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Growing up in rural Alaska, I know that even though my family had to make financial ends meet season after season throughout my whole childhood, it was an absolute blessing for me to be coming from nothing. I learned quickly what good work ethic means and to achieve goals with integrity and good old fashioned hard labor. Although my grandparents were war heros, one of them was actually a 3 star general under commander Chiang Kai-Shek, nobody in my family had a pretentious and ostentatious character. As a matter of fact, my parents gave up their careers in Taiwan so that my brother and I can have a chance to pursue the American dream. In small town Soldotna, Alaska, my humble parents started a restaurant business from scratch as first generation immigrants. As early as 7 years of age, I had seen how hard my folks worked, so, I too, started working at the kitchen and washed dishes, wrapped wontons and egg rolls and shucked shrimp after school every weekday. On the weekends, my job duties would expand to busing tables and help with the vegetables such as snow peas and carrots.
This work ethic was the best gift my parents and God gave me. I was able to excel early on in life and what it means to strive for excellence in everything I do. I graduated high school at age 17 with abundant scholarships and even a full ride to Brandeis University. Of course, I chose to enroll at the University of Michigan Preferred admissions program - which only accepted 2 students per year nationally. This program guaranteed admission to the undergraduate College of LS&A and the School of Dentistry in a combined dual degree acceptance. Yes, I knew I wanted to be a dentist ever since 6th grade and had never changed my mind. So, at age 24, I was a full-time practicing dentist with my own clinic holding a BS degree in Biology and a DDS degree. And, also at age 24, I carried a 1.1 million student loan debt. Even though I had abundant scholarships, I purposely took out un-subsidized loans with high interest rates to give to my parents so they can continue their restaurant business. During every late fall and winter, Soldotna had fewer than 4,500 residents and the restaurant business was super slow as with all local businesses. Thus, with the Asian concept of Filial Piety, I took on extra loans so that my parents can keep the restaurant. Today in 2025, I am proud to say that before my wife and I decided to finally close the restaurant, it had been in business for 43 years. Imagine that, a family restaurant business staying open for 43 years in rural Alaska. So, with that mentioned, I want to talk about why honor, good work ethic, and truthfulness matter; it matters so much.
As I began practicing dentistry with all that debt, I had to focus on my career and work my butt off. The first thing I picked up right away is that I needed to become a CE junkie. I went to so many post graduate teaching institutions and learned quickly to master cosmetic, implant and full mouth reconstruction dentistry. Next, I had to expand my knowledge and skills to doing TMD- TMJ and orofacial pain cases; this meant helping patients with issues ranging from migraines to trigger point muscle pain and chronic pain. I became a leader and the top account client at Microdental- MacStudio National lab (which later became part of Modern Global which is now the biggest dental lab worldwide reaching places like Madagascar to Europe to all over Asia. I would win numerous grand prize cosmetic dentistry competitions and some of which were even judged ( blindly without dentists’ names identified on the entries) by celebrities. Furthermore, I would be published in numerous peer reviewed journals for cosmetic and implant dentistry. I did a lot of clinical research and wrote down ideas for future intellectual properties IPs - patents.
Then, my journey in excellence dived deeply into dental sleep medicine. As a CE junkie and credentialing advocate, I became triple board certified in sleep. I learned quickly about the proper way to treat patients with sleep breathing disorders. This is a medical condition and a very serious one. Therefore, that means countless hours of studying and going through medical textbooks from pharmacology to anatomy and physiology. Also, I learned that lecturing and teaching helps so much with my own learning, and I later became adjunct faculty at a major medical - dental school. The most important fact I learned about saving lives and doing sleep medicine cases is to not rush them! There is a myriad of complex issues and complicated medical history conditions connected with sleep breathing problems. It would be against my oath as a medical professional to skip steps or take shortcuts.
entitled to selecting the most expensive steakhouse and seafood restaurants. They would brag to me about how much they can run up a bar tab or order bottles of expensive wine. And, yes, they all felt entitled to do so. It is like Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, where the motif of the Green Light symbolizes the greed and “superiority” of people who make it rich by that way of thinking. Well, I am glad to say that I don’t do anywhere near as many cases, because to me, it is all about quality and excellence. In my humble opinion, it is impossible to do proper calibration-titration, work on sleep hygiene, diet- nutrition , exercise and mental health in a matter of weeks. Excellence takes time and hard work, Some cases have taken me well over 11 months to finally get the AHI and RDI to levels around 5 and below. Moreover, to see dramatic changes such as significant weight loss for those morbidly obese or for patients to work through fibromyalgia with UARS— these all take a great length of time to follow through and work in tangent with the patient and with interdisciplinary doctors and other providers. So, as I have been labeled a major Key opinion leader in sleep, as if it were some kind of right of passage, those same people tried to sway me to be a part of their “good old boys club.” They asked me to promote their appliances and gave false promises, especially regarding dorsal fin appliances and hiding the truth about fin fracture and potential aspiration problems. Even though there were NIH and federal studies supporting Herbst type PDAC approved appliances, they kept trying to persuade doctors to use dorsal fins. Dr. Neal Elattrache who is a well known MD -( as many of his patients are Olympians,) also cited studies that also show the important features of the Herbst for TMJ and synovial fluid and freedom of border movements and excursions with the mandible - not locking the mandible and joints in like Dorsal fins. So, anyway, those people with their mentality and their ways of doing business eventually concluded that I am in no way like them. With me, Integrity matters.
From my childhood blessings seeing my parents work so hard to give me the American Dream, I will never let go of what truly matters. That is working day to day with integrity, honesty and following through with everyone I am privileged to service and treat. I grew up poor and never had privileges or old money that I inherited. I thank God for my childhood, because as I’m writing this today, I can say that I worked my very best and gave every fiber in me for all of my patients and people I care about in my life. When I looked at the current goals and vision of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy in 2025, and integrity of the leaders on its executive board, I am so honored and happy that I finally found an Academy who values what I do in this field. They all believe in hard work and doing the right things that matter and carry the torch of hard work, decency, and truthfulness in the field of dental sleep medicine.