Member Spotlight
Dr. Asthana Hits All the Right Notes to Help Patients S
am Asthana, DDS, FAGD, is a lot of things. He is president of the Houston AGD; a member of national AGD’s New Dentist, Resident and Student Council; a husband; and a practicing general dentist in the Houston, Texas, area. His commitment to advancing the profession through organized dentistry and continuing education certainly makes him stand out, but there is another major quality that differentiates him from his colleagues — Asthana was trained as a classical musician before entering the field of dental health, and, as a dentist, he takes a special interest in musicians’ oral health issues. He seeks to deepen the conversation between wind musicians and oral health professionals by lecturing on the topic and encouraging discourse. AGD Impact spoke with him about this unique professional interest. AGD Impact: What inspired you to become a dentist? Why did you switch from music to dentistry?
Asthana: I’m not from a family of dentists, and I really didn’t know much about dentistry before dental school. My childhood dentist (Dr. Isabel Vahedi) actually suggested dentistry to me, and I knew from watching her work that it was a good fit for a people person like me. I studied classical music performance in college, and I found the transition from music to dentistry to be very natural; both fields are essentially craftwork, which is a unique type of job that takes self-analysis skills, the ability to take and process criticism, discipline to practice, and a careful navigation of one’s personal relationship with perfectionism. On top of that, I really believe that every dentist is a performer, and we all have to put on certain acts or faces with our patients — and even our team members — every day. I am so grateful to have a background in studying the craft of performing to prepare for the constant song-and-dance every dentist has to do. The actual path from music to dentistry was very smooth. While I studied music, I also took the necessary coursework to apply to dental school. I honestly think that dental
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AGD IMPACT
OCTOBER 2024
A still from one of Dr. Asthana’s videos.
schools look more favorably on applicants who stand out in the pile of applications and who have interesting answers to interview questions. While in dental school, I continued to use my music training and was able to teach private saxophone lessons in San Antonio, Texas, perform with local chamber groups, and work at summer music camps for high school students. It was a great source of extra spending money during school. What unique dental concerns do wind musicians have? How do you make this population a clinical focus in your practice?
Wind musicians are basically fighting a ticking clock leading to myofascial and joint problems. They have to do what we as dentists consider “parafunction” every day, for hours a day. Honestly, dentists and musicians are very similar in that we all tend to prioritize delivering a great product over protecting our own bodies, and, in the same ways that dentists develop chronic pain and dysfunction from poor ergonomics (guilty!), musicians develop orofacial pain pretty regularly. Some even retire from their field because of this. Helping wind musicians manage this “occupational hazard” is rooted in educating them and helping them to understand their own anatomy. Often, musicians think their dentist will just tell them “play less, wear a guard and eat soft food.” In reality, we can all help the musicians in
our communities by working with them to review their practice habits and timing, getting them to incorporate stretching exercises into their routines, and teaching them better overall postural health. With some patients, I discuss specific performance practice modifications they can make regarding how they position their jaw while they play. Beyond that, all of the things we do for every patient with muscle and joint pain — habit modification, splint therapy, photobiomodulation, etc. — will help musicians as well. I have felt very honored to speak on musicians’ oral health with groups such as the International Saxophone Academy, chapters of the North American Saxophone Alliance and more. I also love to meet with student musicians, as I was a college music student when I first started experiencing jaw pain. Texas A&M International had me speak with a studio of music students, and I’ll be lecturing at my alma mater, Baylor University, this fall as part of its Musician’s Health Series. What led you to organized dentistry, and what led you to get involved in leadership roles?
I found my way to organized dentistry within the first few days of dental school through no hard work on my part. The International College of Dentists has a great mentoring program called Great Expectations, which is aimed at dental