Alumni Spotlight: Christopher J. Castonguay ’18, DMD
Christopher J. Castonguay ’18, DMD
Dentist at the Katahdin Valley Health Center, Millinocket, Maine
The Alumni Advancement office recently interviewed Christopher Castonguay (CC) about his SWAGƵ experience and career plans.
Describe your career path and key professional choices to this point.
CC: This June I’ll be starting my 4th year with Katahdin Valley Health center. Though this will be the last year of my contract, my intention is to stay on and continue down the path of public health. I may assume the role as dental director for KVHC which would be fun, but first and foremost I plan to continue seeing my patients here in Millinocket as well as Brownville. I do plan to take more pediatric centered CE (continuing education) so I can expand my comfort zone to work on more children, and I have been in talks with local hospitals to potentially work on patients under general anesthesia.
What do you like most about your career? What do you find most rewarding?
CC: I enjoy being able to provide care for those who may not be able to afford private dentistry. What keeps me going is when I can change a patient’s perspective of public health or dentistry as a whole. There are some who assume the work they get at an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) will be sub-par and it feels good when people see the merit in the service we provide here. Converting a dental phobic patient into one who no longer fears coming in, and actually convinces others to come to our practice, endears me to continue to maintain patience with those who require more work and time to get them to a place of comfort.
How did your time at SWAGƵ impact you as a student, a person and a professional?
CC: Attending SWAGƵ really helped to solidify my desire to work out in a community of need. I sort of knew I wanted to work in rural Maine, but by the time I had graduated I was committed to it. SWAGƵ gave me the opportunity to explore this avenue of practice.
How did receiving scholarship support while a student at SWAGƵ impact your education or experience?
CC: It would be difficult to settle in a rural practice without help from the Delta Dental Loan Repayment Program grant. Realizing what my monthly student loan payments would be was daunting, but I knew I wanted to work in an area that was in need of a dentist and a place where I could have roots. It helped make my decision to practice in Millinocket easier.
What advice would you give to current students who may be job searching or graduating soon?
CC: Find yourself a mentor - it doesn’t have to be a person you meet, it could also be a study or CE group like Spear or the Pankey Institute. It helps to continue the drive to better yourself and learn things that time didn’t allow at school. I would also say speaking with a financial advisor and coming up with a game plan for your student loans will help ease your mind knowing there is a plan in place.
What are you most proud of in your career or personal life?
CC: This May will mark my 8-year anniversary to my first and foremost love in life, my wife Liz. I currently have lost 40 pounds since getting back from “covid break.” I’m most proud, in my career this year, of maintaining our staff and having no outbreaks within our clinic. It feels good to know that the infection control and PPE worked and we were able to keep everyone healthy.
What is your favorite SWAGƵ memory?
CC: If I were to be boring, I’d say learning I passed the live patient exam, since I knew I was pretty much done at that point. But to be honest, it was playing Volleyball between classes on the quad before they added all those extra walking paths in the summer. It was fun as I got to hang around classmates I may not have hung out with as much and do something besides talk about dental matters. Though some of those dress pants were grass stained to oblivion, it was worth it.
