The Story of our Why: “Live wisely, love well, and serve greatly.”

The passion of Petaluma Dental Group is to provide a unique and exceptional experience for everyone who comes through our doors and to leave a positive impact on their lives.

This has been the commitment of the Petaluma Dental Group since I purchased it in 2009; but, truly, our hope is to do more than that. Not only do we want to leave a positive impact on those who come through our doors, we want to do so for our wider community and the world, and I think it’s important to share with you the story of our WHY.

The Story of Why

My early life was fraught with my own dental difficulties and plenty of moving — between having a gummy smile until the age of 10, to moving over 13 times in a 4-year span as a teenager, every single experience I had growing up was shaping me and setting me up for what I’m doing now.  The challenges I experienced built character, grit, and passion and helped put my life on the path to become not only the first dentist in my family, but the first to go to college.

Fast forward to the year 2009 — I was working with my own solo practice in Sonoma, and when the opportunity to purchase Petaluma Dental Group arose, I realized something.

My husband and I have two children (who were 2 and 4 years old at the time), and I thought back to my childhood, and I wondered…If my kids live in the same house their whole life and don’t have any exposure to the world, then how will they develop their own grit?  

It has been a dream of mine to be able to teach my kids about living a life of purpose and to be able to actually show them what it’s like to give back to those in need.

Purchasing Petaluma Dental Group was an opportunity to fulfill that lifelong dream of mine. When you have a group working together, like we do with the absolutely amazing team and leaders working together at Petaluma Dental Group, we’re able to support each other and allow one another to live our purpose.  

As such, Petaluma Dental Group is well-equipped to be able to serve and support the community locally and globally.

For example, in addition to our Give Kids a Smile and Super Kids Day events, at least two of our dentists travel 6 weeks out of the year to fulfill their passions, and I have also been able to pursue my calling of giving back with organizations like Missions of Mercy (a domestic philanthropic dental association), as well as international missions, such as the most recent ones this year, where my entire family and I went to serve in places like Haiti (in January), and Vietnam (in March).  

These most recent trips to Haiti and Vietnam were amazing experiences, and presented a bigger opportunity than just allowing me to use my skills to give back and serve others.

It was the opportunity for my children to experience the wider world — its challenges, pains, and needs — and to not only inspire gratitude within them, but also show them the positive impact of a supportive mindset and a servant’s heart.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some amazing stories from our trip to Haiti and Vietnam (as well as the contributions that our children made), and I would love to hear your stories of passion, too.

I believe we are capable of inspiring servants’ hearts across generations that can lead and support and contribute to a better world, and I believe that when we all give, the world gives back.