Nipa Thakkar , DMD FIRST DISTRICT
Dentistry lets me create art and advocate for my patients ’ oral health , all while carrying a torch my father lit over 40 years ago .
Did you always know you wanted to be a dentist when you were younger ? If not , what did you want to be when you grew up ?
My dad is a dentist , so I ’ ve always been familiar with dentistry . I was a teacher at a private art studio for many years , and almost bought that art studio after college . For a while after that , I thought I might go to law school . But dentistry lets me create art and advocate for my patients ’ oral health , all while carrying a torch my father lit over 40 years ago .
What motivated you to pursue a career in organized dentistry ?
Being a dentist without participating in organized dentistry is like allowing a contractor to build you a home without giving them a blueprint . Not wanting to have a say in where your profession is headed means that you have no right to complain about where you end up . I am involved because I want to know that I ’ ve left my profession better than I ’ ve found it . Some of that will happen in my practice , but I hope that a great deal of that is a result of the time and work I have put into organized dentistry .
When and where did you attend dental school ?
I am a 2012 graduate of Temple University ’ s Kornberg School of Dentistry .
Where do you currently practice ?
I am a general dentist in West Chester . I bought my office about three years ago .
What do you believe is the most challenging issue facing dentistry as a profession ?
I think the most challenging issue in dentistry today is the rapidly changing landscape . I do not think this profession has had to pivot as quickly or efficiently as it has been forced to in recent years . From midlevel providers , amalgam protesters , fluoride theorists , a weakening ADA membership market share , DIY dentistry , the COVID pandemic , PPE shortages , rising overhead costs , third party payer issues , student debt , all the way to public perception and toxic social media dental trends , it sometimes seems like the profession of dentistry is constantly being battered like a coastline during a tsunami . I do not think any one issue is more important than any other issue – we are all affected at different times and in different ways by each of these challenges .
What do you believe is the most challenging issue facing organized dentistry ?
I would say the coordinated response and strategic planning that must go into being proactive to all of the aforementioned blows dentistry has been dealt .
DR . THAKKAR ’ S PERSONAL STORY I grew up on Long Island , NY . My father is a dentist there , and I always imagined I would go home and practice with him . Life had other plans , and I am happier in Pennsylvania than I could have ever imagined being if I had not taken the chance to stay here . I have an older brother , Ashish Thakkar . He is a pulmonary / critical care physician in Knoxville , TN and New York City . I am married three years now . My husband is an allergy / immunology physician who is currently building his own allergy practice in Exton , Pa ., while working for the Main Line Hospital system . We don ’ t have children , but our fur babies are the loves of our life . I have two rescue pups and a 12-year-old cat , and most of my spare time is spent entertaining them . I am also a big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters to a wonderful 10-year-old girl named Gianna , and I am a Rotarian with the Westtown-Goshen Rotary Club .
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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 13