DR PARAG P PATEL
“You can’t enjoy
good food with out
your teeth.”
Hello Dr. Patel, I see you have your own
practice in New York. Could you tell me
about yourself, your background and
how long you have been practicing?
Dr. Patel: I’ve been practicing since 1999
so it been almost 15 years. After I graduated I worked in New York at Flushing Hospital doing a general practice
residency for one (1) year. Then I passed
the California State Board and moved
to Los Angeles. I practiced in LA for
four (4) years and while I was out there,
I decided to check out Arizona because
the economy in California got hit
pretty badly after Enron. I got my
license for Arizona and pracVestibulum elit
ticed in Scottsdale. My father
had some medical issues so he
neque elit, vulputate in
politely asked me to move back
suscipit eu, et nunc.
to New York and take over his
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practice, which he was at for
about 30 years. He asked me to
dictum rutrum.
do a favor because it was his only
J.W.
source of income so I came back
to NY. I ran his clinic for about
seven (7) years and then I moved over
to a more high-end neighborhood.
“In the Bronx, I only
saw patients that
mostly had Medicaid
and was very limited
as to what I could do.
There was no comprehensive care; it’s
just whatever they
say the patients are
covered for. ”
66 TrafficMagazine/ Spring, 2014
life span, I have had a license in five (5)
states.
AM: I don’t think I know any doctors
with (5) licenses.
DP: I actually have met; I guess you
can call him the world’s most respected
dentist. His name is Gordon Christensen
and I think he has held a license in
almost every state. Which tough because
in his time, you had to take a test for
many regions, but now with certain states
if you have been practicing for a certain
number of years all you have to take is a
written test. You do not have to actually
work on real patients.
AM: Where did you do for dental school?
DP: I went to Boston University for dental school and I went to Lehigh University for my undergraduate. I was the Vice
President of the student body for two of
my four years there.
AM: What made you pursue a career in
dentistry?
In the Bronx, I only saw patients that
mostly had Medicaid and was very
limited as to what I could do. There was
no comprehensive care; it’s just whatever
they say the patients are covered for. So,
after about seven (7) years it was time
to move. So now I am in a Central Park
South location and it’s been about a year
and a half for us now. Everything is going great!
DP: Basically, my father. To be blatantly
honest, if you are Indian and your father
is a doctor, that’s what you’re going to be
doing.
So now that we are back in Manhattan,
we have the resources to send out our
message about the importance of oral
health as it relates to your overall wellness. I am also licensed in New Jersey
because I thought that I might want to
buy a practice in New Jersey. So in my
I just like working with my hands. I always like to draw. So that’s why I chose to
become a dentist more because you work
with your hands all day, everyday.
AM: Right.
DP: I have a twin brother and he is a
physician. So we have one doctor and
one dentist in the family as requested.
*laughing
Everyone in my parents’ social circle are
all doctors. They all immigrated together