Dr. Marielle Pariseau earned her DMD from Faculty Dental Medicine, University of Montréal. She has a rich and varied practice experience spanning more than 3 decades, as an associate, as a practice owner and as a mentor. She has served as president of The Ottawa Dawson Pankey Study Club, and the Ottawa Women Dentists Study Club, which she co-founded.
Dr. Pariseau completed the core continuums, as well as other focus courses on occlusion and aesthetics at The Pankey Institute. She also holds a certificate in Smoking Cessation and Integrated Chronic Diseases Prevention. She is an avid student of Motivational Interviewing, leadership development, and large-scale change interventions. She is a member of the Authentic Leadership in Action Berkana and Presencing Institutes.
In 2010, she launched ‘Shaping the Future of Dentistry’, an organization focused on generating and expanding the concept of participatory leadership from the grassroots up and from the top down within our profession.
Favorite Quotes:
- “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes,” by Marcel Proust. Marielle believes that there is so much that is available for discovery — if we are willing to open our minds, our eyes and our hearts to other possibilities — than what is right now. We need to be flexible and open-minded about things. It’s a quote that is very open to possibilities; it can apply not just to dentistry, but also to everything.
What Marielle does in and for the profession of dentistry:
She started her journey on leadership with Mary Osborne and Joan Unterschuetz, around 2006 or 2007. She became interested in analyzing the status of dentistry in the present, and began to think of things that can be done to make things better in the future.
In 2010, she found an organization called, “Shaping the Future of Dentistry.” Its purpose is to promote fresh thinking, with the use of courageous questions. It also then becomes mixed with motivational interviewing, which the art of helping people change.
She’s been focusing on Shaping the Future of Dentistry for quite a few years. And to take it to another level, they will be hosting a conversation as part of the Ontario Dental Association Annual Spring meeting in May. It is aimed more towards dentists at the moment, but they have an ambition to become bigger and include others into those conversations as well.
In October 2013, Marielle became a volunteer at the People’s Health Clinic, where she launched a purely preventive program, Oral Health for Moms & Tots. The People’s Health Clinic provides quality medical care for the uninsured population of Park City Utah. She goes there to provide oral health knowledge to pregnant women and pre-school children, because she believes that knowledge can go a long way in changing the incidence of tooth decay (especially ECC) in vulnerable populations.
Marielle’s difficult time story:
She recalls dealing with patients who were in terrible conditions, but refused to have a complete examination. She says these kind of patients know exactly what they wanted, and how they want it to be done. But to a certain degree, she resisted some of their demands because she felt ethically, that it was the right route for her to take. Eventually, the patient agreed to be examined. Marielle kept the patient part of the process, by asking her questions about how she feels and what she wants. This then made the patient start opening up more to her and became interested on what Marielle has to offer. The treatment was successful. And after that, the patient became an advocate for the practice, because she realized its value.
What Marielle sees as the up and coming thing in dentistry:
One of her pet peeves has been the fact that more than ten years after the American and Canadian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommended that general dentists see infants/babies as soon as the first tooth erupts, only a minority of general dentists still would do it — some of whom were not really doing it in a way that serves the patients in the best way.
Marielle says that the whole idea behind it is to move the diagnostic approach to a much more preventive approach; that if we move our diagnosing process to diagnosing reversible changes, then we can help these patients so much more.
The best advice Marielle ever received:
Being conscious and being free. The best advice Marielle was given with is when a physician asked Marielle if she agrees she is conscious, and if she agrees that she is free. Marielle then of course, answered yes to both. Those two questions made her realize that when you put these two things together — being conscious and being free — it gives a person choice and responsibility. Whenever she gets stuck with something, she would remind herself of this advice.
The one habit that contributes to Marielle’s success:
When she started her Pankey journey, she would go on one week journey of learning, and says within a couple of weeks, she almost feel that her team is waiting for her and are bracing themselves for changes that she would want to implement when she comes back.
So what Marielle started doing was she would give herself extra personal time to think things through; about what she wants to change, what’s important, what pearl she got out of it, and what she wants to bring back. When she comes back to the clinic, she blocks off the first half day to have a meeting with her team. She would brief them with what she have learned, and ask them for their opinions or suggestions with regard to the changes she is planning to implement. She believes that it is important to get her team involved and be heard.
Marielle’s clinical / management pearl:
In addition to using motivational interviewing with her team and patients, she also believes that focusing on prevention is very important. And that, where the future of dentistry has a potential to shine, is to really focus on health and prevention.
What is exciting Marielle about dentistry right now:
Marielle shares that Shaping The Future of Dentistry will be hosting a breakfast entitled, “Reviewing the Future” during the Ontario Dental Association’s Annual Spring Meeting, in May 8th -10th, 2014.
It’s an attempt to begin to focus on what is dreamt of as the future dentistry, based on a lot of scientific research and writings and motivational interviewing. It’s about using conversation as a core process to turn some intangibles in dentistry, into tangibles.
It’s the first time they will be hosting the breakfast at the Annual Spring Meeting in Toronto this year, and Marielle hopes it will be the first of many.
Internet / software of app resource that Marielle recommends:
Oasis. It’s a discussion site with real clinical questions, that is hosted by the Canadian Dental Association.
CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment) Mobile App – It can be downloaded on your phone or iPad, and then you go through a series of questions to assess the level of caries risk for your patients. The app will then ask you if you want to send an email that will go directly to the patient, with recommendations that match the level of risk (low, moderate or high) that patient is at and it’s corresponding recommendation based on the risk level.
Her book recommendation:
“Start with Why” by Simon Sinek
- Paperback can be purchased on Amazon here.
- Audiobook from Audible can be purchased on Amazon here.
- Kindle version can be purchased on Amazon here.
Her one recommendation for people who are either about to start fresh or restart:
Marielle believes that the mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body. Everything that nourishes the body must go through the mouth first. Her suggestion is seeing one’s self as the guardian of the gateway, and embracing all the possibilities that come with it. By doing that, you will set yourself apart from one thing, and you will truly begin to help your patients be healthier, not only with oral health, but also with total health as well.
Marielle can be reached at: