As is our tradition at the mid-point of the professional year, Northwest Dentistry sat down with the current president of the Minnesota Dental Association, Dr. Patrick Foy, to check the status of Association activities and acknowledge the people who make them a reality. Dr. Foy is a general dentist in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
NWD: Thank you for joining us, Dr. Foy. Please give us some background about where you grew up, your education, family, and where in the process you decided to become a dentist.
Dr. Foy: I grew up in Sioux City, Iowa. I went to a private Catholic school there, and when I was 15, my family moved across the border to South Dakota. I stayed in school in Iowa, graduating from Sioux City's Heelan High School. Then, as a South Dakota resident I went to the University of South Dakota as an undergraduate.
I was about 17 when I decided to be a dentist. I looked into medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry, and chose dentistry, I think, because it suited my personality. Our family dentist was a friend of my father's, and his lifestyle seemed attractive to me.
I went to the University of Nebraska Dental School, graduating in 1980, then came to Minneapolis to a General Practice Residency at the Veterans Administration Hospital from 1980 to '81. I started in private practice in my current location in 1991; I was an associate in Northeast Minneapolis with J. David Steen from '81 to '85, and I started full-time in my current location in 1985 when I bought the practice.
My family are not dentists. My sister is a nurse. I have a first cousin who is a physician in Albert Lea, so when I was trying to make my decision, I spent two weeks with him — he is a family practice doctor — and his trying to talk me into medicine actually talked me out of it. I got to see the lifestyle, including emergency care. My cousin had a wife and small children, and every time he was called out, the disappointment in his family was a big deal. We have emergencies in dentistry, but we are more free to control our lives as dentists. [laughs]
I think the reasons I chose dentistry initially are probably not necessarily the reasons I enjoy dentistry today, which is probably just an evolution of where you are, how old you are...
NWD: Let's talk about organized dentistry and its place on the professional map.
Dr. Foy: I believe the role of organized dentistry is actually to be the voice of dentistry, to advocate for our profession, and more on a personal note, to help those practitioners I call the wet-fingered dentists, who are down there in the trenches in the day-to-day practices, the people who are influenced day in and day out by what the legislature does via regulations, OSHAs, and what they pass to try to protect the public. This is why we need all of our members to contribute in some way.
I believe every one of us is blessed with a talent, and organized dentistry needs many different talents. I encourage members to look at what they have to offer not only in time but in their individual talents and where they might find a fit at any level of organized dentistry. I know from personal experience you will benefit in more ways than you can imagine, and you will get back more than you will ever give.
NWD: How did you first join?
Dr. Foy: I learned that part of professional responsibility in dental school. When I left the U of Nebraska, that was their message: It is your responsibility as a professional to be part of organized dentistry.
NWD: Are you looking at any ADA positions after the MDA presidency?
Dr. Foy: I would have to look into the specifics more than I have. Right now it is the issue of the mental wellness of dentists that I'm sensitive to, so that would be a direction to research. My wife and our two kids, who are 13 and 10, have been great about my being MDA president, so when I'm done I think I'm going to be a dad for awhile before I do anything more.
NWD: How do you view the presidency? Do you have a personal job description?
Dr. Foy: The presidency has been a privilege, and the privilege has been to participate. The profession is loaded with wonderful people who care: about quality care, about educating the world on good oral health. I'm humbled, actually, by the dedication I have witnessed here in Minnesota and throughout the country.
My personal job description? It's probably the hardest thing for me to both contemplate and answer. When I first came on the ladder I wanted to learn all I could about the MDA and how it fit into the scheme of the world — I took myself a little bit too seriously and was not enjoying the experience. Thankfully someone with a little bit more wisdom than I sensed my mood and gave me some great advice, which was, "Don't do this if you're not having fun." That simple concept really opened me up, and I honestly have no regrets. It allowed me to open my eyes to the many aspects of dentistry, and I know I have become a better dentist, a better dad, a better person because of my experience. I am grateful to my family that they allowed me to do this and allowed me the flexibility to have this experience.
NWD: You mentioned some areas of special interest.
Dr. Foy: What I alluded to before as a result of my own experiences can be summarized in the question, "What is it to be a successful dentist?" There are a lot of talking heads travelling the country telling dental professionals how to practice, profit, manage, market, how to use new technologies etc., etc., etc. But I think each and every dentist needs to figure out who he or she is and what they want to be. Once they figure that out, they will have figured out what will make them happy, and then they can plot their paths to personal success and happiness and resist the overmarketed chaff that doesn't make dentistry any happier or easier. Happiness is different for every single person, and often the hardest part is to figure out what will make you happy not only as a professional but as a person.
NWD: Association activities at this point in the year are a big part of this interview. Where shall we start?
Dr. Foy: I feel that the reduction of eligibility for the MNCare program and the raiding of the Health Care Access Program by the governor has really changed the intent and the priority of the Provider Tax. Instead of the Provider Tax lending itself to increased health care in Minnesota, it is been channeled into the General Fund, resulting in its whole premise decreasing in relevance or importance. The Provider Coalition is trying to go after the access funds or at least reduce the Provider Tax so there would be no excess the governor could raid. We at the MDA are also trying to get a dental health access tax credit for those who do provide for Medical Assistance patients so that these people would, hopefully, be able to use some of what they write off or what they provide as a reduction in their Provider Tax.
NWD: What else is on the agenda?
Dr. Foy: Workforce. Not only on the state but at the national level, access has been a mantra for change to the Dental Practice Act throughout the country, even though the true cause of access problems is not necessarily a shortage of dentists, it just may be a shortage of funding for Medicaid programs. The Give Kids a Smile program is trying to underline that Medicaid servers are underfunded — there are a lot of underfunded programs — and that is what is creating the access problems.
NWD: Another area that impacts that day-to-day practice life has to be outside influence from third parties.
Dr. Foy: The MDA is approaching third party issues now by basically advocating for the preservation of the doctor/patient relationship and the patient's freedom to choose what treatment and what provider he or she wants.
Then there are the regulatory activities: Board of Dentistry, amalgam waste/amalgam safety. We are advocating for the best waste management practices on amalgam and the idea that amalgam safety for intraoral uses is still alive and well and that the MDA is at the table with the Board of Dentistry when they are developing regulatory actions for our profession.
NWD: Some activities, such as emergency preparedness, seem to have evolved from initiatives to self-perpetuating programs.
Dr. Foy: We are still trying to get an Emergency Preparedness Act so that licensed dentists can give vaccinations if and when a time of need does arise. With the passage of time, a much broader definition of emergencies has evolved.
Speaking legislatively, I simply can't state often enough that I encourage every dentist to get to know his or her state legislator. What most dentists don't realize is that we are experts in our field, and when a legislator does come up with a dental issue, if they have a relationship, that lawmaker is more likely to contact a dentist for his or her opinion.
The dentist has become his or her legislator's expert, and is in a position to aid not only him- or herself but the profession. Medicaid/Medical Assistance is another evolving area. Oral Health Solutions is a pilot project spearheaded by Mike Helgeson of Apple Tree Dental. They may need legislative activity to get this going. The initial pilot project will include the Metro, Duluth, and Moorhead areas of Minnesota. The project proposes a different way to administer Medical Assistance to various populations. Most of the players in the Metro area have signed on to support this, but I do believe it is going to need some legislative support in order for it to get off the ground.
NWD: Are changes in legislatures an ongoing challenge?
Dr. Foy: Changes in individuals and committee assignments could affect how dentistry is impacted. The hard part about any change, no matter the source, is discovering how it will impact individual practices. And since the MDA is for dentists and their well being, that is certainly a big part of our interaction.
NWD: The MDA's Well Being programs are certainly evolving.
Dr. Foy: The Sand Creek Wellness Program is an area that I did not realize, coming into the MDA, was as big an issue as it really is, and I feel proud that Minnesota has stepped up and instituted such a program. Hopefully it will improve the mental health and the practice health of many practitioners throughout the state.
NWD: Let's close with some "presidential perspective" on your experience up to this point.
Dr. Foy: It comes in moments, such as one experience this week. Last Tuesday we went to the Capitol to testify at a hearing on the $500 cap and the Donated Dental Services program. What an amazing thing it was to sit in the same room with people whose funding had been cut — non-dental personnel, the physically handicapped, representatives from a women's shelter where 23 children received treatment via Give Kids a Smile — and hear them speak of multiple programs the MDA is supporting. There are a lot of things dentistry is doing out there, giving back. This does, despite the nay-sayers, further our profession. Sitting in that public hearing at the Senate listening to testimony about issues the MDA is advocating for, you do understand it does make a difference.
To me, the amazing thing about the Minnesota Dental Association is not only the dedication of the staff but that of the many volunteer dentists. As an organization they are capable of many great things, but without the support and gratitude from our members, we would not exist.
It is my hope that any member/dentist who is asked to help out can find a way to use his or her talents to say yes to participating in their professional organization. I really want people to not be afraid of saying yes when asked. Going through the ladder, I was more worried about the loss of my time and freedom and I didn't appreciate all the unanticipated benefits that I received, the huge education, that will benefit my practice life and the rest of my career. Say yes to that. You will never regret it.
