Alumni Profile Q&A: Dr. Monica Swope – Practicing dentistry and community service with a purpose and mission

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For Dr. Monica Swope, dentistry is a broader calling than merely treating dental problems and restoring smiles for patients. There’s a spiritual element to how she interacts with patients at her Kingdom Family Dentistry practice in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio. She has owned the practice for all but one year of her career since graduating from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1989. In a recent interview, Dr. Swope, who grew up in Niles, Michigan, discussed how she moved beyond her initial training as a dental hygienist into dentistry; how the U-M dental school contributed to her longstanding success as a dentist; and why she gives back to both the community around her practice and to the dental school.

Q: How did you become interested in dentistry?

A: When I was a junior in high school I spent a lot of time at the public library in Niles researching careers. Right before my senior year I spoke with my guidance counselor about a co-op program that allowed me to be placed at a dental office. I was a dental assistant working in the morning with my family dentist and then went to school in the afternoon. After about three or four months, I talked to the dentist about different careers in the dental field and he encouraged me to pursue dental hygiene. I went to Kalamazoo Valley Community College for that, but in the last semester in clinic I decided I wanted more than dental hygiene and pursued the requirements to get into dental school. I went to Western Michigan University and majored in health science before being accepted to the U-M dental school.

Q: You credit faculty member Dr. Lee Jones as a key mentor for you in dental school. Tell us about that and your time at the dental school in general.

A:  Dr. Jones was the first person I talked with before being admitted and he helped me understand the requirements. He was the person responsible for preparing me for the rigorous program once I was admitted. I spent countless hours in his office over the four years, checking in with him. He was a strong support system and a great source of encouragement for me. The first couple of years were tough, just trying to get through, but I had seven or eight close friends and we had a study group, which helped us navigate together. I was able to work as a hygienist for three of the four years I was in dental school, in the evenings and on weekends, to make some extra money. Overall, I would say dental school is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it was a great stepping stone to where I am at today. Just the spirit of excellence that the University of Michigan drills through you while you are there has definitely been a highlight of the success I’ve had in dentistry here in Cincinnati.

Q: The DDS Class of 1989 seems to be one of the closest classes even today.

A: I met a lot of my friends for life there that I am still in touch with … Dr. Tom Anderson, Dr. Shelia Kennebrew, Dr. Liska Andu, Dr. Tyree Davis and Dr. Keith May. We are a very close-knit class. We tend to get together a couple of times in the fall at football games and typically we plan one away game to connect.

Q: What led you to Cincinnati?

A: My husband Rodney and I were married in 1988. He was at Michigan, too, for his degree in business. He was hired by Procter and Gamble, which is what brought us to Cincinnati. Following graduation from dental school, I was an associate with two local dentists, each for about six months, and then I decided I wanted to open my own practice. At first I rented a small space, but I wanted to build my own building, so we found some land in Forest Park, a northwest suburb. We built the office in 1996 and I’ve been here ever since. My associate, Dr. Rebecca B. Yoxthimer, has been with me for 22 years. She has the same philosophy about dentistry, she has been a blessing. It’s a family dental practice. We see patients from age 3 to 103. I do a lot of cosmetic dentistry and implants. We do pretty much everything except molar root canals.

Q: What’s the best part of being a dentist?

A: I really enjoy building long-term relationships with patients. At this point of my career, I’m now on the third generation of patients. It’s just amazing to see over the years the trust that patients have put in us. We see a lot of patients who come in and are embarrassed to smile. We are capable and able to restore their immediate dental needs and it transforms their self-confidence, their self-esteem. When they walk out of our office better than when they came in, that’s definitely rewarding. They also put a lot of confidence in us, not just for restoring their teeth. I feel like when I go to work I’m part therapist and life coach because they are sharing their personal problems. Another satisfying part is that we have a lot of the teens who come in who are interested in shadowing us, so we do a lot of that. I’ve had a few patients who shadowed us and then went on to dental school. So, yes, my favorite part is definitely building long-term relationships.

Q: You and your team do a lot of community service. You go to career day events and numerous health fair events associated with several churches in the area. You regularly volunteer at a Leave No Vet Behind Program, and provide your skills to an annual University of Cincinnati Community Dental Day serving the under-privileged. You have a holiday tradition where your staff gives out more than 500 turkeys and hams to those who are in need in your community. What is your philosophy that drives that community service?

A: God has blessed me abundantly to be a blessing to those in need, especially the marginalized, through my gift of restoring smiles or even monetarily. We place emphasis on helping those less fortunate than we are. We keep everything Christ-centered at the office. Our team starts each day with prayer and we invite patients who are there to join us if they like. Oftentimes, we have patients come in the office who don’t even have dental appointments who just need a word of encouragement, or a time of just expressing issues that they are going through, and we pray with them. We just never want to forget that that’s the reason we are here – to make a difference. We just never want to forget the purpose and mission is to bring glory to the one who has blessed me so abundantly through my hands and how we are able to restore smiles.

Q: Part of your giving back also includes the School of Dentistry, which you have supported financially for many years. Not everyone stays close to their alma mater, but you have.

A: The four years I spent at the University of Michigan was an important part of my life. To give back to the university, primarily to the Dr. Lee Jones scholarship fund, is a way to say thank-you. I hope someone can be blessed with that scholarship and that it can make a difference in their life.  It’s important to give back. I feel like that’s part of our purpose and mission in life.
 

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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral healthcare education, research, patient care and community service.  General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan.  Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies.  Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide.  For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.  Email: [email protected], or (734) 615-1971.