Editor's note: Dr. Glenda Payas is a practicing dentist in Tulsa, Okla., with an office located at 5314 South Yale Avenue, Suite 1100. Dr. Payas graduated from Oral Roberts University Dental School in 1986, worked for the U.S. Public Health Corps for three years, and then entered private practice in Tulsa. She is a mentor for Creating Restorative Excellence, an educational program taught by Dr. John Kois, of Seattle, Wash. Dr. Payas has been a presenter of technology seminars at the Oklahoma University College of Dentistry, and has developed a successful dental practice of her own based on the use of high-tech equipment and procedures.
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Payas Laser & Cosmetic Dental Care of Tulsa
Above: Penthouse lobby area with piano
Right: Reception room
What drives the successful woman's dental practice in today's world?
I have been fortunate to determine some very important elements that have driven my practice from the average to the very successful in an environment where practice management and development are often challenging.
I have always had a passion for learning and for advanced training. During my first career as a teacher, I developed a desire for new ideas, new developments, and changes in technology that would allow the world to be a better place. As a teacher of high school chemistry, physics, and biology, I had the good fortune of having access to student seminars and other programs at national scientific laboratories where advanced developments were the norm. At that time in my pursuit for knowledge, I successfully completed three master's degrees: natural sciences, counseling and guidance, and administration. I recognized that our ability to change this world for the better would come through continuing education about advanced developments made through science and technology. This has certainly proven to be the case.
When I left teaching and entered dental school, my goal was to surround myself with the latest in technology and techniques to assist me as a clinician in patient care. I purchased my first practice from a 75-year-old dentist who worked in one operatory using a mechanical chair with attached stools and a belt-driven drill. Amazing was the only word that my husband and I were able to use when we first saw the office. The defining moment for me was realizing that this dentist had remained in the past and had not moved forward with the future as he practiced. His office was from the 1950s and had changed very little in 40 years. I vowed that my focus would be on the future and how I could incorporate technology into my practice, because I was committed to it.
Quickly my office changed. New dental units and chairs replaced the outdated equipment, and within three years I acquired adjacent space. Architect Mike Unthank designed my new, larger office. The change was so dramatic that it was hard to believe the old office had ever been a part of that same leased space.
As a new dentist in the early 1990s, I purchased one of the first lasers to come onto the market from ADL for $50,000. It was the best investment I ever made. As I reflect back, I realize that the purchase of the laser drove my desire to leave behind treatment that was outdated and move into a world of technology that is literally changing the face of dentistry as we know it.
I recently moved into a larger dental office space, which is the penthouse of an 11-story building in Tulsa, Okla. The office has a 360-degree view of the city overlooking a golf course. From the 11th floor, you can watch golfers play and enjoy the beauty of the changing seasons.
The office is complete with the latest in high-tech equipment: CEREC 3D, four lasers of different wavelengths, and digital X-rays, with a networked software program in each operatory used for patient treatment. Intraoral cameras for diagnosis and patient education help to make the patient experience more than a casual visit to the dentist or hygienist. Sedation dentistry, ZOOM bleaching, Invisalign, and other techniques complete our current treatment focus. Built for six operatories, this space provides an opportunity to view the present and the future as changes occur in my practice.
A learning center is part of this futuristic office design, where PowerPoint presentations can be projected and video presentations can be given during weekly staff meetings or to other dentists attending educational programs. This center came about in response to my desire to share my skills and advanced training with others, and to continue to teach colleagues about important changes and improvements in dentistry. I view this teaching center as a remarkable opportunity to impart information to other interested dentists.
Three principles for success
Three guiding principles drive me to success:
- Excellence — I have realized that success comes to those who do not settle for anything other than excellence in their practice and their life. I choose to make excellence in dentistry a critical focal point of my practice philosophy. And I do this through the process of diagnosis, problem solving, patient care and follow-up, and extensive staff training. I do the very best dentistry I am capable of producing, and am committed to satisfying my patients.
- Advanced continuing education — I have a passion for quality dentistry and advanced CE. One of the principles that is fundamental to the process of excellence in dentistry is the awareness that advanced training is critical to success. Dental school prepares us to provide dentistry, whereas advanced training prepares us to excel to the top as we learn and develop new skills.
As a mentor for Dr. John Kois and his Creating Restorative Excellence program in Seattle, Wash., I have had the remarkable experience of sitting under the teaching and advanced training of one of the finest clinicians in the country. Dr. Kois' training has developed in me a desire to always be at the cutting edge of learning so that my professional skills are outstanding and my patient care is excellent. - A belief in merging quality care and prayer with team members and patients — Often patients arrive with more than dental problems. I have found that my ability to merge understanding, listening, and then prayer for their needs provides them with a remarkable gift. Patients have learned to bring issues to me and ask me to pray for them. I willingly share my faith and beliefs with them. I learned this important element as a student at Oral Roberts University, where we were encouraged to take the healing message of God's love into every man and woman's world. People find themselves challenged at every turn, and the opportunity to help in every area — body, mind, and spirit — provides a life-changing opportunity to impact the lives of others.
The journey began years ago
My journey to an outstanding dental practice and life began many years ago when I realized that I didn't want to teach high school students forever. I made a willful decision to change from where I was into what I wanted to be. That is a starting place for many women dentists even today. I believe many of us agonize about decisions we made that we regret or opportunities on which we failed to act. Make a conscious decision to become the outstanding person and dental professional you want to be. The road to change can be scary, but the rut you are in only becomes apparent when you choose to take a different path. It is then you realize your past perceptions prevented you from attaining a level of practice and life experience that you wanted all along.
I choose to embrace the future and to embrace people through the level of skill I am able to achieve. I choose to help people through dentistry and through faith in God. I choose to surround myself with the latest in high-tech equipment, because I recognize that it provides me with the level of treatment options that I want. All of these components make my office not only a pleasure for patients to visit, but also a joy to inhabit for both my team members and me. My office is like my home. I love being there, because it is a place of pleasure, happiness, and peace. All of this allows me to enjoy a level of professional success that years ago I never dreamed I would have.
My journey has been one of embracing the future and bringing into it the elements that are important in my life. My faith, my family, and my profession all merge together, which makes my professional work truly fulfilling. My journey has been the meshing of these important elements into one very successful dental practice.
I encourage you to look at these fundamental truths as road maps for your climb to the top. You can make this paradigm shift and change not only your practice, but your experience into what you desire your life and practice to be.
Glenda Payas, DMD
Dr. Payas is a practicing dentist in Tulsa, Okla., with a focus on lasers and cosmetic dentistry. She is a mentor for Dr. John Kois' Creating Restorative Excellence program and has presented dental technology seminars at Oklahoma University. You may contact Dr. Payas at [email protected].