An Introduction
Hope things are going well! If you've landed here, you probably want to know a little about who I am before you ever sit in my chair. Fair enough.
I'm Paul McCarthy, a general dentist practicing in Quincy, Massachusetts. I split time between Wollaston Dental Group on Hancock Street and Quincy Dental Specialists a few doors down. Both offices are full of people I respect and trust.
Where I trained
I earned my DMD from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine in 2016. From there I went to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx for a general practice residency. A year of high-volume, full-scope dentistry in one of the busiest hospital systems in the country. It was hard. It was also the best classroom I could have asked for.
After residency I practiced in New York for a few years before coming home to New England. I'm currently pursuing my FAGD (Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry), a continuing-education distinction held by fewer than 6% of dentists in the U.S. and Canada.
How I think about a visit
A line I wrote applying to residency still drives a lot of how I practice: I worry that I do not know what I do not know. It keeps me reading, asking questions, and checking my plan against current research before recommending it.
It also means I try to slow down in the room. To explain what I'm seeing, what the options are, and what each one actually buys you in the long run.
My three priorities, in order:
- Comfort. Numb when you need to be numb. A gentle pace. Breaks when you need them.
- Communication. A clear picture of what's happening in your mouth and why each step is on the table.
- Long-term stability. A plan that holds up five and ten years from now, not just one.
Outside of clinic
When I'm not at work I'm usually running, lifting, at the beach on the south shore of Rhode Island or the Cape, or reading something heavier than I should be reading on a weekend. My fiancée Lane and I split most of our time between Quincy and the coast.
My goal here is to write short pieces about dentistry, the people and ideas that shaped my training, and the small choices that make a visit feel calm instead of clinical. Nothing here is medical advice. If something I write raises a question about your own care, the right next step is to talk to your dentist about it.
Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Paul