Today we’d like to introduce you to Rishika Kapoor.
Rishika, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a little girl, I always knew I wanted to be a surgeon but didn’t quite know what path would lead me there. After spending several summers working in my dad’s periodontal practice as the assistant to the front office manager and the dental assistants, I was able to see the inner workings of a surgical dental office. Filing papers and verifying insurance were my daily tasks, which I now value as it provided me a baseline for business management. I continued my education at SMU and ultimately decided that dental school offered the perfect of ensemble of work/life balance and the opportunity to help other people. I completed my Doctorate of Dental Surgery at Texas A&M College of Dentistry. I still had a dream of becoming a surgeon and decided to continue on to periodontics. Periodontics is like the oral plastic surgery of the mouth and offered the best combination of art and surgery.
Furthermore, periodontal care is deeply connected with the health of the rest of the body. The mouth is like a window to the inner workings of the body. Often times, when we see inflammation and tartar build up in the mouth, the same can be said for the rest of the body. Stress, diabetes, heart disease, cancer have associations with the tissues in the mouth. Educating patients about the oral and systemic condition is so important for one’s well-being. Continuing my journey to help patients, I was accepted into the 3 year Periodontics Residency program at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry right after dental school. I learned from amazing, world-renowned surgeons while in my residency and was able to get a great foundation in dental surgery including procedures in dental implants, soft tissue grafting for receding gums, bone grafting to regenerate tissue around teeth, and oral pathology. While I was there, I was awarded the Betty Whitaker Scholarship and continued to strive for excellence to hone my skills and provide the best in patient care.
In my third year of residency, I decided to open up my own practice. Having been from Dallas, I wanted to give back to the community that I grew up in. I had spent the last 7 years of my educational career in East Dallas and was invited to become faculty at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, thus, opening my practice in that same area made sense as it had become home for me. East Dallas is such a unique community that values relationships, community, and local small businesses. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to start my career. Owning my own practice has been a rewarding and trying experience. Having the support of my family, friends, and the East Dallas community has been so vital to helping our office grow. My mission has been to provide the best in care while also making treatment affordable.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Hard work and dedication can take you anywhere. There’s no short cut to success, but putting in your best effort does pay off. My parents always told me to work hard and get good grades. Honestly, that push has opened so many doors for me. In high school, I knew I needed to get good grades, and then I could find my path. So, I did just that- I came out of high school with over 60 hours of college credit from AP classes and wrapped up as valedictorian of my high school. The endless hours of studying and preparing opened up several scholarships and opportunities in college. I was awarded multiple scholarships at SMU and decided to complete my Bachelor’s of Science in Biology with minors in Business and Chemistry. Given the 60 hours of college credit, I was able to finish my degree in 2 years. Using the same work ethic from high school, I worked to keep my grades up and was accepted into Texas A&M College of Dentistry.
Dental school was not easy, but taking it one day at a time helped to get through all four years. Having a good support system with friends and family helps. The best of dental school was my 100 other classmates. We took exams together, worked on dentures together, and even celebrated small victories like finishing a gross anatomy test, together. Residency was much more of an independent process in that you got out what you put into it. There was no one to force you to learn, but instead, we chose to broaden our horizons and learn the most from those 3 years.
Starting a practice has been both a rewarding and eye-opening process. After spending 7 years of grad school focusing on clinical skills, I hadn’t thought about marketing, accounting, and management that is involved with operating a business. I am fortunate to have a great team with me to support our business and help us grow day by day. Just as before, taking each step one day at the time has helped us learn and improve our practice to better serve our patients.
I am proud to be a female business owner and am thankful for the opportunities that have come. There will always be difficulties along the way, but the important thing is to keep the end goal in mind and remember why you are working so hard. Nothing great comes easy so keep you’re head up, and the hard work will pay off.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into PerioLife Periodontics & Implant Dentistry story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a periodontist. Periodontics is a specialized field of dentistry that focuses on the health of the gums and tissues around teeth. Approximately 50% of the population over 35 has gum disease. There is a need for people to see how the health of their gums affects their teeth and long-term health. We try to do our best to save natural teeth for as long as possible. I also focus on cosmetic dental surgery including gum grafts for receding gums, gum lifts for uneven gum lines, dental implants to replace missing teeth or to make dentures fit better.
At PerioLife, we are proud to serve the D/FW metroplex with 3 locations in East Dallas, Irving, and Keller. We want our patients to feel like VIPs when they walk into the office because we know that surgery and dental treatment can be scary. We offer massage chairs, refreshments, cooling eye masks, and Netflix streaming to make your visit as relaxing and comfortable as possible. We also strive to make dental treatment accessible by being in-network providers and offering payment plans to make treatment affordable. We realize the importance of oral health and the negative impacts it can have on the rest of the body if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. We want patients to be able to have healthy, beautiful smiles!
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Dentistry was once a male-dominated field. Nowadays, dental schools have almost a 50-50 gender distribution. Women are starting to make more moves into practice ownership as well. Honestly, I wouldn’t say there are any women specific opportunities that have come through to help women become business owners. Rather, it’s an individual drive that has to lead us here. Again, it’s hard work and perseverance that are the components for success. There have been several movements showcasing #WomeninSTEM (Women in Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) throughout social media which have shown the vast number of women achieving higher education and pursuing careers in the sciences. These type of movements definitely provide more motivation to continue on the path. Hopefully, I can add to that movement and inspire others to achieve their goals as well.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8940 Garland Road, #200
Dallas, TX 75218 - Website: periolife.com
- Phone: 972-910-0920
- Email: info@periolife.com
- Instagram: periolife.periodontics
- Facebook: facebook.com/periolife
Image Credit:
PerioLife Periodontics, Dr. Rishika Kapoor, DDS MS
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