Dr. Maxine Feinberg served as the 151st president of the American Dental Association. Dr. Feinberg is a past trustee who represented the ADA’s 4th District (Delaware, District of Columbia, Federal Dental Services, Maryland, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) and past president of the New Jersey Dental Association and the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry. She served on several Board committees and was the chair of the Audit Committee, the Task Force on Student Debt and the Council on Members Insurance and Retirement Plans.
In this episode, we discuss:
– Taking the time to get involved in the profession and pushing for change
– Females in dentistry
– What is the future of dentistry and what should we be aware of
What prompted you to become the president of the ADA?
I felt that the profession is faced with so many challenges. I was the kind of weird person that started running for office in the third grade and when people as me why I ran for President of the ADA, I tell them that you cant leave things up to others, you have to be involved, especially when it comes to your profession. We are in really challenging times and I think that we all need to step up and get involved. You cant just leave things for other people to take care of. If everyone had that attitude, where would our profession be? Another reason that I got involved is that 50% of dental students today are women. I wanted them to have some positive role models. I wanted them to see that the ADA isn’t just a group of middle aged men, but that there are women that are involved because we want them to step up and feel that this is there association and it belongs to them just as much as it belongs to the men. I just think that if you care enough about your profession, you step up and you get involved. I tell people that I have gotten more out of my involvement than I have given.
You mentioned the stat about women in dentistry, from the ADA perspective, what do we need to know?
When you look at the percentage of women in leadership positions in the ADA it’s still pretty low, but more and more are starting to get involved. I encourage them to get involved but sometimes if they are raising kids or taking care of their family they dont have the time and I understand that. I was very fortunate because my husband was really supportive and we have a really great partnership. He would help chip in with the carpooling, homework, housework and all those sorts of things. So I tell women that it is never too late to get involved. I also felt that in my years of organized dentistry, it was also my support network. Early on in my career, there were not that many women in dentistry, and it was really tough raising two daughters, having my own practice, and trying to organize everything, so my female friends in dentistry really were my support network. Whether it was getting a cup of coffee or getting a glass of wine, it was really nice to have that sounding board. I really do encourage more women to get involved. It is never too late or too early to start getting involved in this profession.
What should we be aware of as dentists, when it comes to the future of dentistry?
I think something that we should be very aware of is the increase of corporate entities. There are many different types of corporate entities in this profession and I dont think that we know yet, where it will all even out and I dont think we will ever see the end of the “small dental practice,” but I do think we are going to see more consolidation. There is no question that these more efficient practices moving forward. People seem to think that these large corporate practices are going to be the wave of the future, but where has this been shown? We are just going to have to wait until the dust settles. No where has any of the research shown that these types of practices are more efficient or more economically run than a group practice of 4 or 5 people.