Feature -- by Tom Babin

Dr. Anthony Knight sits at work surrounded by a pair of pliers and a computer screen with photos of rotted teeth, but he smiles when you ask him about his job. Though he spends much of his day with his hands in someone else's mouth and routinely asks questions like "Do you have any problems with breath odour?" his smile is one of confidence and ease, like that of a man satisfied with the direction of his career. His thin beard, lean frame and golf shirt make him look more like a software executive than a dentist (though he does have nice teeth), but talk of bicuspids quickens his voice with excitement more than talk of RAM. Knight also represents a new kind of dentist, one who puts his patients before their problems, and the result is a practice that gives him satisfaction and success.

"I just have a passion to go into mouths," Knight says. "(Dentistry) is not just dealing with spit and saliva. There are a lot of challenges in the mouth." It's those challenges that Knight gets satisfaction from, especially when he gets to see the result of his work, like someone who feels better about their smile, or leaves the office pain-free. Like any general practitioner of dentistry, Knight spends much of his time on the technical side of things, examining patients, cleaning teeth and filling cavities, but he says he likes to take the time to get to know his patients, and that's where he draws a lot of the enjoyment from his job.

"In order to treat someone, I think you have to know them," Knight says. "That's part of what I like, getting to know everyone." Knight is part of a growing number of dentists who are taking an almost holistic approach to their practice, he wants to get to know and treat each patient, not just zero in on their problems. He says he reaps as many benefits from this approach as his patients do. "When you (a patient) come in and we sit down and talk like this, hopefully it gives you a feeling, 'yeah, this guy knows what I want,'" he says. "People get so much input with this. People have control."

Knight says trying to incorporate new ideas into his practice, like his holistic approach and the use of technology, is fun and exciting, but it means he must keep up his education. All members of the Alberta Dental Association are required to take a certain number of courses per year, but Knight says he tends to gather more than what is required simply because of his interests. Tack that onto the five-years he took to get his dentistry degree in his native South Africa (it generally takes six years in a Canadian University like the U of A), and it adds up to a lot of schooling to become a dentist.

All that schooling pays off, though. Dentists number among the highest paid professionals in North America. According to the American Dental Association, the average salary for a dentist who owned their own practice in the United States in 1995 was $122,860 for a general practitioner and $191,890 for a specialist. Getting to that point, however, is tough. "Building a dental office is a huge financial commitment," Knight says. Most dentists can't afford to build an office straight out of dental school (one dental chair, for example, can cost $28,000), so they join a partnership or associate office where they can build up their skills with the help of other dentists, and their bankbook. "It's like getting a learner's license in a car," Knight says. "You are driving, but someone is in the car with you." Many work their whole careers sharing office space with other dentists, but some own their own practice.

Despite the benefits, Knight says being a dentist is far from a stress-free lifestyle. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist," he says "It can be a high stress job." With a growing patient list that currently numbers over 900 (a practice his size should have about 2,000 patients, he says), and a tight schedule, Knight says trying to meet the needs of everyone can wear on him, especially when spending time with each patient. The financial burden of starting up a new practice, which Knight is in the process of after a 5-year break, can be huge, and it adds to the stress of being an independent dentist. "It has it's moments, but we're pretty hard on ourselves," Knight says. "Most dentists are."