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Business & Tech

A Day in the Life: David Sherberg, DMD

In 2008, Dr. David Sherberg graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. For the past two years, he has been working with patients at Northford Family Dental.

North Branford Patch: Where are you from originally?

Dr. David Sherberg: I’ve lived all across the country. I was born in St. Louis, but I grew up in Madison, right down the road. My entire family moved away from Connecticut, and I came back.

North Branford Patch: Could you explain the process of dental school?

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Sherberg: For the undergrad, you can major in whatever you want, but you have to do the pre-med requirements—biology, chemistry, math, physics. Once you get that done, you take a test called the DAT, Dental Aptitude Test. I went to the University of Connecticut dental school and I was very happy with it. It’s tough and very well respected. Of the four years of dental school, you do two years basically learning scholastically and two years in a clinic where you’re taught how to actually do the dentistry.

North Branford Patch: What was your experience with dental school? How does it compare to undergrad?

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Sherberg: It’s much harder. Part of the reason why UConn is so good is the first two years are completely with the medical school students. I had to dissect a complete cadaver. I learned about pancreatic cancer. In dental school I had to study for hours and hours every day just to keep up. The second two years was also difficult, but in a different way. They were also more fun because I was actually doing the dentistry, opposed to just reading about it.

North Branford Patch: What was it like the first time you had a patient in the chair?

Sherberg: It’s an adrenaline rush. In dental school, you have three-hour appointments. Obviously procedures cost a fraction of what they would cost at a private practice and you have to be willing to sit there for three hours, so you get a very eclectic group of people. My first patient was a very particular woman. Every time I brought an instrument close to her mouth, I’d tell her to, “Open up.” Apparently, she hated that and she later requested that she no longer see me. That basically destroyed my confidence for a few days. But, I was reassured that she was just nuts.

North Branford Patch: How did you first get interested in dentistry?

Sherberg: I was a computer science major in college. I was always interested in medicine, but I didn’t have it in me to have someone’s life in my hands. I liked the problem-solving aspects of computer science. I did an internship working on a website and I got to see what these guys did developing the website and I knew that I didn’t want to do it at all. You sit at a computer all day, typing, snacking and not seeing the sun. So, I went back to medicine to look at my other options. My mom actually suggested dentistry and I shadowed some dental school students. It has the problem-solving aspects of computer science that I like.

North Branford Patch: How have you applied your computer science background to your dentistry work?

Sherberg: We have a CEREC [Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics] “crown in a day” program. A crown is a piece of porcelain that’s bonded to the tooth to replace defective tooth structure. I take a picture of the tooth and I actually design the crown in 3D on the computer and press a button and it mills out the crown in porcelain. It’s really useful because doing that procedure the standard way usually takes two appointments separated by a few weeks. With this technology, we can do the whole thing in one day. I also manage and edit our website and Facebook page.

North Branford Patch: What do you like about working in North Branford?

Sherberg: The people are really nice. I’m trying to buy a house here, but nobody is leaving. It’s a nice small town and the people are down to Earth.

North Branford Patch: What is the biggest misconception about dentists?

Sherberg: The biggest misconception is that we cause pain. I’d say nine of the 10 procedures I do, the patient feels very little if any pain because the anesthesia has gotten really good. Back in the '70s, they used Novocaine. We haven’t used Novocaine for 20 years, but nobody knows that except dentists. We use Septocaine, Lidocaine, and other formulations that are much stronger. People have a fear of dentists for a lot of reasons, but the fear that we cause pain is probably the most irrational and most wrong one.

North Branford Patch: What is the most satisfying part of your job?

Sherberg: Believe it or not, doing root canals is very satisfying. These people will come in an immense about of pain. Root canal pain can be extremely debilitating and extremely painful. I’ve had grown men crying in my chair. Doing the root canal is great because once it’s done, they’re out of pain in a day or two. It’s nice to be able to help somebody almost flick off the switch of pain. The other satisfying part is the cosmetic work like veneers and crowns. It’s nice to help someone feel good about their smile.

North Branford Patch: Could you describe a typical day in the life of a dentist?

Sherberg: There is no typical day and that’s part of why I like it. Some people think that dentists just do fillings all day, but there’s so many various procedures that we do—fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, making dentures.

North Branford Patch: What is the most challenging part of your job?

Sherberg: Right now, the most challenging part of my job is transitioning into a private practice setting. I hope to someday run a dental practice and you have to be a small business owner along with also being a good dentist. There are a lot of hats to wear and one thing they don’t teach you in dental school is how to run a business.

To be featured in ‘A Day in the Life’ or to suggest someone who should be profiled, send information to Jim Gangi.

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