Today we’d like to introduce you to Lara Regis.
Hi Lara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I come from a family of several dentists in Brazil (grand-uncle, father, uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins) and caring for people has always been in our family’s tradition. I grew up watching my father interact with his patients with genuine care, observing him patiently sculpturing wax teeth in his lab and talking about complicated cases with an inspiring enthusiasm. I always knew I wanted to be a dentist like him.
I thought I had my future all planned out – I would finish dental school and be working in my hometown next to my father and my siblings, but life led me to a different path. A couple of years after graduating from dental school I closed my dental office and moved to Chicago to be with my husband. As someone has said “love can move mountains” which proved to be true as it was my excitement and love that overshadowed the challenges and difficulties of restarting a professional career.
The path towards becoming a dentist in a foreign country requires being humble yet determined. Being an immigrant sometimes can be intimidating. I felt discouraged sometimes when I faced several failures, I felt homesick and I questioned my decisions but I always found support from people around me. There were plenty of sleepless nights and long days at the library to prepare for the boards. Many weekends were spent running lab tests for my research program. At times, I would leave the school lab late past midnight. I was fully engaged in my studies and would not lose focus. I believe my strength comes from a solid background with strong faith in God and the belief that we all have a mission to fulfill in this life. I really wanted to be able to practice dentistry again and to put my heart into it. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to treat people with kindness and help them overcome their fears and insecurities. I wanted to give them reasons to smile and to inspire them too. I believed I was born to be this person.
Now, 14 years after my second graduation in dentistry, three amazing sons, a successful dental practice and a solid marriage, I look at the path I chose and I have no doubt that it was worth all the sacrifices. Dentistry has turned out to be my and my family’s life, our means to help people, to inspire others and to make a difference in our community. My oldest son has decided to keep the family tradition and engage in dental studies which makes me believe he got inspired too.
Our practice is our second home. It is a place filled with love and passion, built with hard work and sacrifices. We have an amazing team of talented and passionate people with fun personalities. Being at work is exciting, comforting and fulfilling. The recipe to success is commitment, resilience, transparency and kindness. Our existing patients are our only source of referrals and that is something to be proud of. We start and end our day with a thankful heart for being in Texas. My husband and I planted our solid foundation in this amazing place.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were struggles. I got my dental license in 2008, during a serious economic crisis and It was not exactly like I dreamed. Finding a job was not easy, the ones available did not fit my standards of patient care. I was driving 80 miles a day to a job that best fitted me. I tried to work as much as possible to be able to pay my school loans but things were not working well in Chicago. I was tired of the hard winters, of working under stress and not seeing financial return. In 2010, after visiting friends in Houston, we made the decision to move. Houston winters were mild and the city seemed to be thriving despite the economic hardships the country was going through. It looked promising. With the collapse of the housing market, we ended up losing the few assets we had in Chicago. It was a scary time but we were filled with hope and excitement to start over again. It was not hard to find jobs in Houston. I worked as an associate dentist 6 days a week for 3 different offices. At that time, I was pregnant with my second child. We lived a simple but good life. We lived in many apartments all over Houston. Our goal was to pay off all our debts and save as much as possible to invest in our own practice. The experience I gained working at different offices gave me confidence to move on my own. My dream was to be able to work at my own pace, to focus on quality, to provide my co-workers a healthy and fun working environment and to give our patients honest, compassionate and high quality care. An opportunity came in 2012 and we bought a dental practice, a few months after I delivered my third boy. More challenges came. I was not able to support my own office so I had to work at other places to cover my practice expenses. I was exhausted. Trying to find balance between managing a new practice, taking care of patients and being a mom of 3 young boys seemed impossible. It took again sleepless nights, lots of hard work and determination. Again, I never lost my faith. I knew God was with me. Year by year, we got wiser, we learned with our mistakes and adapted to changes. The practice started shaping into what we wanted to be. After 10 years since we have opened our practice, I can say that we are stable, we have gained our community trust and we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. Nothing was easy but it was all worth it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My practice is a general dental practice that welcomes all ages. We work with all aspect of dentistry including restorative, cosmetic, surgery and orthodontics. We are known for conservative approach, easy going, no pressures environment. We are a small group that takes the relationship with patients to a personal level. Our patients feel comfortable and safe under our care and they would not hesitate to drive many miles to come to us.
How do you think about happiness?
Helping others makes me happy. My work allows me to make a difference in people’s lives by relieving pain, by overcoming their fears and by giving them the confidence to smile. It is a blessing.
Contact Info:
- Email: care@regis.com
- Website: https://regis.dental
