By Dr. Robert Wolanski
Lakeside Dental Clinic and Vancouver Island Implant Centre
As we approach the beginning of the next decade, I wanted to shift my article to one of gratitude and thanks. I have had the privilege of serving thousands of patients over my 32 years of practice in Nanaimo. Over this time there have been many changes and improvements in how we deliver dental care.
I’ve had the privilege of studying with the best minds in dentistry. Pioneering dental implants in the Vancouver Island area has been very fulfilling. I have had the opportunity to improve many lives over the years with techniques that were simply not available when I started to practice in 1988. The improvement in quality of life that we’ve been able to give patients with ill-fitting dentures is still the most rewarding thing I can provide people. As well, the ability to intravenously sedate highly nervous patients and provide care that could not be given otherwise has been most rewarding.
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I’m in the business of preventing and reducing the suffering of others. I could not do this without the wonderful team I work with. I’m grateful for the excellent staff that I am blessed with. We do have days that can be particularly demanding and stressful, and our work would not possible without their dedication and hard work.
I’m also grateful for the many wonderful patients I have come to know and treat over my many years of practice. It’s humbling to now see children of patients that I treated when they were just children. I have also said goodbye to many wonderful patients who have passed away during my career. I think of them often and remember their voices and smiles.
Sometimes we can be overwhelmed with day-to-day activities and do not express our gratitude as much as we should. So to everyone I have had the privilege of meeting over the years, I would like to say thank you.
I am grateful to my wife Ivka, who has been a light and beacon in my life and continues to teach me what it means to love. As I approach the latter stage of my career I will be spending more time mentoring young dentists and working for our provincial dental association. Giving back to the profession that has served me so well over the years is indeed fulfilling.
Fortunately my health has been excellent and except for the odd sore back and needing reading glasses, I expect to be practicing another 10 years. There is much to look forward to in our lives and I look forward to providing the level of care our office has become known for.
Wishing all of you the best in 2020.
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Learn more about Dr. Wolanski and the Lakeside Dental Clinic at lakesidedentalclinic.ca or call 250-756-1300. Learn about the Vancouver Island Implant Centre at 250-756-1666.