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Check out what Ostomy Toronto has to say about Dr. Archer…

There are some people in the world who are prepared to look beyond their own personal business interests and are willing to help their fellow citizens when an unusual request comes their way. You, Dr Archer are one of these special people.

There is no connection between your dental practice and the not for profit organization Ostomy Toronto, other than you have a patient who has had ostomy surgery.  Out of the blue you were asked to provide some “goodies” for the “goodie bags” that were handed out to all persons attending our conference this past August.

Now first of all, what conference and what has it to do with dental practices?  Well, this conference was hosted by Ostomy Toronto on behalf of the United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc (UOAC).  Never heard of this association; not surprising “ostomy” is not a household word.

There is probably no surgical procedure that produces more misunderstanding and fear than an “ostomy”.  An “ostomy” is a surgically formed opening on the surface of the abdomen through which bodily wastes are eliminated. Conditions that call for this procedure are cancer of the colon and rectum, cancer of the bladder, physical trauma, congenital disorders, bowel obstructions and complications of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease.

The Toronto Ostomy Community is made up of a group of people who have successfully transitioned to living with an ostomy.  We swim, dance, work, travel and participate in activities just as we did before surgery.  We believe that living with an ostomy does not define the individual.  In fact, a person with an ostomy is unrecognizable on the street.

Ostomy Toronto is just one chapter that belongs to the national organization; there are some forty plus chapters across Canada.  We hold a conference every two years; including this past August in Toronto.  This year our theme was “Caring in a Changing World.”

There are so many ways that we can show caring and you, Dr. Archer, certainly demonstrated that you care in helping others.  For those of us who live with a stoma, we know how important it is that we take care of our diet and that we chew properly. You provided two hundred toothbrushes together with dental floss for our attendees. No excuse for our attendees to fail to brush and floss their teeth!

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Dr Archer, from your actions and donations you embody this change.   Thank you again for your support of Ostomy Toronto and the United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. by giving an important donation to each attendee at our conference.

Di Bracken, Conference Chair

dib@ostomytoronto.com

Toronto Dentist Dr. Natalie Archer was a judge a 2012 Search for Miss Teen Canada –World on Sunday July 15th 2012.

She hobnobbed with Canadian Idol judge Zack Werner and helped pick the 2012 Miss Teen Canada World, Megha Sandhu.

Dr Archer was also a mentor to all contestants on Miss Teen Canada Mentor Night

It was a hot Sunday evening and the hotel air conditioning unit was set to maximum cool in the Sutton Suite conference room of the Westin Bristol airport hotel.  Dr Archer made the trip out there that evening to lend her charm and leadership as Event Moderator in a unique first annual Miss Teen Canada – World Mentor Night.

As a trusted Moderator, Dr. Archer introduced three other speakers before taking her turn at the podium. She introduced Melani Chong, Katrina Hadden, and Alexandra Orlando in that order. The event lasted two hours with questions and photo mingling afterwards.

Mentors are important. In our increasingly advanced technological society, our education system struggles to keep up. Youth can get confused. Most teens can get really anxious and slightly overwhelmed by all that’s expected of them in the race to succeed. Mentors are there to point a clear way forward.

A much loved Toronto dentist, Dr. Natalie Archer D.D.S. showed the Miss Teens the possibility of creating a satisfying career in the sciences.

Dr. Archer talked about the true value of getting a top quality education as being a decision that preserves choices.  Having a good University degree and being smart and well schooled is something the ‘nobody can ever take away from you‘.  Life is indeed a very long journey.

Half way through the presentation, Dr. Archer  described her son’s most recent fascination with spiders and how he has taught her a few things about these Arachnids and even more about her own life. She related an interesting story about these creatures and how and why they spin their webs.  She said that each of the teens listening should also be building their web out in all directions because nobody in the room can ever be really sure about which direction their lives will take, and where they get their first all-important opportunities. You can peruse some of the best Miss Teen Canada World Mentor blogs in this Squidoo lens (coming soon).

Many of the girls were very impressed and took copious notes with Dr. Archer and the Teens saw her as a real role model in being able to “have it all” as a professional and mother of two with extensive community work.   Dr. Archer was straight as an arrow living up to her name  in giving the Miss Teens real personal advice about the importance of personal life choices and planning but also was powerful in her message for these young women to be strategic  to think BIG from a  business perspective .   The teens also had an awe for Melani Chong and most hope to have a life that’s equal to or even half as exciting and glamourous as hers. Plenty of girls took pictures of the Katrina Hadden, well  known for the Dove Esteem campaign and her modelling work; a contributor to the best selling self-help book “Making it in High Heels” and life coach Katrina Hadden has had quite a life already. She passed along memories as notes to young people to internalize and carry forth as their own wisdom. She talked about body image and how to measure success. Third in the line-up, Alexandra Orlando described her challenges and hurdles as an Olympic Athlete that she overcame to succeed and included some powerful poetry.

Dr. Archer shared some of her secrets to leading a more balanced life.  In the tiny clip below Dr. Archer answers the question ” How and when did you know you were ready to start having a family?” She is describing how she was over thirty years old when she had her first child.  At that time she was a few years out of school, recently married and had a good business opportunity to starting a business – her own dental practice. You would think this would be a terrible time to have children, and yet she tells the girls to take calculated business risks just as she did.  It was that first big business move that started her successful career path and likely without that particular business opportunity decision at that exact time, “she would not be at here at the podium tonight.”   Dr. Archer spoke from the heart encouraging them to plan, choose carefully in important decisions and wanting them to have a complete and balanced life with no regrets as a senior citizen.

Its a very short clip but it shows the Miss Teens learning from these speakers – Mentor Night was a very positive experience for everyone involved.

Ann McConvey is now helping Toronto dentist Dr Natalie Archer in two different locations.

You can catch Ann McConvey helping Dr Archer at either

Rosedale Family dental care located at 600 Sherbourne Street suite 808 (across from Sherbourne subway station) or at the Runnymede Dental Centre  located at 625 Runnymede Road with plenty of economical parking.

Teeth Cleaning and Oral Hygiene

Ann McConvey has lots of experience and an unmistakeable chair-side manner.  Her knowledge, skill and gentle manner is what has grown her practice over many years.

She has a loyal group of patients that have followed Ann over the years.  Working for many years with the  late Dr. Judith Dixon-Moody, Ann has moved her downtown practice to the Rosedale Medical Building at the corner of Bloor and Sherbourne.  For all of the patients looking for Annie…”I’m here and in my new home.”  Feel free to call her at our office 416.964.9070 and ask to speak with her.  She’d be delighted to connect with you.

You are reading the very first Rosedale Family Dental Care blog post!

As a dentist, this ‘social media landscape’ is new territory for me. In between maintaining a family dental practice and a geriatric dental clinic, my duties as Vice President of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, being a wife, and mother to two children, I’m in the process of learning the in’s and out’s of blogging, Facebooking, and tweeting. It’s taken a while to get this blog rolling, but finally the preparation is paying off and here I am, writing my first post.

Whether you’re a patient, a colleague, or just someone that happened upon this blog by accident, welcome! While the main focus of this blog will be on the professional aspects of being a dentist and to provide dental news and information, I’m sure that my personal experiences as a parent and a working mom will find their way into some of my posts as well. Ultimately, I hope that this blog will serve to ease any apprehensions you may have about visiting the dentist, as well as showcase the Rosedale Family Dental Care philosophy which is:

“Pursuing excellence and trust in patient centered dental care”

This blog is also going to be a chance for me to address your dental questions directly. I will be answering as many of your questions as I can every Wednesday, in our “Ask Doctor Archer” section. Feel free to email all of your dental questions to drarcher.social@gmail.com
There will also be a variety of contests and giveaways happening on the blog, so be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter groups to stay on top of them all!

As one of Toronto’s first dentist bloggers, I am looking forward to seeing this blog blossom. I hope that it will help you engage with me and the clinic and ease your mind about receiving dental care. So don’t be shy, and send us your questions and comments. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, and happy flossing!

Dr. Natalie Archer