Dr. Freddy Fokam

My time in different places made me realize and appreciate how lucky we are to have a solid Canadian healthcare system.

Gatineau-Ottawa has a combination of factors that made it ideal. The area has the appeal of a number of outdoor activities, access to good restaurants and music, and proximity to family. I’m lucky to have several good friends who reside here too, and that really sealed the deal. It’s a great place to practice and to raise a family in.

I come from a family of physicians and surgeons. I think I made the “decision” to be a dental surgeon at about the age of 5!

Dentistry suits me very well, it is a combination of Medicine, engineering, and art. In dental school, the artistry, variety, precision, and creativity of periodontal plastic surgery drew me in instantly. Then I saw how much influence I can have on a patient’s function and self-esteem. In both the aesthetic and reconstructive parts of my practice, I make people’s lives better. This has to be the most rewarding job that exists.

Dentistry is so diverse. After my years of training in dental school, I went on to do 3 additional years of residency training in periodontics and Implant surgery. This has served to make me comfortable operating on supporting tissues of the teeth with excellent knowledge of anatomy and a variety of surgical techniques. It also gave me the opportunity to work on patients of all ages and to learn from multiple surgeons. I’ve taken hints and techniques from all these areas and people and incorporated them into the way I operate.

• To make an impact that matters: The decision to open my own clinic wasn’t taken lightly. After all these years of training and after working in several clinics, I wanted to create something different. At PerioClinik, my success will not be measured by how much I bill, by the number of patients I see per day/week/month, or other random metrics that don’t really matter. My success will be driven by making my patients be happy.
• To build my own team: as an employee, I had little influence over who you work with. In my own practice, I can decide who I bring on. Moreover, I can focus on hiring people who have the same values as me and are as passionate about making a difference.

I went into healthcare to help people and to improve the lives of my patients. My primary goal is to make my patients happy. I feel that the combination of listening to the concerns of my patients, paired with the knowledge and experience I have gained through my training helps to fit the right procedure with the right patient – and achieve an excellent result.

Not really. What originally attracted me to periodontal and Implant surgery was the diversity and variety of the procedures. I feel like I tailor every surgery to the patient who is in front of me.

However, I would say that I have a specific interest for microsurgery and minimally invasive surgeries. Every procedure is different and exciting. Some procedures are more fun and some are more challenging, but that is what keeps me coming back for more!