Interview with Dr. Rebecca Bockow

While Dr. Bockow talks about how when she was in dental school, she had the opportunity to go see graduate level combined seminars featuring leading experts such as Frank Spear and Dave Matthews, and she was fascinated by everything she heard them share about the dental world beyond single tooth dentistry. 

Then Becca was offered the opportunity to go to the Seattle Symposium. Although it was a financial struggle for her to cover the cost of transportation and lodging, she did not want to miss her chance and found a way to make it work. 

Dr. Bockow shares how that symposium changed her life. She also began practicing with Dr. Glen Krieger, who was very committed to continuing education. Becca was getting all of the CE she could possibly fit into her schedule, and the learning shaped her practice. 

She shares, "I started thinking as I was practicing, that a lot of the issues I was seeing as a restorative dentist were because the foundation itself was breaking down the bone and the teeth were in the wrong place. And I thought if I can set the foundation and I can work with a phenomenal or multiple phenomenal restorative dentists, they can put it all back together." 

Dr. Bockow shares about how she found her way into dentistry even though the rest of her family members were in medicine. She talks about how her love of working with her hands, which was a hobby at first, fused with her occupational interests, paving her way to dentistry.

Becca also shares about the limitations of dental school and the importance of continuing education throughout our dental careers.

She states, "It's hard [in dental school] to also incorporate things at advanced levels like interdisciplinary care. And so we can think of dental school as a starting point for our career of lifelong learning. Joints and mounting models... A lot that we can't get through because of we have we have so much other material to cover in dental school. Similarly in residency, if a residency program is two to three years, depending on where you go, by the time you learn about records and how to move teeth and just the basics of growth and development... It's hard to teach it all." 

Dr. Bockow and Dr. Hartlieb discuss the way that habits and positioning impact bone development. Becca shares some of the cases she is seeing in her office and the approach she takes when considering how to treat those patients. 

Dr. Bockow states, "In the dental community, we have an opportunity to ask new questions. And to get very curious in a way that we [haven't so far]. If we start asking our questions at age twelve, we've missed a lot of information."

Listen in as Dr. Bockow shares how powerful teams can be when many professionals with different areas of expertise work together to treatment plan and to positively impact patients' lives. Becca also shares what it's like to balance professional life with family life. 

Dr. Bockow says, "I have two little girls, and I hope that they will see that their mom works, and I hope that inspires them to know that they can do anything they want to do, whatever place they find joy in their professional life one day."

The interview wraps up with Dr. Hartlieb and Dr. Bockow talking about owning a practice and the challenges that can be part of that ownership, and finally, they share some thoughts about what might help young dentists.

To young dentists, Dr. Bockow offers this advice: "Constantly seek opportunities to learn, find mentors, and just continue to grow and know that we're always learning and always trying to do better."