I know what it’s like to be a frequent patient.
And that’s what makes me a passionate dentist.
I’m Sonia Chopra, DDS, and I’m the ultimate dental patient.
Born without eight teeth, I’m no stranger to the dentist’s office.
You name it, I’ve experienced it.
Fillings. Root canals. Extractions. Braces. Implants. Bridges. Veneers. Grafts.
But it wasn’t until I was confronted with agonizing pain in my mouth that my path towards endodontics began.
A pesky toothache became a dental crisis. And my turning point.
I was born without 8 teeth and was no stranger to dental issues as a child. All that time getting used to the dentist’s chair meant I was born to become a dentist, myself. The summer after my high school graduation, I had a number of dental procedures to ensure I could go to college with a full set of teeth. I left with something else, too: pain on my lower left side. It became more and more unbearable, and I began seeing more and more doctors.
After being misdiagnosed and having an uninfected tooth mistakenly extracted,
I finally was referred to a caring endodontist.
He determined I’d cracked my tooth, causing the nerve to die and the tooth to abscess. Patiently explaining everything along the way, he performed the root canal I had so desperately been needing for months.
He saved my tooth and taught me the importance of endodontics.
I wanted to know more about the procedure and share what I learned with others, so I dove back into my college studies, applied for dental school and became an endodontist. I quickly realized that my experience stemmed from many dental schools’ frantic need to cover a huge amount of information in a short amount of time, leaving the finer points of endodontics for later — a later that never comes.
The result, for me, was a series of misdiagnoses that left me in unimaginable pain. Most of my doctors simply didn’t realize that a root canal could save my badly infected tooth. And because I knew other patients suffered just as I had, I wanted to make a difference for patients and providers everywhere.
Setting my dream into motion, I opened my own practice.
“I see my story in patients every day.”
Like the endodontist who saved my abscessed tooth, I’ve made patient education a cornerstone of my practice. I make certain my patients are active players in their dental health, and their gratitude is off the charts.
It’s been a decade now, and I’ve spent that time relieving patients’ pain and saving teeth that others have given up on.
I’m a teacher – for patients, residents and my dental community. It’s my way of giving back.
If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that endodontics matters to everyday dentistry. Being an incredible general dentist who has loyal, happy patients means making the right calls when it comes to diagnoses, referrals, and treatments.
