Day in the Life of Japjot Vig

Dr. Japjot Vig with Dr. Hank Tan, Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Dentistry

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Edmonton and now I live in St. Albert. I did my undergrad in Mechanical Engineering first, then switched to Dentistry which I graduated in 2014. Originally, I was doing Biomedical Mechanical Engineering at the U of A, doing research with IRSM (formerly COMPRU) at Misericordia Hospital in facial reconstruction during my coop term there, and I really fell in love with the surgical aspect of that.

What did you want to be as a kid?
I wanted to be a garbage man so badly when I was little. I thought they were so cool! They got to drive the truck, get time off... I actually have a friend who's a garbage man, and his life is pretty great, so I guess he made the better choice! As I got older, I wanted to be a car mechanic.

How long have you owned your practice?
I own Onoway Dental (just outside of Stony Plain) since November 2019 (great timing, eh?). I started out in Westlock, then moved to a practice in Edmonton for a few years while I looked for the practice I would buy. The practice owner in Edmonton helped me look and was really supportive but I ended up buying a practice my friends found for me.

What do you like most about being a dentist?
There are quite a few positives about being a dentist. You get to achieve something physical; working with your hands and really create something. You also get to meet so many different people and make a lot of friends that way. As you get to know your patients, they become more like part of the family. It's really cool that way!

Do you have a favourite procedure at work?
I like surgery and root canals. Root canals may sound weird, but it's the intricacy of endodontics that I like. It takes a while to get your skills to a point where you're comfortable, so when you do them, you're proud of that root canal! You worked your butt off and when you see the end result and think, yeah! That's pretty great!

How is your practice doing right now?
It's been kind of boring and stressful at the same time. We set up a 24-hour hotline that's forwarded to my cellphone. I get one or two calls a day. Most of them I am able to help over the phone, and if their problems aren't helped with a few rounds of medications, we bring them into the clinic but even then it's just a temporary band-aid until we can fix it permanently. But it's not that many, honestly. Patients are trying to not go out as much as possible. Once we get started again, it will be a very different environment, but patients will still always need oral health care.

What has this time been like for you?
I'm lucky that I had worked for 5 years prior to buying my practice and I had some money saved up so I didn't have to take out a huge loan for the practice (which reduced the risk on my end). I'm very scared of big risks, especially when I had a little one on the way. My wife and I had saved to put us in a position where even if business went to zero, it wouldn't break us. Ironically, it actually did go to zero... but we are all in the same boat. Thankfully, dentistry will always be essential.

What is your stress relief?
Family. My son Armin is 3 and a half months old and is quite the silver lining. I get to see my son grow up! It's amazing how things change daily. Now that I'm home, I'm able to help out, and Armin gets to see me more. Before, my wife would call me at the clinic to tell me he rolled over or something, and I'd only be able to think, "Darn! I missed it!"

Any advice to new graduates from a place of just having bought your practice?
First off, don't buy a practice right out of school! You don't know what you're doing as a dentist yet, much less how to run a business. Find a clinic with dentists who can be mentors who will help you hone your skills so you can become a better practitioner and become more comfortable with your patients. As we've all just learned, things can change so quickly, so get to a place where you don't have too much risk when buying a practice, so you aren't stressing hour by hour about what can be. By that time, hopefully, you will also know for sure that you actually want to own a practice!

Don't get ahead of yourself! I learned a lot from the dentists I worked with, and working at a couple of clinics allows you to learn different ways to run a practice, which can be put to use at your own future practice.

Get to know more alumni here!