MEET DR. GIORGIO PETRICCA

Life is all about perseverance. One of my greatest mentors and inspirations has been my childhood orthodontist, Dr. Michael Wainwright from Vancouver. When I first was considering becoming a dentist and told my orthodontist, one word of advice that has stuck in my mind has been "perseverance." A dentist is just a person, no better no less, and one must not forget that. I believe that a degree or degrees is not what makes a person but rather his/her upbringing, values, ethics, and character.

I was born in 1972 and was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I was born of Italian immigrants who came to Canada with nothing. My father who was my main motivator throughout childhood and adolescence has also been the main person who set an example for me to follow – honesty, hard work, fairness, compassion and understanding, forthrightness, and standing for what you believe in. These qualities are easily stated, but also constantly challenged by life's ups and downs, and by those who do not share these values or appreciate them. It is this constant challenge that requires perseverance.

I was always interested in the sciences and to this day still strongly believe in the scientific method ("systematic observation, measurement and experiment, and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses"). It was not until I did my first Master of Science in Pharmacology that I learned to question what I read, what is being sold, a method, or a treatment philosophy. This first Masters made me into a "thinker" since dental school for me was mainly about being a "doer." In today's fast-paced world, we are constantly bombarded with advertising and selling by someone of something. If I was not a critical thinker, I feel I would less be able to discern fact from opinion.

In dental school I became interested in surgery and did an externship abroad in oral maxillofacial surgery. During this time, I was also becoming interested in periodontics. Periodontics comes from the Latin root "perio," which means "around."

Periodontics deals with all supporting structures around teeth: tissue, bone, the surface of a root, and the ligament that anchors the root of a tooth to the surrounding bone. I chose periodontics over oral surgery because periodontics affords me the ability to both be able to preserve teeth (by treating disease) and replace them (with dental implants.) The periodontium is the foundation of our teeth. Without a healthy foundation, our teeth/dentition will ultimately fail. In order to work with the foundation, I must also understand occlusion (how our teeth fit together, much like the legs of a table – ie: if one leg is longer than the rest, the table rocks), the nerve of the tooth (endodontics), esthetics, pathology, and the structural integrity of teeth (i.e: whether a tooth is worth keeping, and working with your dentist, etc.).

My career began as a general dentist, first by teaching dental students (a week after graduation, 2001), working at the University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton as a dental resident for one year, and then as a locum dentist in Wabasca, Alberta on Big Stone Cree Nation for 2 months. I returned to the University of British Columbia to start my three year specialization in Periodontics (September, 2002). This included a combined diploma in Periodontics and Master of Science in Oral Biology (2nd Masters).

I practiced Periodontics in Red Deer, Alberta for 2 years (2006, 2007), then came to Nanaimo in November, 2007 and have been practicing in Nanaimo to date, on my own since January, 2008. I also practice some Fridays for others' dental offices.