Discovering a ‘Direct’ Path to a Happy Dental Career

Finding one’s happy place in the dental industry can be easier said than done, and for some, it takes a healthy dose of trial and error before landing in the right operatory.

“I graduated dental school, I associated, and I did not enjoy it,” recalled Ronni Brown, DDS, MPH, FADI. “After a few years, I realized I definitely was not on the path to practice ownership, and that I needed to be on my own path to really find my passion in dentistry.”

After coming across an ad for a dentist at a medium-security correctional facility, her path to career happiness was finally in sight.

“I remember thinking, I will never work here, but I need to practice my interviewing skills. When I walked into the facility, it was different than what I expected. It looked like a country club. They told me I’d be the only dentist providing emergency dental services to the population in pain, and it piqued my interested because I enjoy the concept of defining the delivery of dental care for a population. I pulled the dental assistant aside and asked, ‘What’s it really like to work here?’ And she said, ‘This will be the best job you’ve ever had.’

That was 26 years ago.”

Small Paper, Big Time Saver

Today, Dr. Brown is a well-known researcher, speaker, and author whose passion is bridging the gap between the fields of dentistry, public health, and substance abuse. In addition to helping dental teams learn how to recognize, communicate with, and treat patients whose lives and smiles have been impacted by addiction, Dr. Ronni Brown also is a member of ThePrimeClub-USA, a carefully curated group of dental professionals who will dedicate their time, expertise, and extensive clinical knowledge to Directa USA in the spirit of new product innovation.

Dr. Brown’s relationship with Directa USA began after being asked to evaluate TrollFoil articulating paper for Dental Product Shopper. “I absolutely loved it,” she said. “It marked so precisely, and I liked the fact that it didn’t require articulating forceps and I could position it correctly for the patient. At the end of the day, articulating paper is something we all use, and it’s that point in the procedure that determines whether I’m running late or running on time. TrollFoil makes me run on time.”

Another favorite product of Dr. Brown is the Luxator P-Series, which are thin and sharp instruments designed to cut the periodontal ligaments prior to extractions. Available in 4 different blade tips, Luxators offer good tactility and a penholder grip to improve access and help clinicians achieve atraumatic and controlled extractions. “I do a lot of oral surgery, and I have really fallen in love with this product because it helps facilitate and ease the extraction,” said Dr. Brown. “It almost serves as a navigation tool in understanding the anatomy of the tooth, and it doesn’t require force.”

As a member of ThePrimeClub-USA, Dr. Brown will work alongside other general dentists, specialists, and hygienists to ensure Directa USA’s product portfolio continues to offer innovative solutions like TrollFoil and Luxator P-Series.

Prime Time to Fight Misconceptions

Members of ThePrimeClub-USA also will share their knowledge and expertise in lectures and teaching across the U.S. This gives Dr. Brown the opportunity to shed light on her experience practicing dentistry in a correctional facility, which brings a unique set of challenges compared with her colleagues in private practice. It’s an increasingly important perspective to share, especially as studies show that up to 85% of the prison population has an active substance use disorder.

“Because I work at a prison, I’m doing a lot of emergency services—I’m getting people out of pain and eradicating infection,” she noted. “But at the end of the day, dentistry is dentistry. One of the main misconceptions I try to confront when I lecture is that substance abuse disorder is prevalent in every single dental practice. One out of every 10 Americans has a substance use disorder, and that one out of 10 is not necessarily someone who is incarcerated. As dental professionals, we have a responsibility to screen these patients and develop an effective way of communicating with them in ways that aren’t stigmatizing.”

Global Yet Familiar

There is no denying that DirectaDentalGroup has a passion for creating and marketing high-quality dental products. It’s a goal that’s accomplished through key partnerships with leading dental manufacturers around the world, including TrollDental, Orsing, Sendoline, and Kohler. But the company also understands the importance of not only collaborating with manufacturers but clinicians themselves.

“It’s a wonderful company, and even though it’s a global company, the people who I’ve interacted with have really made me feel like family,” added Dr. Brown. “Directa is very forward-thinking with a high degree of resources and wonderful products—I mean, for me to get excited about articulating papers is really something!”