After graduating in 1995, Dr. Preston purchased a dental practice immediately. He built a solo practice in Fredericton and ran it for nine years. During those years, his father joined the federal Department of Fisheries, and the family would relocate frequently for new postings. “For each of those four years, when I returned home at Christmas, it was to a different house, often in a community I’d never even visited before,” he says. Dr. Preston met Ruth during a summer in Newfoundland while completing his undergraduate degree. They would marry in 1985. He describes Ruth as both a partner and intellectual equal, someone whose academic ambition mirrors his own and whose steady support has made his many moves and evolutions possible. “She’s every bit as driven as I am,” he says, referring to her multiple academic degrees and professional accomplishments. “move forward with conviction and choose the path you genuinely want.” He was accepted into dental school at Dalhousie University in Halifax at age 30. “I stepped back into academia without difficulty,” he says. “It felt less like returning and more like continuing.” After graduating in 1995, Dr. Preston purchased a dental practice immediately. A Dalhousie professor connected him with a Fredericton dentist facing health issues who needed to sell. “There were no associate years, no gradual ramp-up,” he says. “I assumed primary responsibility from day one.” He built a solo practice in Fredericton and ran it for nine years. His involvement in organized dentistry began almost simultaneously. In his first year out of dental school— while also buying a house, purchasing a practice and hiring staff—he joined a geriatric dentistry committee with the New Brunswick Dental Society (NBDS), encouraged by colleagues including Dr. Daniel Violette, now registrar of the NBDS. “People often say they don’t have time for organized dentistry,” he says. “But I joined at one of the busiest points in my life.” After nearly a decade in general practice, Dr. Preston, Ruth and their infant son, Russell, relocated so Dr. Preston could pursue specialty training in prosthodontics at the University of Toronto (U of T). “I never seriously considered another specialty,” he says. The decision aligned with his temperament and his preference for working with older patients. “Prosthodontics offers an exceptional After graduating, Dr. Preston returned to Labrador City and took a position in the chemistry department at the iron ore mine. The work was highly technical and methodical: collecting samples from conveyor belts, assaying ore and preparing reports to confirm that shipments met commodity specifications. “It was shift work,” he says. “Technically engaging, but highly repetitive.” It didn’t take long for him to recognize that it was not where he wanted to build his future. After two years at the mine, Dr. Preston enrolled at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, to pursue an education degree, then returned to Labrador to teach high school chemistry and physics, work he greatly enjoyed. He later moved into the provincial education department as a science coordinator, where he taught teachers. “If you were to look back at my high school yearbook, you’d see that dentistry was always the plan,” Dr. Preston says. He traces that decision back to Grade 7, after a difficult experience in the dental chair. “I remember thinking there must be a better way to deliver this kind of care.” A high school job-shadow placement in a dental office reinforced the instinct, he was drawn to the precision of the technology, the clinical environment and the balance between technical skill and meaningful interaction with patients. While others warned him about giving up a profession with a pension and stability, one colleague at the education department, Dr. Richard Payne, encouraged Dr. Preston to Dr. Kirk Preston at one of his practices in Fredericton, New Brunswick. President Profile
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