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MARK MOWAT D E N T I S T
MARK MOWAT IS AN AWESOME DENTIST EXPERIENCED, SUCCESSFUL, AND HAS A DEVILISH SENSE OF HUMOUR TO TOP IT ALL OFF. FOCUS SAT DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AND OPENED WIDE TO FIND OUT MORE.
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an you describe a typical day in the life of a dentist? I swim four laps of the Harbour, run 7.5 km, then a quick ride to Woolooglga and back … Then the alarm goes off, and I wake up! Every day is different. You have your routine treatments, such as check-ups and cleans, but each time the phone rings, it could be anything. You have to be prepared for whatever the day brings. Toothaches, trauma and complex restorative planning bring many varied decisions and outcomes to the everyday life of a dentist. Where did you study? I graduated from the University of Queensland in 1987 and moved to Coffs Harbour that same year. After originally practicing in Coffs and Dorrigo, I purchased Dorrigo Dental in 1991. Then in 1992, I purchased and relocated to Park Beach Dental. In 2011 I opened a practice in Queen Street, Grafton, NSW, a beautiful heritage listed building, “Clarence Valley Dental”. And now, our newly renovated practice “Coffsdentist.com”, which is located at 198 Pacific Hwy, Coffs Harbour. How long have you been a dentist? I have been a dentist for 30 years and counting. What do you love most about the job? I love talking to the patients, knowing they can’t talk back. (Laughs.) Truly, the best part of my job is getting 32 coffs coast focus.
to know people. Every day I get the chance to offer real, concrete solutions; therefore, actually fixing real problems for people, making people smile. Do you have any amusing stories that you would like to share? Unfortunately, a day in the life of a dentist does not involve a day Unfortunately, too many amusing ntist de a of e lif e in th stories. I have some any m o e to does not involv what you hear! stories that would ve ha I amusing stories. ld Wait a minute, ou make your head w at th some stories , but in sp isn’t that a song? ad spin, but due to he ur make yo y lit tia en id How do you nf confidentiality co due to ories st e es th s, effectively market on reasons, these stories as re ed .” ar sh be ot nn ca your business to cannot be shared. new customers? The vault includes Our marketing target is many stories of grown both former customers and men crying! new patients. Our old patients What is the most satisfying know what to expect, so nothing has aspect of being a dentist? changed in that regard. New patients are Giving my patients the smile they want welcome and can take comfort that they are and getting them out of pain. in comfortable hands. The creativity of shaping a smile. It’s not as if everyone comes into the And, educating people that a healthy surgery singing and dancing, nor saying, “I lifestyle and good oral health is essential to love this place”. But we aim to make every your everyday wellbeing. experience as pleasant as possible. What services do you offer? What background experience do you We cover all aspects of general practice. From check-ups and cleans, right through to bring to your current role? implants and crown and bridgework. When I sold to and was working for The Saying that, if anything is outside our Dental Corporate, I was running one of, if scope of clinical expertise, we will refer you not THE most successful practice they had in to the appropriate specialist. the entire country. They took credit for it, but Best advice you have been given? I postulated it was the systems and set up Believe half of what you see and none of they had in place that had produced those
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results. I believe dentists should be the ones running dental practices. At least you know where the buck stops, literally. I suppose time will tell who was correct. Experience is something that cannot be taught. After 30 years in the industry, I have seen just about everything. That being said, continuing education and state of the art equipment are also essential. It takes a long time to get that balance right and give you the confidence and ability to treat any problem or issue that patients present with. Best advice for someone starting out? Make sure you love what you are doing! You will be in this game for at least 30 years, so buckle up … You have to be able to communicate. Talk to people, in a more normal fashion that they can understand. I don’t mean dumbing it down, but if they have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, it can be confusing for everyone. Thanks Mark.