Growing up the last thing I was interested in was following in my Dad and Granddad’s professional footsteps, but today I spend my days in an operatory just steps away from theirs. There are many multi-generational dental practices- we aren’t unique- but for me, having the two of them as colleagues is one of the most special facets of my life.

The question I heard all the time was “Are you going to be a dentist too?” Until I was twenty-two, my answer was always a hard “No.” I went to college with an idea of law school and that was my plan. I felt that people expected me to join the family practice and I did not want to just do what people expected. There was never pressure or even so much as a gentle push towards dentistry from my family (though I might have appreciated it before I took the LSAT or began law school applications). Regardless of my reluctance to follow in their footsteps, their careers have always been a guiding force and I have always learned from their example.

The most important thing I have ever learned from them was how to treat other people. I have never seen my Granddad be unkind to another individual, and I have constantly been reminded by my Dad to always look at situations from another person’s perspective. Seeing their effortless ability to impact someone simply with the decency and compassion that they treat people has always been an inspiration to me.

Additionally, watching the two of them as I grew up, I saw the importance of responsibility. Responsibility to your family, your community, your faith, your work, and for your actions. Hard work is expected and if mistakes are made excuses were not accepted.

From the moment I committed to becoming a general dentist and joining the practice my Granddad started close to sixty years ago, the one idea I could not get out of my head was that my first day had to be a day where I could work with both of them—no one could be on vacation and everyone had to be at the same location.  The idea of the three generations working side by side had such special meaning to me. As the day approached, I knew it was a moment they were looking forward to as well. That day will always rank in the best moments of my life.

There are many reasons that I enjoy working with Dad and Granddad. The most obvious reason is always having someone there to support and encourage me. Something Granddad pointed out when I first started practicing was that they had nearly one hundred years of experience between them. That was mind blowing to me, so I did the math myself—between both of them, I have ninety-two years of dental experience as a resource. As a new dentist, it has been invaluable to have them as mentors. Not just because of their years of knowledge and experience to glean, but because no matter what the situation there is always at least one person down the hall that I trust. Trust and familiarity were things I took for granted at first. I fear that if I had not had trust and familiarity in place before I began practicing there would have been questions left unasked and procedures I would have referred instead of tackling. Because I work with Dad and Granddad, my practice of dentistry has expanded and adapted tremendously.

One reason I wasn’t interested in dentistry at first was that I did not want to constantly be compared to my Dad and Grandfather. Funny enough, today, that comparison is one of my biggest motivators. It’s fun to hear patients comment on the three generations or tell me stories of how they’ve seen Dad or Granddad since they were young. It’s exciting that the patients seem to enjoy that the three of us are working together as much as we do. It’s likely that I’ll never fill their shoes, but I know that I would be lucky to become one-half the dentist or person of either of them.  For now I am going to keep striving to keep up with them and enjoy my favorite days—the days where it’s all three of us working together as colleagues.

Editor's Note: Drs. Dani Howell, Ralph L. Howell, Jr., and Leroy Howell, Sr. practice in Suffolk at Howell Comprehensive General Dentistry and are members of the Tidewater Dental Association.