Mrs. T. Sukeviciene-Pecnikova, MSc

Practical experience:
Worked for two years at a dental practice in Lithuania and since 2010 at Dentalzorg.

Why did you want to be a dentist?
I like to help people. I quickly wanted an independent profession, in the medical sector, but as a dentist you graduate after six years, now it’s five years. From the age of 16 I decided to become a dentist. The result of a dental treatment attracted me, a tooth or molar that is bad and then make it beautiful again.

What (basic) criteria do you think a good dentist should meet?
Listening carefully to the patient, mastering your profession well and carrying it out according to the rules and guidelines. And creating a bond with a patient, he or she must feel good and familiar with you as a practitioner. Stay curious about new developments in the dental field and continue to educate and train yourself, according to new insights. I also think it’s important to remain critical of your own work, and to always see if and where things can be improved.

What do you, as a dentist, think of Dentalzorg? For example: How would you describe the benefits of being a client at Dentalzorg?
It’s my first employer since I’ve been in the Netherlands, so I can’t compare with other practices, I’ve seen and learned a lot here. And the difference in work between the two practices, in Zaandam and Amsterdam is also very instructive. Very different people as clients, also many different cultures. I work two days in Zaandam and two days in Amsterdam at our clinic at Kamperfoelieweg. I have met many different colleagues and I have also become friends with many of them.

Of course, it happens that you have to refer clients to colleagues and/or other specializations. Do you continue to see yourself as ultimately responsible, as the first ‘lock’ in the entire dental process?
Yes, or I refer the patient someone else or someone refers a patient to me, internally, that often happens, on assignment. But I remain ultimately responsible.

Why should clients choose you as a dentist? What makes you different from the others in that respect? Do you have a special specialty, or several?
Yes, dealing with anxious patients. I always remain calm and want to make the patient feel safe. I also like working with children. I always try to solve the problem that a patient comes up with immediately, I like to take the time for that. And a patient can always come back for correction treatment, if he or she wants to adjust something.

Tell something about yourself.
I am married and have a small child, a son. I enjoy cooking and reading, general and professional literature. And I like to travel. I live near the coast, we often go to the beach for a walk and recently I started running. I also like music and dancing, my music taste is quite wide, I like many styles. And on TV I really enjoy watching programs such as ‘So you think you can dance.’

Do you have any further ambitions, for example a further specialization (or maybe one day a different profession)?
I always want to remain a dentist and continue to specialize in this area and continue to work with anxious patients and children in particular. I like it when an anxious patient is reassured and from that moment on keeps coming back regularly to keep his or her teeth in order. That I have achieved that gives me satisfaction. And with children you can of course build it up right from the start. At the moment I am working on a special trajectory called quality practice at the academic center for dentistry, so I am trying to gain (more) knowledge about dentistry.

What patients say: