Why I Became A Dentist: Dr. Don MacRae's Story

Dr. Don MacRae shares the story of how he fell in love - with his wife, dentistry and Peachland! 

It all started years ago when I first met my wife, Kim.

We started dating 32 years ago! Yikes, time flies. Kim was in the Dental Therapist program in Regina. She was Training to be responsible for children’s dental care. I was studying to be a doctor just like my father and grandfather before me.

When the time came to apply for medicine, Kim suggested that I also apply to dental school. After helping Kim study for her exams, I started to become more interested in Dentistry. The Dental Therapy program allowed Kim to do fillings, cleanings and extractions on kids. I thought that it would be something that I would like because I loved working with children.

I also had a great experience with my dentist at the time, Dr. Ralph Berdan. He took all of my wisdom teeth out, and as I watched I thought, “I could do that!” Ironically, 20 years later, Dr. Berdan's son Anthony came to work for me as an associate.

The year that I applied for Dentistry and Medicine, I took Calculus and that was the determining factor – I love Math! I really got into dentistry and never looked back. Kim and I worked in Saskatoon for three years, I taught part time at the dental school and we had four kids.

After so many cold winters, we decided to move to Peachland and have loved every minute of it since!