The Mirror, December 2018 The Mirror, December 2018 | Page 33

`v
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
00gg
Dr. Greg Westman Cont’d
After 29 years, I’m still travelling to the University of Toronto in the spring to instruct in the pre-
clinical pediatric dental course for the 2 nd year dental students. Along with four other Canadian
pediatric dentist (including our executive director, Ross Anderson) I travel to Iqaluit Nunavut to
provide dental care to Inuit children under general anesthesia at Qikiqtani General Hospital.
Why I volunteer
As a Pediatric Dentist I believe it is our responsibility to help our profession and society.
Volunteering is a good role model for our children and patients. Another benefit of volunteering
is being able to network with other community members and professionals.
Message to Pediatric Dentist about the value of volunteering
On top of Haleakala,
Maui
In order to promote pediatric dental health to the public and other health professional, we need to
have an organized effort to communicate at several levels. Locally, provincially and nationally. This takes the commitment
of many individuals. If all Pediatric Dentists would volunteer at one of these levels our message to improve the oral health
of children would be better heard.
Innovations in the profession
Although I enjoy doing restorative dentistry on children, I would hope a more medical/preventive based practice will arrive
in the near future. Advancements in preventive measures and materials should decrease the need for traditional “drill, fill
or pull”. I can see a future where pediatric dentist do the diagnosis and treatment planning and auxiliaries (Robots?) do
the operative procedures. Hopefully the contribution of good oral health to overall general health will be recognized by the
general population and other health care professionals.
What I do to relax and unwind
Family life is important to me. I have four children and I became a grandfather in June 2017. We have
a cottage near Magnetawan Ontario. In spring, summer and fall I try to get to the cottage as often as
possible. There I can enjoy the outdoors, boating, canoeing, swimming and fishing. More often than
not when I’m at cottage, I spend time maintaining things and being “Mr.Fixit”. I enjoy travelling,
especially in Canada. Most trips involve a lot of hiking.
Music is another of my interests. I have a good knowledge of rock music trivia from the 1960’s to the
present time. My home office has a large collection of vinyl records and CD’s. As I try to play the
guitar, there is also a small collection of guitars.
My first grandchild,
Everett, 21/6/17
Comments
Canadian Pediatric Dentists have been fortunate to have a career that has provided them and their families with a
respectable lifestyle. We are all busy taking care of the children in our communities but there are many children in our
country that do not get adequate dental care due to finances or geography. I would hope we all are willing to treat patients
with limited financial resources or with government sponsored benefits. From my past experiences I have special interest
in providing care to the First Nation and Inuit children. Hopefully the access to care for all children will increase. We can
all do our part to improve this situation.