Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Jennifer Keaten. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dr. Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?
Since I started in the field of veterinary medicine in my early 20s, I have wanted to own my own veterinary practice. The kind of practice I wanted to own has changed with time, but many of the goals have stayed the same. I wanted to own and run a practice that provide the best care possible to my patients in an environment that people could enjoy working in and be proud of the work they do. Before I could do any of this, I had to attend veterinary school. I went to Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine with the goal to be a mixed animal veterinarian. Upon graduating I took a job as a mixed animal veterinarian in Concord, NH to gain some experience. I immediately started looking into the process of funding to open a practice. The question was where did I want to establish this practice and when was a ready both financially and professionally. After 18 months as a mixed animal veterinarian, I decided that mixed animal practice was not for me and I took a job in Norway, Maine as a small animal veterinarian. It was here that I rediscovered my love for veterinary dentistry. After honing my skills in the dentistry field over 6 years, I decided that I was finally ready to establish a practice, but now it was going to be a veterinary dentistry only practice. With 8 years of experience under my belt and a little more financial stability, I started a traveling dentistry practice to help the many veterinary practices struggling with dentistry. Veterinary dentistry is not covered well in most veterinary schools and so it is a common struggle for practices since 85% of cats and dogs over the age of 3 have some level of dental disease. This fact, combined with my love of preventive medicine drove my desire to help. There were many challenges in the beginning from struggling with appropriate scheduling and training the support staff at these practice to help me. Shortly after starting, I realize that in order to help more patients, I needed to start my own brick and mortar dental practice. With the traveling practice to support me, I had the flexibility to secure loans and the real estate needed. Then I needed to build a team, keeping in mind my goal of having a supportive culture and a place people enjoyed working in. I started with a small team of 3 employees and we trained together and began to build the vision I had for so long. Now, almost 3 years since starting the brick and mortar, we have 12 employees and are still growing. The biggest challenge was building the right team to accomplish the goals. As practitioners, we are not trained to manage people. It is a skill that has to be developed outside of practice. Not everyone is going to be a good fit no matter how much support and feedback you give to them. Hard decisions sometimes have to be made for the good of everyone. While I have made my mistakes, I realize that I am only human and I am doing the best that I can and I am learning from my mistakes. A fact that many practitioners who are often perfectionists have a hard time remembering.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Dr. Jennifer Keaten grew up in Fryeburg, Maine and graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 2000. She studied biology at Saint Michael’s College in Burlington, VT and initially pursued a career in wildlife and environmental ecology. In 2006, Dr. Keaten was introduced to the world of veterinary medicine when she took a job at Fryeburg Veterinary Hospital. She was trained to be a veterinary technician and quickly fell in the love with the field. It was in these early stages that she developed her passion for veterinary dentistry and preventive medicine and was fortunate to work at a veterinary hospital that practiced progressive medicine and had digital dental x-rays earlier than most hospitals.
In 2008, Dr. Keaten decided to apply to veterinary school and was accepted to and attended Iowa State University in 2009-2013 to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). Due to her passion for preventive medicine, she also completed all but a practicum project for a master’s in public health (MPH). She completed this project in 2016 with the University of Maine to earn her MPH.
After graduating from Iowa State University, Doctor Keaten began to pursue her passion for veterinary dentistry with extensive training, continuing education, and study. In 2021, Dr. Keaten also passed a board exam to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (DACVPM).
In 2021, seeing a large need in the area, Dr Keaten decided to limit her practice to veterinary dentistry and started Mainely Veterinary Dentistry (MVD). MVD began as a traveling dental service and has now become the first dentistry only practice for cats and dogs in Maine and is located in Windham, Maine.
Dr. Keaten loves that dentistry combines her love of surgery and preventive medicine for her patients. The benefit for her patients is that she is solely focused on this aspect of a very important part of their health and can offer the best care and service for them and their owners. As we know from people, oral health is an important part of overall health. Infections in the mouth can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream and can cause slow changes to the heart, liver, lungs, brain and kidneys. This important part of overall health often gets missed in general practice because there is so much that the general practitioner is responsive for covering during an annual exam. Dr. Keaten uses her established social media channels to educate pet owners to advocate for their pets dental care and provides a place to make it happen.
Dr. Keaten is so passionate about veterinary dentistry and the impact it can have on a patient’s quality of life and the human-animal bond, that she also provides dental training courses for both veterinarians and veterinary technicians in the New England area. She hopes that by teaching more veterinarians and their staff to provide high quality dental care that she will be able to reach more patients and improve their lives.
Outside of veterinary dentistry and preventive medicine, Dr. Keaten loves hiking and trail running with her Cane Corso, Brutus, aka @Bubbiesthebluemountainmastiff. She also enjoys spending time on her farm in Bridgton, Maine with her 2 horses (Percheron and Thoroughbred) and 8 chickens.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I think one of the biggest things that helped in my career is learning that my job is to educate the pet parent about what we can do to keep their animal as healthy as possible and make the best recommendations outside of the cost. I have my support staff discuss the costs associated with what we recommend and then allow the pet parent to decide what they can or want to do without judgement. This allows those that want and can afford the absolute best for their animal the opportunity to do it but we can also make adjustments and work with owners that need to do less. I would rather someone be upset with me that I recommended something that they felt was not necessary than have some be upset with me that I did not recommend something and their pet’s health suffered for it. This is a big reason why dentistry is often overlooked for pets because veterinarians are afraid that a pet owner will think doing dentistry on a pet is over the top and be upset with them.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
Veterinary medicine can be a very stressful job and there are certainly somedays that I question my decisions. However, it can also be a very rewarding career and more often than not, hard work pays off. I am so fortunate to have a practice focused on only one (yet a very important one) aspect of an animal’s health and to have an amazing clientele and team to provide that service. While there may be some aspects of the journey I would improve, I would still choose veterinary medicine. It challenges my brain but also always me to connect with animals and their owners that love them so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mainelyvetdentistry.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/MainelyVetDentistry
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/MainelyVeterinaryDentistry
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/mainely-veterinary-dentistry
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mainelyveterinarydentistry9719
Image Credits
Greg Glynn
Joe Mulcahy