“One day, I walked in and asked to meet their dentist,” says Dr. Antel. “But they said they didn’t have one yet. By coincidence, I had 300 business cards in my pocket, so I left those there and told the front desk staff if they had patients with dental emergencies, I was available and could accommodate them.” Soon, Dr. Antel was seeing more patients from the walkin clinic than from his own practice! “I ended up moving my practice into the walk-in clinic’s office and for almost a decade I did walk-in dentistry,” says Dr. Antel. Most of his patients needed emergency treatment. He had no appointment book. He did everything from extractions to bridges on a walk-in basis. The clinic was open from 8 am to 11 pm, seven days a week. Dr. Antel lived five minutes away, so if a patient with a dental emergency arrived at the clinic outside of his regular hours, he was ready, on call and could arrive quickly. “I never thought I’d be happy working seven days a week, but I was,” he says. “I loved it.” At the University of Manitoba, Dr. Antel served as a clinical instructor in endodontics from 2007 to 2014. He also was involved with the school’s student mentorship program and served as a guest lecturer in communications, among other roles. After almost 10 years as a walk-in dentist, the next step in Dr. Antel’s career was growing his practice doing mostly esthetic treatments. “It was the other end of the spectrum, but I like variety,” he says. He began to bring in associates to work alongside him and eventually a partner, at which point, the practice focused primarily on apprehensive patients who often required sedation for dental treatment. Later, Dr. Antel turned his energy toward a patient population who hadn’t seen a dentist in a long time. “Collaborating with the patient, I’d get them caught up, get them healthy and then make a plan to maintain their oral health,” he says. “That’s what I was doing until the pandemic hit.” As it was for many in dentistry, the COVID-19 pandemic was very disruptive. “We figured out how to practice when we came back from being locked down, but the stress was very intense for everyone,” says Dr. Antel. The practice, which had been a partnership, reverted to a solo practice. “It was a difficult transition,” he says. “But the staff are wonderful. One of our dental assistants has been with me for 35 years, and the other for 25. One dental hygienist, who just retired, had been with the practice for 35 years, another is at 14 years and counting. The receptionist that continues with the practice is the glue holding it all together. I know everyone says they have the best staff in the world, but mine really are.” CDA President 2024–25 Dr. Antel graduated from the University of Manitoba dental school in 1979. Dr. Antel (l.) and friend Michael Marr at the Winnipeg Science Fair in 1973, with their project on the feline anatomy. I would sometimes ask myself, ‘Why are things set up like this?’As part of organized dentistry, I get some insight into this question, and feel like I can contribute to try to make things better. 24 | 2024 | Issue 3
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