My Journey
By Cynthia L . Schuler DMD
I ’ ve been lucky to have a variety of different careers within the world of dentistry over the past five decades .
I worked as a Certified Dental Assistant and a Registered Dental Hygienist for 10 years and then an associate dentist and a sole proprietor as a general dentist for 36 years . I retired from my practice in 2020 due to a hand disability , but am blessed to still be able to be involved in organized dentistry . I now serve as the Executive Director of the Dental Society of Western Pennsylvania and remain in several elected / appointed positions there , and at the PDA and ADA . As Confucius famously said , “ Do what you love and love what you do .” We can also use Nike ’ s famous tagline “ Just do it .” I can confidently say , “ I did , and I do .”
I have been asked to write an article about myself on a couple occasions . I have found it hard to do , but yet I seem to ramble on . There ’ s so much to say and so much to do that still excites me about dentistry after all these years .
Most of you who know me realize that organized dentistry is my other passion . Faith and family come first of course . Organized dentistry has afforded me many long and meaningful friendships made over these past 45 years . Since early in my career I found a way to intertwine family and dentistry . My credo in both my personal and professional lives has always been TEAM ( Together Everyone Achieves More ).
I can honestly say I can identify with all TEAM members as I have stood in their shoes in every aspect of the practice .
My credo in both my personal and professional lives has always been TEAM
( Together Everyone Achieves More )
The TEAM philosophy applies in our home , too , in order to keep that ship sailing . My husband of 46 years , Milton , also has been dedicated to my profession and professional life . There were times he served as my assistant on an emergency patient after hours or on the weekend . He attended all the professional meetings when spouses could attend . We made ADA , PDA and DSWP meetings family getaways as well . We have two awesome daughters who grew up going to my meetings . Stephanie was born in July on my summer break from my senior year of dental school at Pitt . So , you could say she attended dental school with me and after being born she practically walked down the aisle with me at graduation !
At my first PDA House of Delegates I was nine months pregnant with Natalie , my youngest . The meeting that year luckily was in Pittsburgh . Natalie often shared her birthdays with my DSWP colleagues at the PDA Annual Meeting in April and we would share our anniversary there too , as they are only one day apart . It was great that the whole gang would go out together and celebrate with us . Over the years I can only remember missing the PDA meeting for First Holy Communion until the House ceased to exist . I miss it so much and feel it is still needed . Bring back the PDA House of Delegates ! We continue to attend what is now called the PDM that replaced that meeting . Both of my sons-in-law and grandchildren ( 10 , 8 and 5 ) are also fellow attendees . We will all be at the ADA in Orlando this October too .
Through all these years we have faithfully attended the Three Rivers Dental Conference regardless of where it has been held – Downtown , Monroeville , Seven Springs or most recently Nemacolin Woodlands Resort .
28 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL