Over the years of owning my own practice, Smile Sculptors of Wake Forest, I have come to laugh a great deal regarding comments about its logo. Therefore, its only befitting that I share its origin so that you, my wonderful patients and potential patients, will come to see its value to me and laugh a little as well. I've gotten so many comments, some of which include....
"Hey Doc, Why do you have that bee looking thing in your logo? You are a dentist! People are scared of dentist! Is it a bee to let us know that you sting? LOL!!! or simply...
"What is that funny looking bird thing in the logo?"
Many thanks to my incredible marketing team for giving me the ideas and this wonderful platform to tell you the story of The Dentist and her BEE.
The "Bee" holds special meaning and signficance in my dental practice. It derived its significance when I was training to become a dentist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry and lingered throughout the years of working toward graduation, working as a dental associate, and ultimately, working toward and finally achieving my goal of opening my practice.
I've always had a special relationship with my grandmother (everyone simply calls her Grandma Rose or Grandma Rosa). Now, at 86 years old, the retired school teacher still encourages her 7 children, 17 grandchildren, and 31 great grandchildren to value education and embrace the qualities that make a person unique and different.
It is an annual tradition that after a dental student finishes their first year of dental school and is about to enter their clinical years, the student, their families, and friends are invited to a white coat ceremony where they will receive the white coats that will adorn the halls of dental school during their clinical years. In 2006, our white coats included ours names and a patch with the dental schools name on it and the UNC emblem of The Old Well. My white coat included the final touch of Grandma Rose.
Let me explain by sharing who Grandma Rose is: Grandma Rose is a petite woman and even at age 86, there is never a hair out of place. She has always loved to step out in the prettiest of dresses and jewelry with her shoes always matching her purse. She is a SHOPPER and our family often giggles about the number of times the UPS and Fed Ex trucks would come by the house weekly to deliver clothing from her favorite stores. Well, at my white coat ceremony, she shopped for the perfect dress, shoes, earrings, purse, etc and she also shopped for the perfect gift. After the ceremony, Grandma Rose handed me a small box and said, "I want to give you something to wear on your coat." When I opened the box, I saw that it was a beautiful pin. She said, "As you wear this pin, I want you to always remember to be everything that you can BEE and always remember to work hard." The pin was a bee and its middle section was made of interchangeable faux pearls in various colors (I jokingly think of it as being similar to a mood ring...LOL.) It became very symbolic to me because of the pearl. I use to have professors that would say, "Let me give you a pearl of wisdom for your career." Some of those "pearls" I still incorporate into my practice today and to those professors, I give them my sincerest "thank you." Seven years later, after my white coat ceremony, as I sat with a graphic design artist and thought about how long and hard I had worked to get to that day, the day that I would give personality to my practice, I remember the whispers of Grandma Rose saying "I want you to work hard and always remember to be everything that you can Bee," and I remembered those pearls and I told my graphic design artist in the funniest of tones, "I need you to subtly place a bee in my logo," and with his confused look he began to sketch the symbol that reminds me to be the very best that I can for you, my patients, and for me. At that moment, I said to myself, "If I see my bee, I will be reminded to work hard, no matter how tired I get."
As I write this piece, I also wish to thank my dear colleague, Brandy Barnes; my very first dental assistant. Brandy had been a dental assistant for years before I started my first job as a dentist and was absolutely wonderful at her job! As we begin to speak of my dreams, she came to me one day and said, "Dr. Anderson, I have the perfect name for your new dental practice; Smile Sculptors of Wake Forest." I said, "Why Smile Sculptors of Wake Forest?" She said, "Because of the detail and care that you place in every procedure that you do; just as a sculptor uses detail and care." Years later, I was reminded of the name, "Smile Sculptors of Wake Forest" and I thought to myself, how perfect!!!! I thought that the name was perfect not because of the reasons that she gave me but because of what I thought about when I think about the word, "sculptor." The word "sculptor" to me is one that denotes and displays creativity, skill, freedom of expression, and yes detail. It gave me the freedom of a sculptor to leave my mark on this profession. To my patients that know that I now live at my practice and visit my house (running joke in my office...LOL) I'm working hard to leave my mark on my profession for you and for me.
Thank you for reading this piece. I hope that you enjoyed it and I hope that I live up to my BEE! Thank you to my Grandma Rose :-)
Dr. Shanean Michelle Anderson