secondary (after high school) plans (education?. Training?. Travel?. Work?.).

I believe the TYKTW experience is important in relation to post secondary ideas because it helps analyze the steps to achieve the job your parents have or establish another route for education. By interviewing my father, Diederik Millenaar, I found out the proper training, education and skills to help become a pediatric dentist. If I was interested in the dental field this excursion would have been extremely helpful because now I know the path to take in order to become a pediatric dentist. Not to mention, I am now certain that I am personally am not going to pursue a dental career with the help of the TYKTW experience. I have always been disinterested in dentistry so this experience helped prove my theory. In regards to the mass audience of people who participated in the TYKTW event, many people could be in a position where they feel they have to take over their parents job/company and this experience could aid them with the decision of filling their parents shoes or establishing their own destiny.