Caroline is the office manager for Dr. Regina Mortland, who assumed her general dentistry practice over 20 years ago in the quaint little town of Duxbury. This wonderful practice includes a hygienist and a dental assistant in conjunction with Dr. Mortland and Caroline, who serve a clientele of families that have been coming to the practice for generations.

Caroline has been the practice manager for four years, and this is her first position in the dental field. If you have met Caroline in person at one of our South Shore DMS meetings you may know that she is not a native of Massachusetts, having been born and raised in the Netherlands. She formerly worked in the corporate world as an executive assistant and office manager at Egon Zehnder in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which helps organizations identify, develop, and retain leaders. She was employed in a similar capacity at Prince Europe (the European headquarters of Prince Tennis, USA) in The Hague, the Netherlands. She served as an executive assistant at Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, in Brussels, Belgium, before moving with her husband and children to the United States. They lived in Florida and Virginia before settling in Massachusetts 13 years ago.

When asked what her favorite part of the job is, she noted that it is patient interaction. Caroline enjoys meeting new patients and reconnecting with existing patients at the front desk.

Caroline, like many other practice managers, states that her least favorite part of the job is staying on top of all the continuous changes the insurance companies throw at practices.

The biggest challenge Caroline has faced was the beginning of her dental career four years ago. She had to muddle through each day, figuring out for herself what the position entailed, as she had no one there to train her. Caroline’s only previous experience in the dental world up to that point had been her own dental care. She said, “Thankfully I had had some root canals, crowns, fillings, wisdom teeth extractions done, and-yes- my teeth cleaned every 6 months!”

When asked what pearls of wisdom she would impart to new practice administrators, Caroline responded, “Ask for training by a professional company. Nancy Kagan of Summit Dental and her team came in for a few days to fine tune my work processes. Their guidance in assisting me with a procedure book to stay on top of all the different aspects of the job helped me tremendously!”

Caroline sees great benefits in membership in the Dental Managers Society. She commented that knowing that there are others who understand the complexities of practice management is a comfort to her. She also is grateful to know others who are willing to help her out with answers to her practice management questions and concerns.

When we inquired what Caroline does for fun outside the office, she answered, “I love spending time with my family and friends both here, in Canada, and in Europe.” Her husband is a food and agriculture consultant and they have two beautiful children, both born in Brussels, who make them very proud. The oldest is finishing her last year at McGill University in Montreal with a double major in geography and international development and a minor in social entrepreneurship. She’s looking for a job in Montreal for a year before she goes to Europe to get her master’s degree. The youngest is at Bentley University in his sophomore year and he hopes to finish with a master’s degree in four years in economics and finance. Caroline loved having them home for the holidays and she is very grateful that they both seem to be happy where they are. She also enjoys playing golf (hear that, Mary Ellen?), going for walks, and reading. Caroline belongs to two book clubs, one with her neighbors and one with her Dutch friends on the South Shore. She especially enjoys historical novels and she recommends A Land Remembered, about the pioneer history of Florida, by Patrick Smith, and Philippa Gregory’s books about the English monarchy.

A Fun Fact about Caroline is that she worked in Trevino, Italy, for seven fun weeks to help set up an office when Prince Europe was acquired by Benetton Sport Systems. We are excited that Caroline has become such a vibrant part of the Dental Manager’s Society!