

For the next five years, I continued to live in Los Angeles. I left the corporate position for one in private practice working with a friend and his mother. The commute was much shorter and the team could not have been more enjoyable! I gained experiences working with a different demographic of patients, my communication, diagnosis, and treatment planning improved, and I began to understand the structure of a dental office. Based on my passion for population health, academics, and seeing the bigger picture — I decided to return to school part-time, fully employed, and get my MBA from Pepperdine. I found this experience to be eye-opening in that I learned how much I enjoy entrepreneurship and business. An MBA is great because it really does give you the confidence to believe that you can accomplish anything you want if you structure it carefully and have passion. (You also learn a little bit about marketing and finance along the way). At this point, I was working three days a week as an associate dentist in private practice, going to night school two nights a week, working at the UCLA School of dentistry, one day a week, and flying to Sacramento once or twice a quarter to advocate for the profession at large. I LOVED the variety. For someone who enjoys a continuous state of growth, it fed every aspect of my hungry to learn being. I felt well rounded in learning the variety of pathways for me in the profession. Did I want to work in public health, private practice, academics, policy, or a corporate environment?

Note: If you’re looking at purchasing a practice or starting up from scratch, I would HIGHLY suggest thinking about what kind of dentistry you want to be doing on a daily basis, your business model, and what you enjoy the most about the profession. Simply answering these questions for yourself will direct you.
I’ve worked in HMO practices, PPO based practices, and fee for service. I’ve taught, I’ve been involved in political debate, and I’ve clinically mentored. I volunteered my time to worthy organizations within the industry and the community. All of these experiences were molding me into the dentist I am today. Finishing up my 11th year of practice, I am proud of the road I took to get here and also feel I can provide insight, mentorship, and guidance, to those who are asking the same questions I once did.
All of this definitely does not mean I am ready to stop learning! I am currently focused on cosmetic dentistry and more complex cases therefore I am dedicating most of my extra time to clinically relevant continuing education courses, such as at the Kois Center and Spear Education. I am pursuing my fellowship with the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. I am a mentor for the UCSF aesthetic study club and have been involved with the San Francisco Dental Society’s legislative committee and professional development committee. Most notable though, have been my involvements in the community through the Battery, the Chamber of Commerce, and the SF Women’s March. I also interned for Senator Scott Wiener! As you can see, my passions still intertwined with helping people on a greater scale than just the individual patient. What can I say? I believe people should be smiling because I have helped them smile from within AND because they are proud of how beautiful they look.



If you have any questions or need advice about different pathways in dentistry- please feel free to shoot me an email! As a former member of multiple New Dentist Committees, I know how important mentorship is at early stages of the career and how much there is to learn! You can reach me at: infoskoulas@gmail.com