US Women Magazine August 2014 Vol 1 Issue 1 | Page 9

Career & Education

Meet dentist...

Dr. Lauri Barge

by Teresa Harvey

Dr. Barge wanted to create a practice that provided the
best quality and most aesthetically appealing dental
work available for her patients, Dr. Barge felt “It is
important to feel good about the services and care you
provide.” This mindset led her to open her own practice
in 2001. This bold move enabled Dr. Barge the freedom
to create an atmosphere from the moment you walk
into her office that is relaxing, comfortable and inviting.
Dr. Barge continues to focus on detail, allowing her patients to feel important and well cared. Her attention to
detail is evident by her office’s sterilization techniques,
state of the art equipment, comfortable reclining patient
chairs, and video monitors in every treatment room.
Dr. Barge’s experience as a woman in the dental field
has proven to have little difference from fellow male
dentist. With that said, Dr. Barge did experience an ageold dilemma that many women face, finding the right
time to start a family. Especially since, she would also
be juggling the startup of a new practice. Fortunately,
in the dental world, she experienced many patients will
seek out or prefer the gentler touch of a female dentist.

Dr. Lauri Barge is a Texas native and graduate of the
University of Texas at Arlington, who then attended
dental school at the Baylor School of Dentistry. Dr.
Barge became interested in dentistry through her own
personal dental experiences as a child and by having the
opportunity to work in the field throughout high school
and college.
Dr. Barge found that there were many corporate run
dental practices and employment was not a problem.
However, finding a practice with the philosophies and
standards she believed in proved more difficult. Not
stating that one philosophy is better than the other it is
just a different philosophy when approaching a practice.

That being said being a dentist and business owner has
challenges. Dr. Barge currently finds it increasingly difficult to balance her relationships with insurance companies and the discount policies their companies want
their office to accept. There is a fine line between accepting discounts from insurance companies and compromising on the quality and care given to the patient.
Time is spent negotiating with the various insurance
carriers to reach a compromise that works for the insurance company, as well as meets the needs of the patient.
The other dilemma Dr. Barge faces in today’s market is
the influx in the market place over larger corporate run
clinics. The, corporate run, providers can offer a wider
range of hours since they keep more dentists on staff.
The convenience of this is understandable as a draw for
many patients in addition to occasionally less expensive
continue on pg 10