What If The Scariest Part Of Dentistry Is Waiting

Dental fear doesn’t start in the chair. It starts in memory: a rushed appointment, a painful tooth, a childhood moment that taught your nervous system to brace for impact. That’s why our conversation with Dr. Ta from Siesta Village Dentistry hits so hard. She’s not guessing about dentophobia; she’s lived it, and she’s built a general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry practice designed to help people feel safe enough to finally get care. 

We get into Dr. Ta’s story of growing up in Vietnam where dental care could be out of reach, then leaving and eventually becoming a US citizen. That path shaped her mission to serve underserved patients and to support humanitarian work through Operation Smile and other dental missions. It also shaped how she treats the “white coat syndrome” so many patients carry into adulthood. 

From there we unpack one of the biggest dental myths: that dentists cause the pain. Dr. Ta explains why people often arrive only when cavities, fractured teeth, or gum disease have already become unbearable, and how that delay turns a simple fix into an emergency. We also talk about what modern dentistry can do to reduce anxiety and discomfort, including nitrous oxide, calming options when appropriate, and a chairside style built around conversation and trust. Her office even leans into comfort with details like a massaging dental chair and a Zen garden view with birds, because environment matters when you’re trying to breathe through fear. 

We also touch on how a local Siesta Key dental practice grows today through word of mouth and social media, using light TikTok skits to make dentistry feel more human and less intimidating. If you’ve been avoiding the dentist, this one is a reset. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the one thing that would make dental visits feel easier for you.

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local business is good neighbor. Here's your host, Virginia McDonald.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. Are you in the need of a general dentist? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Dr. Ta with Siesta Village Dentistry. How's it going? How are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Hello, thank you, and hello everyone.

Meet Siesta Village Dentistry

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Good. Yeah, so we're excited to learn about you and your business. Can you tell us more?

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Yes, um, so my practice is located in Siesta Key, Florida, and with the focus of general dentistry to advanced cosmetic dentistry. I also do implant dentistry, um, LANAP, which is laser gum surgery. I also treat TMJ with BOTOS and laser. Um, and I also correct mouth occlusion that would involve um full mouth rehabilitation rehabilitation.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Wow, that's amazing. Um, how did you get into this?

From Vietnam To Becoming A Dentist

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Yes, that's a great question. Um, it started when I was um a child in Vietnam, and I left Vietnam in 1981. Prior to that, um dentistry in Vietnam was a luxury, and I only get to go when I had some sort of an abscess or a toothache, and every time it was an ordeal, and usually it happens around New Year or some holidays. And I remember one time my mom took me to a dentist because I had an abscess the night before. When I got there, as she was filling out paperwork, I went into the operatory and I saw all these bloody extracted teeth in the cuspers, so I bolted and I ran home. Um needless to say, you know, I never went back to any dentist and I proceeded to try to take the luckily it was a baby tooth, and I took it out myself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Oh wow.

unknown 2:15

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Um, so in 1981, um, I was one of the boat people that left Vietnam in search for political asylum because the communists took over in 1975, and my dad was with the South Vietnamese um government. So, because of that, we had to escape for freedom and for political asylum. Um, I left at the age of 13, and uh just so it took seven days and nights um to transverse South China Sea until we reached the Philippines, and I can see the look on your face. Um and then after that, it took about 15 months before we get to um relocate um in the US, and because of our my dad's affiliation with the South Vietnamese and the American government uh at the time, we got the asylum in the United States, and so we resided in New York um for quite a few years. I became the U.S. citizen in um when I was 18 years old, five years after. So all of that experiences shaped me and wanted that, and I wanted to become a dentist because of the lack of dental um care in Vietnam. And um I wanted to help the underserved and also the dentophobic patients in America as well as abroad.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Okay, that's that's a real that's that's very touching.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

Oh, I I also want to mention that um to to go abroad, I um I am part of Operations Mile, and I am an Operations Mile dentist. So I have gone on several missions to Vietnam, to Egypt, and a few other places. I also have gone on my own mission to the Philippines to help the refugees there.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Oh, I love

Why Dentists Get A Bad Rap

SPEAKER_01 4:24

that. Um so what are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Um the myth is that dentists are scary and we can cause pain, right? Well, dental trauma um is is uh very debilitating for a lot of um people and especially childhood trauma with dentistry. So that would leak into adulthood, and when people have dental pain, um they would associate the dentist with the dental pain because they would wait it out until it becomes too late, and dental pain can come from um fractured teeth, cavities, uh, gum disease. So by the time you go to the dentist, that is when these people don't they they cannot tolerate it anymore, and we are there to just take the pain away from them. But because they come in with such pain and such an inflame area that to put the pain out, we would have to give antibiotics, and we usually have to go directly to the inflamed area to treat the problem. And because that we as dentists, as modern dentists now, um, we have many ways to cope with pain and fear and anxiety, but we are often being associated with this terrible pain or this scary part of it. So that I I that is the myth to me.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Yeah, and I mean you're you came from that, you're speaking from experience.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Yes.

Word Of Mouth And TikTok Skits

SPEAKER_01 6:18

And uh so we know that marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target customers and how do you attract them?

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Um mostly it is um by word of mouth. Um in Siesaki, it is a small island, but I also see patients in the surrounding areas. Um I started out with I didn't see any patients about three months. I started the office, um the practice in 2020, and I took over just the equipment part with no patient book or anything. So we had some grant opening, and I have a few patients to begin with, and from there words travel. Um, I do some social media um advertisement lately, but it's it's really it's just some skits that we do, and some of my staff play very good with TikTok, so that's how we came up with all these silly uh skits or videos. And I also have some podcasts, I also make some videos about dental treatments, but you know, when you get so serious with dentistry and you're talking about uh the process, I don't think anybody wants to listen to it. So I want to talk, I just want to educate on the subjects that people, you know, that that they have, but they're not aware of the problems, and so then they would know where to seek and how to seek treatments. Um the the funny skits are just for people to see that I can relate to people, you know, as dentists, um, and that we also have fun. There's a lot of humor in the office. When my patients sit in the chair, um, a lot of them usually come out uh at the beginning is the anxiety of me walking in, is the white coat syndrome. But once I start talking to people and I calm people down, I usually tell them a lot of stories and a lot of funny stories, and that would ease their anxiety and their panics uh about dentistry. And it makes the procedure go by much in a much better manner for people.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Yeah, definitely. I could see that. Um, and how long have you been doing your podcast?

SPEAKER_02 8:42

Um, I think I only do it for the last perhaps five months.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Oh, nice, it's new.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

Yeah, so I had it in on TikTok, and then you get I I would upload it into Facebook and then Instagram. So now I looked up, and you know, my my little skits are like everywhere. So it's kind of cool, and we can get really silly, like really, really silly with them. We desensitize people, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Yeah.

Designing A Practice For Anxiety

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Um, okay, Dr. Todd, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Siesta Village Dentistry.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Um, it is uh very friendly, compassionate dental office. It is very high tech in equipment, but also in the way that I calm the patients down as well. We have nitrous oxide. I can also uh call prescription for Xanax or other similar medication to calm the patients down. It's my demeanor, my chair side manner. We have massaging dental chair, um, and we have a Zen garden with uh with with the bird sanctuary. The wild birds would come down and enjoy the the garden so the patient gets to look at them. Um, and that would ease a lot of the anxiety.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Oh, I love that. It's like your practice is built around um anxiety, like solving that that whole problem. So I really

How To Reach The Office

SPEAKER_01 10:25

love that. Um, how can our listeners learn more about Siesta Village Dentistry?

SPEAKER_02 10:30

We you can find us on um Instagram, Facebook, um, on YouTube, uh, TikTok, and you can call us 941-505-1200. Our website is siesta village dentistry.com.com, and uh our email is siesta vdentistry at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Okay, well, Dr. Cha, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Thank you for having me. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show. Go to gmp sources.com. That's gmp sources.com or call 141.