Shah Mamta K, DDS
About The Dentist
In 1987 when I became a dentist, I was excited that I could take people out of pain with fillings and root canal treatments and restore their teeth with crowns. I was excited that I could take away their bad breath and bleeding gums and gum disease, or pyorrhea as it was called then. I could examine people’s mouths and check for oral lesions. I could play with tools and materials, and I had a “Dr.” in front of my name! Life was good…
I was excited that I was able to make a nice set of dentures for my father. I got an ‘A’ grade for my work.
I am a product of tough nurturing. When I completed my father’s dentures, my dad declared, “You may have gotten an ‘A’ on the denture you made for me, but to me, you are a bad dentist.” As you might imagine, I was shocked, and hurt.
“Why dad?” I asked. “I tried so hard and your denture fits you so well. You are able to eat everything and the dentures don’t even fall out of your mouth.” I rambled on, trying to convince my father I deserved his approval.
My father responded, “You didn’t manage my emotions. You didn’t even try to find out why I lost my teeth. You didn’t care to know what compromise I would have in my quality of life once I lost my teeth.”
“But dad, that wasn’t a part of the training!” I complained.
“Then you must go and learn,” he said.
Dad passed away 23 years ago from metastatic cancer. He had a non-healing ulcer of the lower jaw that I didn’t even relate to cancer brewing somewhere else in the body!
Since then, dentistry has been a lifelong process of learning. I have kept my mind open to different concepts of diagnoses and treatments and spent many hours learning these methods. I learned how straight teeth begin from malaligned cranial bones and imbalanced jaw joints. I learned how different dental symptoms are related to sleep and breathing disorders and also how trauma from chewing can cause loss of teeth if the forces are not directed correctly. I learned comprehensive periodontal care. My experiences treating people since then have taught me that inflammation has a very powerful role to play throughout our body and inflamed traumatized muscles can cause a lot of systemic issues. I learned to believe that the whole body is connected!
I also learned implant dentistry so I don’t have to make another ‘A’ class denture, but can maybe replace the root of the tooth so we can actually give people their teeth back instead!
It has been a very exciting journey.
I am a general dentist. I am looking forward to see people everyday when I go to work and apply all my naturopathic skills too since July, 2016.
I sincerely thank my many mentors whom I respect highly: Dr. Darick Norstrom, Dr. Arun Garg, Dr. Steven Jacoby, Dr. Dale Minkin, and Dr. Jack Isaacs, to name a few.
Having developed a comprehensive approach to treatment has been a very humbling experience. I thank God for everything and pray that I can do my very best for all those who put their trust in me.