Written by: Dr. Maggie Augustyn, FAGD, FICOI, FIADFE, FAAIP
There are so many things in our lives that develop and shape the way our minds work and how much we pursue further areas of development. Our disposition, our wherewithal, what we did or didn’t see our parents do, and how we choose to compare ourselves to our colleagues all play a significant role in how the future of our development unfolds. But I might argue that what drives or divides our ability to feel and live out a certain passion is under the strongest advisement of other humans. Think about it: might there have been an instructor, professor, or mentor who put you on the path you’re on today? Another human who, early or late in life, shaped your imagination and belief system into its current form? And there might have been several, each in a designated discipline, who helped you get where you are and helped develop you into the human you are.
Humans Who Shape Us
For me, Dr. Donald Taylor, my college professor in molecular biology, ignited a passion for studying and respecting science. Dr. Rachel Mikula, a historian, taught me how to put into perspective how and why people think, choose, and live out those choices. Dr. Courtney Lamb at the University of Illinois at Chicago Dental College taught me to understand the importance of evidence-based dentistry. Dr. Rand Harlow believed in me more than I believed in myself. These humans, with their own ability to live out self-explicating truths, created a backbone within me that now affects how I interact with patients and who I have become as a clinician. And just as many as there have been who have built me up, there have been many more whose rushed judgment, ego, and lack of compassion for others brought me to my knees, questioning this incredible profession I’d joined.
Once you move past the steps of formal education, the effect of another mentor in your life or practice is secondary—unless you make time for it yourself, unless you seek it and drive toward it. Most recently, I have been lucky to weave a new human into my world. He has significantly impacted my passion, my pursuits, my choices, my wherewithal, my resilience, and my resistance, both as a mortal and as a clinician. With his calm and giving nature, he has made up for the many who have attempted to quiet my engaging pursuit of learning. His name is Dr. Randy Resnik.
Architects of Change
This particular article isn’t so much about the Resnik Institute; it isn’t even necessarily about Dr. Resnik himself. It’s about investigating how we can create an environment where clinicians thrive—one that is free of competition, encourages growth, satiates thirst for knowledge, provides mentorship, and embodies both ethical and responsible practice of dentistry. All of which Dr. Resnik and his institute not only preach but actually live out. As I was getting to know Dr. Resnik, the institute, his faculty, and the extraordinary clinicians I met in class, I simply wondered: what did it take to create this type of educator, and how could we make more?
Resnik had his own set of humans who shaped his development within dentistry. His father, a prosthodontist, was one. It likely gave him the inspiration to become a dentist himself, though he stepped a little to the side and engaged much more in surgery. A human who might have contributed most significantly to his development and current standing is Dr. Carl Misch. Dr. Misch was a trailblazer in the field of implantology, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape the way we practice today. His contributions weren’t just innovations; they were transformative frameworks—classifications and protocols that have become the bedrock of our profession. From understanding available bone and prosthesis types to defining bone density and treatment planning protocols, his work has guided countless clinicians. He gave us tools to navigate complex challenges, such as prosthetic loading protocols, medication classifications, nerve impairment strategies, and even peri-implant disease classification.
Dr. Misch didn’t just advance implantology; he expanded its possibilities, leaving a profound impact on the field and on all of us who follow in his footsteps. Dr. Misch was far more than a researcher, though. He was known for his ability to command a room. His presence was felt; he was charismatic and engaging. More than that, he had a tremendous passion for fueling and organizing massive amounts of information, research, and collaboration. Misch was a visionary, one of the fathers of implant dentistry. A big part of his vision was to introduce implant dentistry into the hands of the general dentist. Most people do not realize that the discovery and integration of implants into dentistry was, in fact, led by general dentists, not specialists. Misch remembered that. His hope, which is now coming to be realized, was that all patients would have the option to receive an implant as a restoration of their edentulous spaces. That third set of teeth, as Dr. Resnik calls it, can also be surgically placed by their very own general dentist. Misch believed that general practitioners possessed both the ability and the wherewithal to practice implant dentistry responsibly.
Over the years of implant study and the science of its development, Misch and Resnik became inseparable. They started the Misch and Resnik Institute, inviting aspiring clinicians to learn the black magic behind implantology. They empowered general practitioners, like myself, to see themselves as capable of performing surgery at often very high complexity.
Rooted in Patience
The current Resnik Institute offers not just basic information modules or hands-on surgical training. The knowledge you gain in the curriculum is constantly tested and pushed within a tight network of like-minded clinicians. There are group chats with past alums who continually discuss the clinical nature of their surgeries. The mentorship within this very thread pulsates with collaboration. Resnik spends his time, without compensation, running what he calls The Grand Rounds. It’s a free study club for those of us who seek guidance in pursuing our drive into surgery. We meet many times a year, submit CBCTs, and discuss cases, complications, and protocols. The Grand Rounds offers guidance that is seldom available to us from the specialists with whom we collaborate.
The intricate design of this type of environment is far from self-serving to the teaching masters. Resnik himself exhibits more patience than I’ve ever seen with struggling clinicians or difficult cases. He’s prudent in his advice and often gives us, mostly GPs, guidance that surgery or implant dentistry might not be in the best interest of the patient. Not only does he carry zero ego, despite the strides he’s helped us make in the profession, but he also teaches the top-notch implant surgeons on his stage and within his curriculum to follow that lead. He has a talent for simplifying knowledge, but, more importantly, for allowing us to believe that we are capable, if inspired to do so. Equally significant, he creates a net and is a phone call away if we feel ourselves falling.
And so, when asked what drives him to be that kind of mentor—a human who elevates others, who incessantly believes they are capable—he essentially pointed to one thing. To one human: Misch. And it was more than just Misch himself; it was what they’d built, how they’d built it, and the difference they saw in the lives around them as the institute kept growing. They were brothers in implant dentistry. Brothers in life. One fed off the talent of the other as they encountered both joys and difficulties in life. Misch, grander than life, took the stage many times, while Resnik, with his ever-known patience, took to the courtrooms, testifying on behalf of general dentists. Within the institute, they reinforce their teachings on the importance of medical history and triage, something that becomes ingrained within you as you become part of the Resnik family.
Just ask my team how often I refuse to see a patient if their medication list isn’t up to date. And just as Resnik and Misch were ready to ride into the sunset together, handing over the reins to the next generation of researchers and clinical experts, slowing down and thinking about retirement, Misch got sick. Not just sick. He was diagnosed with a terminal glioblastoma of the brain. It was in these last few months that Carl asked Randy to carry out his legacy. I try to imagine what that must have felt like for Dr. Resnik—not only to watch your best friend live his last days, not only to have the hopes and promises of life broken, knowing they wouldn’t retire together. I try to imagine the weight of carrying something so heavy, bestowed upon him by his dear friend. I can only imagine it must have been both eternally scary and endlessly honoring. Because how do you, with purpose and intention, with gratitude and humility, carry out such a request? Dr. Resnik did just that. And he made it look easy to the rest of us.
How Wonderful Life is, Now You’re in [Our] World
The next question, one really worth answering, is how do we create more Randy Resniks for the communal benefit of ourselves, our craft, and our patients? We do that by empowering more leaders to walk us through the sometimes dark corridors of our self-doubt and scrutiny of others, by showing what is possible through example. We do this by holding the hands of the people who set up safety nets, by engaging in networks that do not blame or shame. Mentorship is a gift. The beauty of that mentorship is making us believe that we can. In clinical dentistry, it’s not about arrogance or fairytale thinking; it’s embedded in education and evidence-based data, fortified by a network of clinicians who share.
We create more leaders and mentors by using calmness, sensibility, levelheadedness, methodology, and patience. We do it with collaboration, not competition. Resnik would likely not have considered himself a natural-born leader. He often referred to himself as Misch’s sidekick. He stepped up to the role, invited through one of life’s most difficult moments, and he made that role his. The power of the ripples he creates—not just with his passion for implant dentistry, but with his compassion for the human spirit, both in the clinician and the patient—simply cannot be measured.
Yes, he was lucky, as he admitted many times, to be born into a dental family and to meet Misch during his post-graduate studies. But Randy never succumbed to the glitz or glamour that pedigree or privilege might have attached to him. He never took for granted how he was rooted. Instead, looking at the scale of what he’s created—not necessarily through the size of the institute, though that’s admirable as well, but through the quality of the interactions he’s had with his students and collaborating clinicians—he gave far more than he received. That is the legacy of a mentor, the true life of a leader and educator.
And though it might be indiscernible to many of our human ears, in close proximity to Dr. Resnik, you can hear the ever-so-faint whisper, wherever Carl is today: “Randy, I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
Dr. Resnik, some of us were not lucky enough to have met Dr. Misch, but how wonderful life is now that you’re in our world.
Grow and Let Grow
Mentorship often feels like a quiet force that shapes just careers, but it doesn’t; it shapes lives. It can be the hand that steadies us when we falter, the voice that reminds us of our potential, and the example that inspires us to rise higher. Dr. Resnik’s journey, intertwined with the legacy of Dr. Misch, is a testament to the profound impact one human can have on another—and, by extension, on an entire profession.
As we reflect on their story, the challenge before us is clear: to carry forward this spirit of mentorship without the expectation of glory, to create environments that nurture growth, and to lead with humility, compassion, and purpose. Because in the end, the true measure of our success isn’t what we achieve alone, but the lives we elevate along the way. It isn’t just seen in certificates or Insta reels. It is felt within the brim of our existence on earth, sometimes in anonymity to our own perception. Let us all strive to be the kind of mentors who, through quiet guidance and genuine belief in others, create lasting change that transcends our own reach.
For those of us navigating the possibility of becoming mentors ourselves, the responsibility runs deep. It calls on us to lead by example, to be living proof that humility and growth can coexist with expertise. We are asked to create safe spaces where others can experiment, stumble, and rise without fear. Our greatest task is not just to impart knowledge, but to empower others to trust their own path—to help them see the strength that already resides within them. If we can inspire belief by offering steady guidance, honest feedback, and genuine encouragement, we not only elevate individuals but also enrich our shared profession. In doing so, we contribute to a cycle of growth whose impact quietly extends far beyond our own reach.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Maggie Augustyn, FAGD, FICOI, FIADFE, FAAIP, is a Dawson-trained practicing general dentist, owner of Happy Tooth, author, and inspirational keynote speaker. Featured on 4 dental magazine covers and recognized by Dentistry Today as one of the top 250 leaders, she inspires others through her writing, helping them find healing and connection. Dr. Augustyn serves as the national spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry and as a faculty member for the Productive Dentist Academy. She contributes monthly to her “Mindful Moments” column for Dentistry Today and AGD Impact and writes for other publications as well. With unwavering compassion and a dedication to excellence, Dr. Augustyn addresses audiences ranging from a few dozen to thousands, guiding them toward fulfillment and meaningful impact. To contact her, email [email protected].
