Prof. Dr. Rasperini already wanted to have his own dental practice as a child
Why did you become a dentist?
Honestly: I don't know. When I was about eight years old, I had the desire to become a dentist. Many people always think that you become a dentist because your parents already had a practice. That wasn't the case with me. My grandfather was a baker. A very good and clever one. And my father worked as a bank clerk, while my mother was home, took care of everything, cared for us very well and cooked for us. As a child, I imagined the profession as being like building Lego blocks. Performing small miracles with my hands, to be the boss in my own practice and having enough time on weekends to go skiing. But today, I spend most of my time on convention chairs instead of on skis.
What do you do when you are not in the practice? (hobbies etc.)
To be honest, most of the time I work. My job is my passion.
And I am really happy, because I can travel a lot. Every year I fly about 100 times around the world to Japan, China and the USA. And everywhere I meet fantastic personalities. Even if I'm not a tourist, I always have a great time. Apart from that, I've always loved sports like soccer, golf, skiing and swimming. Another passion of mine is gardening. I even have a green thumb. Admittedly, I only recently discovered cooking for myself. As a child, I always helped my mother, and watched her cook. My guitars are another passion of mine. I have over ten guitars at home. I love playing them, listening to music like rock & roll, the blues, Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin. And of course I love spending time with my two children.
What was your most interesting experience in the practice/with a patient?
I will forever remember a patient I treated at the university hospital. It was a very poor patient, and he was so grateful and full of appreciation towards us for taking care of him. At Christmas, he visited me and out of gratitude, he gave me a watch, which was not very expensive, but it had an even greater emotional value for me.
What has been your greatest learning experience?
When I was a student myself and worked in a hospital, I was supposed to remove an upper root canal of a canine. The root was very difficult to extract and almost impossible for me at that time. I sweated through the procedure, but I couldn't do it. I asked my then tutor Angelo Gelmetti for help. He told the patient that it was quite complicated. However, he removed the root, placed it back in its original place and told the patient that he couldn't do it either and that I should try again. It was then easy for me to remove the root, and the patient assumed that it was all my accomplishment. (laughs) I often learn from young people and I love giving courses because teaching helps me learn new things. I once talked to a younger doctor about a clinical case and said it was a "good" patient. She corrected me and said that every patient was a good patient. At that moment I became aware of it and she was right - every patient is good because it is a person who trusts you as a dentist.
You should also always be open to new things, be willing to reconsider and change your mind if necessary.
What are your current challenges as a dentist?
On the one hand, I work as a dentist, on the other hand, I teach as a professor at the University of Milan. That's why I'm always on the road. I teach on weekends, travel back and forth between Bilbao and Budapest – as I did last weekend, for example - and I always get new ideas. People who only see the pictures of my travels on Facebook often envy my lifestyle. But business travel has nothing to do with holidays - others don't see that. While many can spend weekends playing cards with their friends, I have to deal with delays and can't even use my own toilet. (laughs) Although travelling isn't always easy, I love it.
I work in digital dentistry, which is really exciting and definitely a challenge for me. I like to deal with new technologies and I am always faced with new functions to discover. In addition to technology, marketing is a field in which I am heavily involved. I have help with the application, but both for my work in the practice and for my teaching activity, it is always a new challenge for me. It always revolves around the question: How do I communicate correctly? That's what I ask myself during patient contact and in general interaction. Although I trust my communicative abilities, I always try to optimize them.
How can you strike a balance between professional and private life?
The best friends come from my circle of colleagues and are also active in the dental profession. Even if it is not often easy, I always try to keep the balance in order to be there for my family, my children and parents.
Is the role of a woman dentist different from that of a man? (Topic of male/female dentists...)
Only dental assistants work in my own practice, but I work with both male and female colleagues. It makes no difference to me. I am of the opinion that there are no differences – at least there should be no differences. When I attended a conference in Japan, the professional photos of the doctors showed only men and no female dentists. That surprised me a lot.
How did you come across Morita and how was your first encounter like?
I met Mr. Morita during a dental congress in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It was an extraordinary moment - when do you ever meet the face behind a global corporation in person? (laughs) We became friends and since then we meet every now and then at different places in the world. I already knew his company before our meeting - we know especially the endo and X-ray machines of Morita. I really like the laser and have already conducted some research studies with it.
What does Morita mean to you?
No matter what product Morita makes – they develop the best in the world. I've had the opportunity to visit the company twice before and found it great to see how they work and design. Their approach is environmentally friendly and aims to make the lives of dentists and their patients as easy as possible. The best example is that Morita is responsible for us treating dentists in a sitting position. Very few know that Morita developed the first treatment unit on which we no longer have to treat standing up, and the patients can lie down. The company works with a purpose and puts safety first.
What would you like Morita to have in the future?
It would be good if more dentists could afford Morita products. I think Morita makes the best products in the industry.