Lasting Impressions | Fall 2016

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 33 do not have access to care. O entimes, the need for a root canal is the rst exposure the child has to a dentist, and it is the last hope for that child’s tooth.” Millstein takes her time to educate the parents of underserved children to allow them to comprehend the urgency by which they must make a change to their child’s oral health. When performing high-anxiety procedures, especially on children, Millstein nds it extremely important to explain, step by step, how the root canal will take place. Most children will even watch a YouTube video before the appointment to familiarize themselves. At times, even with all of the right dialogue, “putting all the necessary tools in their mouth is sometimes a struggle,” she said. It is with ease that Millstein recalls being in a similar position when she was 12 and wore braces. Although her teeth were what she described as “crazy crooked” and the braces were cumbersome, the orthodontist always reminded her of the light at the end of the tunnel. A similar analogy presented itself when her single mother, Pam Millstein, had to nance the orthodontic treatment. is situation gave Millstein the drive to help those in need. In her fast-paced morning schedule at Greenberg Dental, Millstein’s time is choreographed carefully as she utilizes two treatment rooms and two consultation rooms, with two assistants by her side. Without missing a beat, Millstein moves from macromanaging (patiently reassuring a nervous woman about the procedure) to micromanaging (perform- ing a root canal while peering through a microscope), to doing the work “upside down and backward, through a mirror,” as she pointed out. With the radiographs on a screen a few inches away, Millstein can refer to them as needed and perform all of her clinical work through a dental microscope. She peers into the scope while her hands work one of several tiny les to prepare the root-canal system—a strangely disjointed action she performs with skill and precision. e work is meticulous, measured in millimeters. A er three root canals back-to-back—interspersed with three patient consultations—Millstein shows no sign of fatigue or stress. During a free moment, she catches her breath and gets back to work. e patients emerge from their root canals smiling with relief. Her patients don’t know it, but colleagues say Millstein is one of the CDM’s best endodontists. “She became one of our nest residents,” said Michael Flax, D.D.S., assistant professor and head of the CDM’s endodontics program. “How good? Her rst year out, she was asked to give a talk to the American Association of Endodontics. We’ve had her come back and give a couple of lectures at the CDM, and we don’t ask too many of our residents. She’s got very good hands, and she’s got the gray matter.” Melissa Marchesan, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., who was, at di erent times, Millstein’s CDM colleague and professor, called her diagnostic skills “phenomenal.” Marchesan added, “It takes listening to what the patient has to say. Ashley is very good at that. Sometimes the pain doesn’t come from the tooth. Sometimes it’s not that obvious on the radiograph.” Millstein grew up in Parkland in western Broward County, graduating from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. She participated in the honors program and graduated cum laude in 2007 from Florida Atlantic Univer- sity with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a double minor in biotechnology and political science. She graduated from NSU’s College of Dental Medicine in 2011 and completed her endodontics fellowship in 2012. Millstein, who served as chief resident, was one of six students to be accepted into the CDM’s endodontics residency, which she completed in 2014. Approximately 80 percent of Ashley Millstein’s endodontics patients are children, many of whom are covered by dental insurance through Florida Medicaid. She is one of few root canal specialists in the area who treat this underserved population. Continued on next page