You’ve found the Smiletheory blog page! Welcome! Much like my life which is a bit of a smorgasbord, I envision this blog covering a variety of topics, from working mom struggles to taking the leap to start my own dental practice, to how to sleep train a newborn (asking for a friend).
Of course, sprinkled into that will be topics trending in dentistry and updates on what’s happening in the practice. I am excited about this journey and look forward to you riding it with me!
So for starters, why start a blog? As if I didn’t have enough on my proverbial plate…right? Well, in short, I like to write. I actually thought about being a professional writer before my parents walked me away from that cliff and steered me into the sciences. I actually had a short-lived lifestyle blog (kudos to you if you can dig through the World Wide Web and locate it) before I realized that blogging is actually a lot of work (and as a newlywed and full-time dental resident at the time, I didn’t have much time to maintain it at the level I desired). Now that time has passed, I realize that I missed the permanent record of a fleeting moment in time that a blog creates, and hence, I’ve decided to recreate it.
Let’s start off with an introduction. I assume that you’ve already read the “About Dr. Singh” page which is the professional blurb about me. I also assume you’re here so you can learn more about me beyond the “dentist side.” I am married to my best friend I affectionately call “B”, recently had my 2nd child (in fact, I’m 3 weeks postpartum at the time of writing this blog post), and I have a Maltese named Sophie. I’ve lived in California for 13 years and am happy to call the Bay Area home. Some interests I have outside of dentistry include: staying active (hiking, exercising, playing sports), learning new Instapot and Crockpot recipes (please send me any!), reading books, playing Monopoly, traveling to new places, and connecting with family and friends. If there’s anything, in particular, you want to know, comment below!
When I took over Dr. Baldwin’s practice, one of the first decisions I had to make was on a name. I chose not to name the practice after myself because I wanted a name more illustrative of the practice than “Vinni K. Singh, DDS.” After many different iterations, I had a bit of an epiphany and decided on Smiletheory (side note: has that happened to you? Say, like when you’re naming a child, you have certain names thought of in your head and then when you see the baby it immediately dawns on you what the name should actually be? That happened when we got our puppy. I thought we’d name her something like Snoop Dogg but then upon seeing her, it didn’t feel right…never had we mentioned or thought of the name Sophie. I just looked at her and said to B, “How about…Sophie?” and that was that). Smiletheory just felt right and I like how it isn’t overtly dental sounding–it’s a bit intriguing. Well, that is the aim anyway.
So why the name Smiletheory and what the heck does it mean? While going through this process of the name, B and I made a bunch of word association bubbles. We wanted a name that is modern like our office. We wanted a name that is progressive and thoughtful, much like our Silicon Valley location. A “theory” is a system of ideas to explain something; in my view, your smile explains a lot about you and who you are.
We didn’t feel like Smiletheory conveyed the whole message, so we added a tagline: Beyond Dentistry. It has a wide definition, but simply, it means going above and beyond for our patients. There are ways that we have incorporated this already, like calling to check on them after having a treatment done, or making their appointments with specialists, saving our patients’ valuable time. I’m proud of the patient-centered service we offer, which I feel is lacking in the current marketplace. Every day I consider new things we can do at Smiletheory that will elevate the patient experience.
Thanks for reading my inaugural blog post! Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed a little ‘behind the scenes’ of me and Smiletheory. If you have ideas for future blog posts or want to know about anything in particular, comment below or find us on Facebook and Instagram.