NJDA MEMBER TIME CAPSULE: ESTABLISHED DENTIST

An interview with Dr. Seema Nerurkar

Now in her 20th year as a member, Dr. Seema Nerurkar has owned her practice in Little Falls, NJ since 2003. NJDA Membership Outreach Manager, Bill Cook, recently chatted with Dr. Nerurkar over Zoom. Here is part of their conversation.

Cook: You’ve owned your practice for 17 years… and then COVID happens. What has it been like navigating your business through the pandemic?

Nerurkar: I had just come back from a vacation at the end of February when we were getting reports of the virus being in Washington state. Around the middle of March, we got the emails from ADA and NJDA recommending that we close. I’ve been an ADA member since I was a student at NYU and I’ve never had an email where they’re telling me not to practice. It’s coming from dentists. The ADA and NJDA are run by dentists and they are not going to tell me that very lightly. They are in the same boat as me, running a business, and they know more information than I do. And that was my trust level. Then I shut down.

Cook: Yeah, information you can trust is so important in a crisis. What happened next?

Nerurkar: I did not lay off my employees at that point because I wasn’t sure how. I let them stay on for another two weeks until the Governor shut us down. It was very high anxiety wondering if we were exposed already. How long is this going to last? How are we going to manage? I mean, at what point would I have to close my practice in terms of rent and overhead.

Cook: There was so much uncertainty during that time.

Nerurkar: As it progressed, we were shut down for two and a half months. I did keep my practice open for emergencies only. But I was the only person coming in because the staff was laid off. I just felt I’m here because of them and not the other way around. I am what I am because of their loyalty to me. And I couldn’t abandon them no matter what the risk was to me. determine how severe something was. I felt I couldn’t say “go somewhere else”, because there was nowhere else to go. I couldn’t send them to an Emergency Room because that would be an even higher risk.

Cook: Shifting gears a bit… Looking back on your career and organized dentistry can you recall your first interaction with organized dentistry?

Nerukar: When my younger daughter was two years old, I thought, “okay I’m ready.” I took one day a month to leave the kids with my husband and I went off to the Passaic County Dental Society. My first interaction... I remember the women in that meeting, Dr. Ambrosio, Dr. Michaud, Dr. Galvis they just included me right away. Like I walked in the door and they welcomed me and they just sat with me and talked… and I think I never left.

Cook: That is a great example of the camaraderie members can find in an Association like ours.

Nerurkar: That’s one thing about organized dentistry. It’s like that saying about a bundle of sticks. Tied together, you can’t break them. But you untie it and you can break each stick. That’s how I feel with organized dentistry. If we just stay together then we are much stronger.

Cook: Do you participate in or follow the political and legislative side of organized dentistry?

Nerurkar: I do now, because I am the representative for government affairs from Passaic County. I started off doing membership but I switched to government affairs about two years ago. So I am new to it.

It’s been eye-opening how important it is, even the local elections. In terms of what legislation is passed and how we are always lumped together with the medical profession. I remember the cosmetic tax that we would pay on teeth whitening that was finally taken away, and it was only because of NJDPAC (New Jersey Dental Political Action Committee) and what they did for us.

Cook: Over the years you have helped with Membership & Government Affairs for your component. What inspired you to get involved?

Nerurkar: My father was somebody who volunteers. He always gave back and so I had that as a role model. It wasn’t anything that he said, I just saw him do it. So, I always felt the sense that I have to give back and be involved.

Cook: When was the last time your interacted with NJDA?

Nerurkar: I think I called Art (Meisel, Executive Director and General Counsel) for a staffing question.

Cook: Have you done any ADA or NJDA webinars or online workshops?

Nerurkar: I did when we were closed for the virus. They had financial experts talk about all the different loans. I did some of those and they were helpful.

Cook: What about in person programs or events?

Nerurkar: I used to attend the Annual Sessions. I rarely missed one. I used to go to the NJDA headquarters, too.

Cook: Did you see or hear that it was totally renovated recently?

Nerurkar: Yes, yes, I know. I used to come there for meetings and now we can’t even come in and take a look.

Cook: Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to see it when we can start having gatherings again.