David Desonier, D.D.S.
Houma , LA
ADA member for fifteen years

How many years have you been an ADA member?
Fifteen

Briefly describe your practice.
I recently sold my private practice of 25 years to concentrate on community health dentistry. I now practice at a community health center in rural Louisiana. There is a great need for dentists to serve the people who have little or no access to dental care. This is a very rewarding time in my career.

What generation dentist are you?
First

What's the most-often asked question from your patients?
I see a great deal of children in the Medicaid program. Many have never seen a dentist before. They all want to know "will it hurt?".

What is the most interesting thing that has happened or you’ve done as a dental professional?
After placing a removable partial replacing a gentleman's upper anterior teeth, he began to cry after seeing himself in the mirror. He was overcome with emotion at the improvement in his appearance.

Why did you choose dentistry as a profession?
I wanted to enter a medical profession. Dentistry seemed to have the mix of science, medicine, and art that would challenge me and keep me interested.

What's the most difficult challenge you've faced in your practice?
I sometimes have difficulty disappointing people. The most challenging aspect of dentistry is telling a person that I cannot help them in the way that they expected.

Name one unique thing on a wall in your clinic or displayed in your waiting room.
I would like to say " a piece of teak wood that came from the deck of the sailboat that I circumnavigated the globe on". However, I don't really have any thing unique in my office, and I have never been on a sailboat.

What is/was the most challenging aspect of dental school?
Lab work. I never have enjoyed doing waxups, setting teeth, etc.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a dentist?
I would like to be an anatomy professor in medical or dental school.

Name/describe your favorite CE course taken in the past two years.
An implant course given by Michael Block who is an oral surgery professor at LSU. This was in 2006 at LSU not long after Hurricane Katrina. I learned a great deal, but was able to catch up with friends and colleagues who were severely affected by the hurricane.

What do you do to relax?
Read. A lot. I also enjoy saltwater fly fishing.

What is the most daring thing you’ve done in your lifetime?
Selling my very lucrative dental practice and making a change to community health.

What are you most proud of?
My teenage son. He was diagnosed with cancer (sarcoma near his spinal cord) when he was 16 in 2004. He spent 14 months undergoing chemo, radiation, and surgery in Houston and New York City. He is presently ok. What a courageous young man I found him to be!

What is the last book you've read or are currently reading?
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

How do you deal with stress?
Read. I also walk my dog through some sugercane fields behind my house.

Where is your favorite vacation spot or activity?
I love Montana in the summer. What a beautiful state that is.

What are your hobbies?
Fishing and golf.

Who is your favorite singer or musical group?
James Taylor

What do you do for exercise?
Not too much. I walk quite a bit with some running thrown in.

Name one thing you have in your home from your childhood.
A poem my father wrote about me when I was born. It is very touching to read about how he felt to have a son. It is framed in my bedroom.

Name the last movie you saw.
Pursuit of Happiness

Name your favorite movie.
A River Runs Through It

Whom do you admire?
Too many people to mention.

Who has most influenced your life?
My wife. She has a strong faith that I feed off of when I am weak.

What concerns you about the future?
That I won't be there.

Any words of advice?
Don't worry too much, because all of this is temporary.

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