Meet Dr. Ortega
When I was a boy, mother would tell me everything I touched I “destroyed”. That was partly true. I only “destroyed” things because I wanted to see how they worked. Now mind you, my father would always say ”You have to work with your hands when you grown up”. Who was I to believe?
My passion for dentistry began even before I realized I had a “passion” for it. I remember being eager to go to my dentist as a young boy. I loved the feeling of “slick”, fresh teeth after a cleaning. In fact, I still love it. I liked the quite, serene environment that the dental office provided. Little did I know that I would be providing that same environment to my patients a few decades later.
The course I took to arrive where I am today was long and windy, so I won’t bore you with that,
but this profession clicked all the boxes for me when I chose it and I absolutely love what I do!
Dentistry has been very rewarding in that I have been able to help so many different patients
from so many different walks of life with so many different problems. From the person who is
distressed about his “worn out smile” and wants a complete makeover to the person who just
wants to “eat without pain”, dentistry is never dull and always exciting.
Since this is an about me page I guess I should tell you a little about me. I am a husband, father,
son and brother. I am a cosmetic dentist, a general dentist, a fitness nut, an entrepreneur, a
voracious reader and a wannabe chef. I am up every morning at 5am, catching a workout at the
gym before the hectic day ensues. I love to learn, I love technology and how it transforms my job
and profession specifically. I don’t take myself too seriously and I realize that life is short, and
sometimes, taking things apart is the only way to put things back together.
P. S. My mother is now my patient ; )
21 Questions for Dr. Ortega
1. What is your favorite food? Ribs, hands down!
2. What are some of your favorite books? Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Replay by Ken Grimwood.
3. Describe one of your favorite times you helped a patient? I helped a gentleman that lost most of his teeth in a bar fight and lived without most of his upper teeth for years. I was able to help him out by placing him in a full upper denture and a partial lower denture and he was able to gain the confidence to start working again in the trades.
4. Got a phobia you want to share? Snakes. I really dislike snakes.
5. If you could be anyone, who would you be? Me, going back 20 years ago
and minimizing my mistakes.
6. How long can you hold your breath? 64.5 seconds
7. If you could only listen to 3 CDs forever, what would they be? Sting's 10
Summoner's Tales, Stone temple Pilot's Core album, Frank Sinatra's
Nothing But the Best. That being said, I only own Frank Sinatra's
album now. I don' have many CD's nowadays.
8. If you were stranded on an island, what are the three most important
things that you think you would need? A tooth brush and floss of course.
I guess clothes would be good too.
9. What is the best gift you’ve ever given to someone? A lending ear.
10. Have you ever tried bungee jumping, paragliding, or skydiving? No, but
that would be awesome!
11. What is your definition of an incredible weekend? A weekend filled with
non-stop action and sightseeing that feels like a week.
12. What did you want to be when you were 5?A basketball player
13. What are the three things you cannot do without? My running shoes,
a watch (any watch), and a plan.
14. What is your favorite day of the week? Thursday. Thursday's are so close to Fridays.
15. Are you a cat/dog person? Both. But we only own dogs.
16. What are your three favorite local restaurants? Odeum in Morgan Hill. Harry's High Life in San Jose (rib joint), and the Wine Cellar in Los Gatos.
17. What is your favorite movie? That's a tough question. I like a lot of off beat movies. I would probably go with 1988's Miracle Mile starring Anthony Edwards. A nuclear war is initiated between the US and the USSR. A guy at a diners accidentally receives the call at 2am at a random pay phone. Pandemonium ensues.
18. What is your favorite color and why? Blue. It reminds me of the sky.
19. Name one place you want to travel to- Morocco
20. What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten? "Don't let a few years determine what you will do for the rest of your life".
21. What is your favorite part about being a dentist?- Every day is different and this job is never boring.
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