By Lorena Franchuk
Poor grades and the occasional doubt couldn’t deter Dr. Robert Mast from finding his eventual calling as a dentist—but not without a few stops along the way.
Dr. Mast, who became a successful dentist in the Red Deer region, bounced from a variety of jobs including construction, floristry, landscaping, insurance, singing, and the theatre. This bouncing stopped when an insurance colleague took him for breakfast one morning.
The then 30-year-old was asked to bring along a pen and three sheets of paper.
“‘Robert, I want you to write down on the top of the first sheet, if nothing were to hinder you, this is what I’d like to accomplish in the next six months to a year,’” recalls Dr. Mast. “The second sheet was in five to 10 years and the third sheet was in a lifetime.
“I sat there and he wouldn’t let me order breakfast until I filled out the three pieces of paper. Well, geez, I was starving.”
Eventually, young Robert’s brainstorming revealed an interest in the medical field, specifically dentistry. He thought it would satisfy his creative side and give him an opportunity to work with his hands, while offering a fulfilling and financially supportive career.
But that next step from paper to practice wasn’t easy. Dr. Mast admits to not always being a great student growing up in Barrhead and later Grande Prairie.
Robert had gravitated towards music and theatre after an astute principal suggested to his parents that he seek assistance for his stutter in Grade 4 during the mid-1960s.
Robert grew to love the stage. Following high school, he moved to Edmonton and promptly contacted the Citadel Theatre and requested an audition for the lead role in an upcoming production.
“They said, ‘who are you?’” and encouraged him to start with the Citadel on Wheels program for young people. Robert wasn’t interested; he said he had encountered many people from the program before at competitions and he beat them.
Dentistry seemed to bring together everything I loved — creativity, working with my hands, and helping people. – Dr. Robert Mast
Robert dabbled in floral design and eventually landscaping but a labour-intensive job was taxing for his tall, slim stature. He eventually enrolled in music at the University of Alberta, but he was one course short of graduating with a music degree as his piano skills didn’t measure up.
After a soul-searching trip to California in his 20s where he was offered a chance to record with a band headed to Lake Tahoe, Robert realized that singing wasn’t as much fun when he had to rely on unpredictable gigs to pay the bills. That’s when he got into the insurance business and eventually his colleague’s life coaching struck a chord.
Rather than partying or attending Edmonton Oilers hockey games during their championship years in the 1980s, Robert focused on upgrading his lacklustre marks from high school.
“I didn’t even remember any of the high school sciences, so I started with all three at the 10 level and for the first time, I was acing quizzes and exams,” reminisces Dr. Mast.
“I was going to Alberta College in downtown Edmonton, and sitting there studying and thinking about the next exam coming up and I thought, ‘who is this weird person inside of me? This isn’t me, I’m supposed to fail. I’m not good at school.’”
Applying himself at school worked and his confidence grew. Robert applied to dental school but ended up frustrated after being placed on the waiting list two years in a row.
Robert challenged the head of the selection committee on why he wasn’t accepted. It turned out his marks from some university music courses he took prior to dentistry were incorrectly documented, keeping him out of the program. He penned a letter appealing his case, explaining he could no longer afford to remain on a waiting list.
His lobbying paid off and paved the way for a fulfilling dentistry career in the Red Deer area where he operated his own clinic and later practised as an associate dentist at the Blackfalds Dental Centre.
Some time after he began practising, Dr. Mast encountered a challenge of another sort.
One of his patients wanted an implant. Dr. Mast wasn’t trained to do them as he had only kept up his bare minimum for dental training. He questioned whether he could complete it to his own satisfaction as he knew of a few cases where they didn’t turn out well and it scared him off.
“Well, you take the courses you need and I’ll wait for you,” he recalls the patient saying.
A year later, Dr. Mast placed the two dental implants and a bridge.
“She’s had them since 2002,” laughs Dr. Mast, who semi-retired in June after specializing in implants, ridge augmentation and aesthetic finishing, he says proudly.
While his vocation journey had its twists and turns, Dr. Mast is grateful to those who helped guide him to a successful 34-year dental career.
“There are many people in my life who I can turn to and say, ‘thank you.’”
“If you start
taking stress
internally, you
will become
your own worst
enemy.”
FILLING YOUR LIFE WITH OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND COMMUNITY ARE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL DENTAL CAREER
Seeing patients at some of the worst times of their life can be trying for a dentist.
But not everyone is able to cope with that challenge and it can affect their mental health, says a long-term dentist.
“When we are in dental school, we’re told what kind of incredible human beings we are because we actually got
into dentistry,” explains Dr. Robert Mast, who wrapped up his practice in Blackfalds in June after 34 years in dentistry.
“If you start believing that and taking it too literally, it can beat you up.”
Dr. Mast says dentistry often appeals to people who have top marks and those who are often more introverted.
“They hang out with one or two others who are like-minded and when they get into university they all go in separate directions, so you lose contact or [a sense of] community.”
Dr. Mast believes the combination of competitiveness and lack of a supportive community can be tough for many students.
While his path to dentistry was delayed until his thirties and took many detours, Dr. Mast believes the experience he gained
helped prepare him for his practice.
As a mature student who had already had a variety of jobs, he had to lobby hard just for a spot in dental school. From
a personal side, he tragically lost a younger brother in a vehicle accident part way through his university years. Both circumstances helped prepare him for tough days ahead.
Dr. Mast also credits his interest in singing, long-distance running, involvement with the Rotary Club and church, and the support of his wife and two children in maintaining balance in his life.
“If you start taking stress internally, you will become your own worst enemy.”
This article originally appears in the January-April 2025 issue of the ADA Connection magazine.