Fear. It’s a word often cloaked in negativity, but for me, fear has been a driving force, propelling me toward action and success. While it can carry a dark lining of anxiety and depression, it also has a silver lining—motivating us to overcome obstacles and achieve our goals.
I graduated from my first medical school in St. Petersburg, Russia, and I experienced a lot of fear. I was scared of gangsters. It was the beginning of capitalism, and new rules were just forming. I always wanted to have my own business, but I was very scared that some broad-shouldered guys would appear in my office and ask me to pay them a monthly fee for protection; otherwise, they could start torturing my family. You couldn’t go to the police either because the criminal and justice systems were connected. Out of fear of not being able to practice my profession in the way I envisioned it, I moved to the USA.
I have always been a very aesthetic person, and dentistry in Russia at that time was exceptionally ugly. Moving to another country, learning a new language, and getting professional education was a totally scary experience. Very mundane concepts like Social Security, riding the subway in New York, or doing laundry in a laundromat were so new to me. Out of fear, I passed my boards extremely well and was admitted to NYU College of Dentistry to pursue my dental education all over again. I have to admit that learning dentistry in Russia helped me with extensive medical knowledge, and learning dentistry at NYU was very dentistry-focused. At present, when treating sleep apnea, I use knowledge from both institutions. It can never be too much. My mom always said, referring to knowledge: “That luggage is not heavy for your shoulders.”
After NYU College of Dentistry and the residency program at Newark Beth Israel, I got even more scared. I had to be a doctor who knew answers to a lot of questions and could address any unpredictable situation my patients might present with. My imposter syndrome was bigger than any room. Laying in bed at night, I would imagine different failures of dental treatments I would provide. As I mentioned before, I really like beauty and art. I wanted to create aesthetic restorations for my patients that would last a lifetime. I wanted to create a failure-proof system. I took a lot of cosmetic courses, and the more I learned about lifelike restorations, expensive materials, and correct bite positions, the more I had nightmares. Someone might come into my office and destroy all my aesthetic efforts and, in addition to that, destroy their own teeth. I did not want to wait for angry patients to appear in my practice, so I enrolled in an implant residency program to have a full course of action if patients had super strong destructive forces. Through these courses, I realized that if I put teeth into the correct occlusal scheme, it would be a safe route.
I enrolled in an orthodontic residency program. I thought I could put teeth in the correct scheme and decrease destructive forces that way. No. It was an AHA moment when I realized: I can dance around patients’ teeth with super-strong materials and the most fascinating bite—nothing will happen if a patient has trouble breathing at night. Upon an apneic event, they will move their jaw forward in a clenched position and break it. I became very interested in sleep. I spent a lot of nights in sleep centers following sleep technicians, learning from them. I became so fascinated with the full circle of facial growth and development that now I can decode many pathologies such as TMJ disorders, sleep apnea, and relapse in orthodontic treatment, and offer treatment plans that would work for many years without failure.
I also realized that my sophisticated philosophy needed a very special home. I needed my own practice where I could grow a supportive team, and only in that environment could I exercise the care and treatment I envisioned. I find that dentistry is a very hard specialty to practice because patients often come with a negative overtone. We always have to swim against the current. Being surrounded by people who believe in you and support your philosophy is everything. Losing my team is my biggest fear. This is why I express my gratitude to my team through every personalized birthday celebration and team-building event.
Having many years of practical experience, I realized that oral health and overall health are very connected, but unfortunately, medical and dental communities are not. I feel scared for my patients’ health every day due to that illogical separation. Just like before, out of fear for my patients’ health and well-being, I created a social media channel, “Sleep Apnea: Snoring Breathing Help,” where I interview medical and dental practitioners of different specialties and patients, trying to build bridges between different communities that lead to personalized medicine. I absolutely admire this DWE community for its camaraderie and support, and I hope you can help me to build those bridges. I hope those bridges will help our mutual patients to have less fear upon visiting the dental office.
About Dr. Sokolina
As the founder and CEO of Harmony Dental Arts, Dr. Maria Sokolina is dedicated to creating a healthier world by promoting sound sleep and healthful breathing. Originally from Russia, Dr. Sokolina holds a medical degree and later earned her DDS degree from New York University College of Dentistry. With a diverse background in dentistry, including implants, cosmetic dentistry, full mouth rehabilitation, and orthodontics, Dr. Sokolina is also actively involved in Dental Sleep Medicine, seeking solutions for sleep apnea through dental appliances and myofunctional therapy.
Dr. Sokolina hosts a Facebook and YouTube channel dedicated to sleep and breathing. Through interviews with professionals in the medical and dental fields, as well as patients dealing with sleep breathing disorders, the channels aim to create a supportive community for individuals navigating this challenging journey.
Dr. Sokolina, a lecturer and Diplomat of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, serves on the board of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and TEDx. Beyond her practice, she passionately shares knowledge through lectures on “Sleep, Breath, and Wellness” in both the general and medical communities. For more information, visit her website at https://www.harmonydentalarts.com/.