The story you are about to read is about Paulo Hideki, a young dentist who already knows what he wants: to be a reference in dentistry. In his search for ways to stand out in the market, he chose the HOF specialization. Keep reading to find out how he made his choice.
The start of a career: low-cost clinic and private practice
Paulo Hideki studied dentistry in Ribeirão Preto (SP), at Unaerp , and today works in Serrana (SP), a nearby city. A licensed dentist since early 2022, he now has a work routine split between a low-cost clinic and a private practice, in addition to his studies in the HOF specialization.
“My work routine is kind of chaotic because you end up having to stretch yourself thin to try to make some money at the beginning, since a dentist is also a self-employed professional, so we have our difficulties. And so, I'm in the fight”.
Hideki tells us a bit about his day-to-day. On Mondays, he stays at the low-cost clinic in Ribeirão Preto. There, he works a shift from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “We work like crazy there to earn a day rate”.
On the other days of the week, he sees patients at his private practice, which he managed to set up even with some costs involved. However, the dentist says that at the beginning, traffic at the practice is very low.
For that reason, he chose a strategy to attract more clients. “I ended up joining a dental insurance plan. So that's my hustle. On Monday the low-cost clinic in Ribeirão and then fighting it out here in my practice through the insurance plan”.
The career goal: investing in aesthetic procedures
Hideki says that at the low-cost clinic, the patient schedule is very full and constantly rotating. “It's people coming and going every 15 minutes. It's very hard on our backs. We spend the whole day sitting and there's no way to stop. It's a grueling routine”.
Because of this, the professional says he often questioned his career and his own future: “am I on the right path?” The fact that it was draining weighed very heavily on one of his decisions: the path of aesthetics.
Since he is at the beginning of his career, he says he has learned a lot from the work at the low-cost clinic: “I do a lot of cleanings, restorations, and extractions. So I spend the whole day there in a nonstop grind. You feel like a little robot there because you do and do and do”.
But even while physically there, Hideki's thoughts go to farther places. “I would like to have a clinic with a reception area and all the decor. It's my biggest dream: a clinic that is more than a single office, one that I could manage and be happy with”.
The first steps in his career: from experience to HOF
In the dentist's view, practice also counts because it allows for speed at work. “I chose the job to gain more experience in procedures, but also for the money, so I could cover some expenses, even for my own practice”.
With the money coming from that source, he took the first step toward his future, that is, his dream: the HOF specialization. HOF is the acronym for Orofacial and Surgical Harmonization, a postgraduate course for dentists that allows them to work in the aesthetic field.
“HOF would bring me that result faster because facial harmonization is a very new subject, even more so in the city where I live, which is Serrana, with 40 thousand inhabitants. That makes it possible for me to become a reference”.
He says that in the city where he works, he does not know of any specialist who offers aesthetic care in dentistry. “That's why I think that doing the orofacial harmonization specialization, especially for me as a dentist, would be a differentiator”.
The career opportunity: the dentist in aesthetics
Hideki said he did a lot of research before starting the HOF specialization. In doing so, he found and compared the options. Then he saw that aesthetics would be an opportunity to grow in his career, especially given the chance to be self-employed.
“Although the products are a bit more expensive, the procedures are highly valued. For example, you can have a profit margin and do some good planning. Besides giving the patient the attention they need, without that relentless grind of the routine”.
The HOF specialization: learning for a career
Choosing the HOF course at a quality higher education institution also took analysis and comparisons.
“What I heard, both from people who had worked at Nepuga and from people who had had some procedure done or something like that, was that Dr. Ana Carolina Puga managed to win the right for biomedical professionals to work in aesthetics”.
He continues his explanation: “And I thought that was fantastic because I said: ‘you being a pioneer to bring a whole professional class.’ I thought it was amazing from the start. But I've also heard that it is a very large institution with a postgraduate program that is very good and with a lot of hands-on practice”.
Hideki also mentioned the cost-benefit of the HOF specialization.
“What I know about harmonization is that other institutions offer several fragmented courses at very high prices. Learning botox is 3,000 or 5,000 reais. Plus a jaw filler for 8,000 reais. So it's a very high price with everything rushed”.
And he adds:
“In one weekend you had to learn everything, even though it is a complex subject with risks, which means it needs to be studied very carefully. At Nepuga I saw advantages because it is continuous study, getting your questions answered by the professors over a longer period”.
For him, Nepuga's HOF specialization is a complete course that gives dentists a broader view to study what is best for the patient. “It makes us knowledgeable about the subject, which is important for a career.”
Irving Malaguti
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
