Interview with Manish Garala, B.D.S., M.S., Diplomate, American Board of Endodontics
Dr. Manish Garala is an endodontics practitioner in the Texas Medical Center and has over 24 years of experience in the medical field. He is a member dental specialist of the GHDS/TDA/ADA. Here we share an interview with Dr. Garala as our December spotlight.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHERE DID YOU ATTEND COLLEGE, DENTAL SCHOOL, AND RESIDENCY IF ANY?
I received my dental degree in 1996 from Turner Dental School, University of Manchester, England. Between 1996 and 1999, I obtained my general dental practitioner degree at Hope Dental Practice, Manchester, England. I completed my postgraduate degree in endodontics at Nova Southeastern University in Florida in 2002, with a Master of Science in education. I achieved the status of Diplomate in Endodontics in 2007 from the American Board of Endodontics.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO HOUSTON TO PRACTICE AND HOW HAVE YOU SEEN SPECIALIST PRACTICE EVOLVE?
The primary reason that I moved to Houston was because of the practice vision that had been created and implemented by Dr. Steve Schwartz. This gave me the opportunity to provide endodontic care the way that I had been educated under the guidance of Dr. Samuel Dorn in my residency program.
The practicing philosophy that they both instilled was that there was no bigger factor for a successful specialist practice than the well-being of our patients. Specialist practice has evolved as patients have become more motivated to saving their natural dentition wherever possible. This has resulted in the need for more inter-disciplinary collaboration amongst the dental specialties to manage the increased complexity of treatment that is necessary to maintain these teeth.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE?
I love all aspects of being a specialist, but my favorite part must be achieving the goal of exceptional patient care for all our patients. This is only possible by having like-minded doctors on our team who are also dedicated to clinical excellence.
Working with Dr. Hanzon, Dr. Ansari and Dr. Liu has enabled our practice to form strong and trusting relationships with our referring doctors who understand our commitment to providing compassionate, collaborative, and technologically state-of-the-art clinical care.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MISSION STATEMENT OF HOW YOU PRACTICE DENTISTRY?
“Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE TO CURRENT DENTAL STUDENTS?
The best advice I can give would be to embrace the need for career-long learning. Dentistry is continually evolving, and so we must constantly re-evaluate our decision-making including products and technology that we utilize to provide our patients with the best clinical care possible. The second piece of advice would be to be involved with dental organizations. Dentistry is mentally challenging especially with the levels of perfection that we demand of ourselves daily. The ability to share insights and experiences with fellow professionals can provide an alternative perspective to our challenges, which in turn can help to maintain a sense of internal well-being.
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