Today we’d like to introduce you to Olga Krikunenko.
Olga, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Originally from Ukraine, I immigrated to the United States with my family when I was only four years old. My parents took a big leap of faith and left everything behind in search of a better life for us. Although I was still a little girl, I remember vividly the sacrifices they had to make so that I would have the opportunity to dream big and have a future that was not possible if we had not moved to the US. For that, I am forever grateful to them.
As I was approaching college and exploring different career paths, I met with our family dentist to see if dentistry is something I would be interested in pursuing. I was fascinated by our conversation. You can say that he had me at “root canal”. I liked the idea of being able to truly help people, getting them out of pain, and focusing on maintaining healthy smiles. From that point on, I was on a mission to do everything in my power to become a dentist.
After graduating Boston University dental school, I set out to learn as much as I could from many different dental offices around the Greater Boston area. Each place I worked, I was able to see what I liked and didn’t like about how they operated. To be honest, I never thought I would eventually become a business owner and have my own practice. I enjoyed working at established offices, not having to worry about running a business and the responsibilities that come with it. I was comfortable, but not totally happy.
This all changed in 2017. With a little nudge from my husband, I realized that to truly enjoy what I do and have the greatest impact on my patients and the community, I would have to create and run my own practice. Nine months later, with the help of so many amazing people along the way, Mint Dental of Franklin was born.
Has it been a smooth road?
If you have lived in the Boston area long enough, you know that very few roads are smooth here. All joking aside, I would say that yes, there have been plenty of bumps along the way. My first bump (literally) came when I was pregnant and had my first son during the final year of Dental School. I always joke that if my son ever decides to go to dental school, he’ll only need to do 3 of the 4-year requirement. With the help of my family and friends, I was still able to graduate on time along with the rest of my class.
Looking back, I still have no idea how I managed it all. More recently, as I began the journey of building my own dental practice from scratch, the transition from being an employee to a business owner has not been easy. In dental school, we learn all about dentistry, but almost nothing about the business side of things. I had to quickly learn many things like hiring team members, accounting, marketing, dealing with leases and construction, etc.
I feel like I have learned so much over these past few years, but still have so much more to master. I am grateful for having such an amazing Mint Dental team that I could not have survived without and that continue to support my vision and push the business forward.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
I created Mint Dental of Franklin from scratch so that I can start with a clean slate and really focus on delivering a refreshing patient experience and a meaningful impact on the community. Dentistry has had a long-running stigma associated with a painful and dreadful experience. I wanted to turn that upside-down and do dentistry differently. I designed the space to have more of a spa feel so that patients can leave their anxiety at the door and be as comfortable as possible throughout their whole visit.
Aside from the usual general dentistry for kids and adults, I am also very passionate about transforming people’s lives with smile makeovers. Sometimes, this means fixing a few minor issues, and sometimes it involves a total transformation. In both cases, the result is not only a great looking smile but also a positive internal change.
After performing numerous makeovers, it is truly rewarding to be able to combine art and science to achieve life-changing results. The best part of our job is not only about maintaining healthy and confident smiles, but also creating a deeper bond with each person we see. This allows us to tailor our care based on our patient’s individual needs, goals, fears, and their vision of an ideal smile.
In addition to creating a refreshing dental experience at Mint Dental of Franklin, we also have a big focus on helping those in need outside of our office. Throughout the year, our team is committed to supporting an amazing organization and our downtown Franklin neighbors, the Franklin Food Pantry.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Franklin and its surrounding towns are truly committed to helping local businesses thrive. You can feel a real movement here that encourages people to shop locally and support the local economy. I would 100% recommend businesses that are just starting out to join the Franklin community.
Being the new kid on the block, I am humbled by the amount of support and encouragement we have received from the community.
Contact Info:
- Address: 150 Emmons Street Franklin, MA 02038
- Website: www.DentistFranklinMA.com
- Phone: 508-613-9513
- Email: Smile@LoveMintDental.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/lovemintdental
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/lovemintdental
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mint-dental-of-franklin-franklin
Image Credit:
Murkat Photo
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