Meet Doctor Melanie Lafon
I really liked the dentist growing up. I did braces two times, and so I was going to the orthodontist all the time, and I was one of those kids that actually really liked it. So whenever I was kind of going to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to do something in medical. You know, I have a lot of nurses in my family, but I thought that was gonna be a little too gross for me, and I wanted to do something that would allow me to be with people, be medical, but still be able to have a family and do that sort of thing. So I shadowed a dentist in college. He did a really gross extraction and I thought, “This is cool, I like this,” and kind of went from there.
The most rewarding aspect of being a dentist is just getting those affirmations from patients. They come in and they’re like, “I’m super nervous.” And then they leave and they’re like, “This is not that bad. I had a really good time here.” They come and they’re like, “I really don’t like my smile. I really wanna fix something about this.” At the end of their treatment, you can just see the difference of when they came in and they’re doing the closed mouth and then when they leave and they’re actually ready to smile and do that thing. So I like to see that difference in people and to help them go from timid and nervous to comfortable and actually wanting to come back and see us.
I want all of my patients to feel that when they come to see me, they’re coming to kind of see a friend. They’re gonna come, they’re gonna have fun. We’re gonna laugh a little bit. We’re gonna do a little bit of dentistry, but mostly we’re just gonna kind of hang out and they’re gonna feel really comfortable with me, and it’s not gonna be something that they dread doing. They’re just coming and getting their stuff done, but it’s not a big deal and they’re gonna feel well taken care of and feel like all the work they’re getting done is necessary and good and excellent, but it’s also just gonna be part of their normal life and not something that they dread.
