Abu Dhabi Week sits down with the charming Dr Shuaib Khaderi from the newly opened Health Plus clinic at Al Bandar to find out what it takes to be a family dentist …

What inspired you to become a dentist?

My mother was a dentist so from a very early age I had a fascination with teeth. I used to love poring through my mum’s books. I knew what I wanted to be before I even went to high school.

Where did you study?

I was born in Las Vegas and raised in the Southwestern states of California and Utah. I went to school in Philadelphia but as soon as I qualified I moved back out west to be closer to my family; there was also a greater need for good dentists there. That’s where I started my family and started my career.

What kind of procedures do you specialise in?

I believe a smile is a person’s calling card so I particularly like cosmetic dentistry as it allows me to boost people’s confidence and change people’s lives. I’m an active member of the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI); this is where I still continue my studies and focus on perfecting advanced cosmetic procedures.

Changing how a person feels about their appearance can be as simple as filling a small gap between two teeth, but how a person interacts with others can be changed forever by this simple procedure. I find this kind of dentistry really rewarding. I enjoy all aspects of dentistry.

Dentistry has so many procedures that it never gets repetitious or boring. I enjoy working on all age groups so being able to handle small children to older patients who have had “not so pleasant” experiences keeps me on my toes.

How long have you been in the UAE and are you here with your family?

I have been in the country for a while now with my wife and three kids (aged six, four and two). My wife is originally from Chicago, but we met in Texas. Since we met we have always travelled and neither of us wanted to live somewhere cold so the UAE seemed like a good option; we’re quite settled here.

She now works as a clinical psychologist in Dubai and specialises in offering all aspects of therapy as well as a programme for free grief counselling.

I was working at a clinic in Dubai when I met the CEO of Health Plus. I knew they were good people and were running a pretty tight outfit so when they offered me the position here at the Family Health Center it was a no- brainer.

The clinic is centred around its patients and that’s so important to me. I want people to feel relaxed and enjoy the experience so I didn’t want to work in a sterile practice. I like the vision here at Health Plus. It’s all about offering patients hospitality and making them feel like part of the family while providing the best care possible.

6.30am: My children always wake me up nice and early in the morning. The two boys are usually haring around on their scooters indoors. I like to get up and give the kids breakfast while my wife sleeps in, to spend time with them before I rush off to work.
I drop the kids off at school on my way to work, which involves the long drive down Sheikh Zayed to Al Bandar. I say long, but it’s not too bad; it usually only takes me 45 minutes or so.

9am: I arrive at work. I usually see around eight to ten patients a day. I always ask that each appointment be as long as possible, as I like to spend time with my patients and get to know their needs. I don’t want them to feel rushed or stressed. I’d rather find out what they actually need rather than making rash judgments or over diagnosing and offering them procedures they don’t want.
I don’t want to be a reactionary dentist, only fixing problems that have already surfaced. I’d rather build a relationship with my patients so that we’re working together on dental care to prevent them having to endure painful or unnecessary surgeries, like root canals, etc.

12pm: I usually skip lunch while I’m working, but I drink a lot of coffee, which helps keep me going!
Abu Dhabi is a really interesting place to work as I meet people from so many different nationalities. It also means that I see some pretty interesting cases. I had one gentleman from Costa Rica who came to me with “a tooth that was bothering him”. It soon became apparent that not only was his mouth full of ill-fitting veneers, but he also had a rope filling; connecting all his teeth together as one piece. I’d never seen anything like it!

6pm: I leave the clinic for home, which means I get home around 7pm. The kids are normally in bed by the time I get home, which I hate. My son is always saying he’s sad that he doesn’t get to see me at night, but that’s the job.
My wife and I always try and catch up after a busy day. We make time to talk, usually over dinner – unless we’re meeting friends.
I play a lot of sports – basketball, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball – plus I go to the gym and run a lot so I often try to squeeze in a session in the evening. I watch a lot of sports as well so with the time difference I’m sometimes up pretty late.

1am: I usually try to make sure I’m in bed by this time otherwise no amount of coffee will get me through the day!