Sarah Pruys
Dr. Joanna McQuarrie has known since Grade 7 that she wanted to go into dentistry.
Now, after nine years of post-secondary education at the University of Manitoba, she has achieved her goal.
Dr. McQuarrie first spent three years completing her Diploma of Dental Hygiene, then worked part-time as a hygienist while she did another two years to get her Bachelor of Science in Dentistry.
Then after taking a year off to work here in Fort Frances as a hygienist and write the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT), she went back to school to do four more years—graduating this past spring with her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM), achieving Honours standing all four years.
Dr. McQuarrie, who grew up in Fort Frances, has moved back home to practise alongside Dr. Mike Botsford and Dr. Steve Chown at the newly-renamed Rainy Lake Family Dental and Orthodontics.
While attending Fort High, Dr. McQuarrie did a co-op at their dental office. Then she worked as a chair-side assistant and in reception to learn the ropes following her placement.
“After high school, I decided that I wanted to start my education with dental hygiene,” she recalled. “And while I was working as a dental hygienist, I decided that I wanted to go back to school and pursue a career in dentistry.
“At U of M, we’re really fortunate to have strong paediatric and orthodontic programs,” she noted.
“I also took some extra orthodontic courses in Toronto so that I could offer orthodontics to my patients.”
Dr. McQuarrie recounted how her last four years were spent.
“In our first and second years, we practice in labs every day,” she said. “Then in the third and fourth year we’re in clinic.
“We work with specialists every day—endodontists, oral pathologists, paediatric dentists, orthodontists, and more,” she added. “We are with patients on a daily basis gaining experience and knowledge.
“By the end of the fourth year, we have received extensive practical experience and we are ready to join a dental team.”
Now that she has finished school, Dr. McQuarrie has decided to move back home and work at the same clinic she continued to come back to.
“I grew up here and my family’s from here,” she reasoned.
“I really like Fort Frances; I like being on the lake,” she enthused. “The people are very kind and it’s a good place to raise a family.”
Dr. McQuarrie said she’s very excited and happy to be done her schooling.
“It’s been long and busy, but it’s been very rewarding,” she remarked. “It’s been a challenge that I enjoyed thoroughly.
“Dentistry is a profession with lots of variety,” she explained. “Every patient is different, every situation is different.
“I really look forward to joining the team at Rainy Lake Family Dental and Orthodontics, and to have the opportunity to get to know and help people in the district.”
In the meantime, Dr. McQuarrie is excited to start work June 17.
“It’s very surreal to say that I’m done [school],” she admitted. “It didn’t hit home until I walked across the stage at the graduation and that was a very exciting moment.”
“Joanna understands the need and appreciates the value of being able to give back to the community,” said Dr. Chown.
“[She] recently completed all requirements at the Faculty for Orthodontic Research and was awarded the prestigious American Association of Orthodontics Award,” he noted.
“[She] is able to provide a large range of dental services, including braces and orthodontics for all ages.”
Dr. Chown said one of the key opportunities of having a third dentist joining the team is it allows them to further expand not only their services, but also their hours of operation for the people across the district.
“We are also looking at establishing a satellite office to further service our patient base,” he remarked.
“In anticipation of Dr. McQuarrie joining us, we decided to choose an office name,” added Dr. Chown.
“This took some time and was quite the creative process,” he admitted, adding they ended up choosing Rainy Lake Family Dental and Orthodontics for several reasons.
“Our patient base is spread out across the district, so we wanted to have a name that reflected that,” Dr. Chown explained.
“And Rainy Lake is an iconic landmark that describes our beautiful area.”
