Dr. Jared Ord has never waited for the perfect moment; and he’s not about to start now.
Dr. Jared Ord does not wait for perfect conditions before taking on responsibility. Throughout his dental career, he has stepped forward early—trusting that preparation, mentorship, and values matter more than certainty.
That instinct showed itself long before dental school. When Ord was eight-years-old, his mother gave him a journal. In it, he wrote that he wanted to become “a doctor or a dentist.” Even then, the direction was narrowing. “It was always either medicine or dentistry,” he recalls, “but dentistry felt like a profession I really respected.”
While growing up in Edmonton, Ord was surrounded by dentists he admired not only for their clinical abilities but also for their lifestyles. Through his church community, he observed practitioners who volunteered their time, participated in youth camps, and tried to be involved in the lives of others. He names Dr. Mike Miller and Dr. Doug Stringham among the professionals who shaped his view of what dentistry could be. “The people I knew were dentists that were present,” Ord says. “They volunteered. They showed up. I thought, ‘These are the guys I want to be like.’”
Those informal mentorships grew to be more intentional as Ord moved through his undergraduate studies and into dentistry at the University of Alberta. Miller, Stringham, and then Dr. Ralph Thompson and Dr. Justin Kerr in Three Hills offered practical guidance—encouraging him to work hard early, seek hands‑on learning, and approach the profession with humility and confidence in equal measure.
That counsel mattered when Ord faced one of the defining decisions of his career. Just seven weeks after graduating from dental school, he became the sole owner of a three‑chair clinic in Olds, Alberta. At 27, newly married, with a young family and another child on the way, he bypassed the traditional associate path. “I chose the ‘let’s go for it’ route. It was a risk—but I had roots and support, and I wanted to build something,” says Ord.
He and his wife, Lindsay, a dental hygienist, moved from Edmonton and quickly adjusted to small‑town life. What began as a quiet practice gradually grew under Ord’s care. He expanded capacity when needed, invested early in digital technologies, and remained committed to a small, close‑knit team. While specialization was an option down the road, Ord deliberately chose general dentistry. “The longer I worked, the more I realized I enjoyed being a generalist. I enjoy the balance and being able to care for people over time,” he says.
Over two decades, that approach has resulted in a rare outcome: multi‑generational patient relationships built on trust and continuity.
Ord’s sense of responsibility eventually led him well beyond central Alberta. Beginning in 2016, he and Lindsay became involved in humanitarian dental missions to Ethiopia, providing care to vulnerable children as part of a larger medical team. The trips required extensive planning—from equipment and fundraising to logistics on the ground—and reflected the same readiness to take initiative that defined his professional life at home.
The hardest part wasn’t coming home. It was knowing we might not go back to the kids we had promised we would return to.
During their third mission in 2020, that willingness was put to the test. While Ord and several volunteer team members provided care in Gondar, local authorities arrested them amid disputed allegations regarding documentation and medical supplies. Law enforcement officials first detained him and other volunteers at a police station and later transferred them to a regional prison. Over nine days, uncertainty replaced routine, and control over the situation disappeared.
The experience was unsettling—not only because of the conditions, but because of what was left unfinished. “The hardest part wasn’t coming home. It was knowing we might not go back to the kids we had promised we would return to,” he says.
With the involvement of Canadian diplomatic officials, the group was ultimately released and allowed to leave the country. Ord returned to Canada only several days before global pandemic travel restrictions were implemented. Back in Olds, the response quietly overwhelmed him.
Patients and community members—some he had never treated—reached out to express relief and encouragement. It validated a understanding he held: in small communities, dentistry is about relationships as much as treatment.
Today, Ord finds himself once again stepping into unfamiliar territory—this time as a director on the Alberta Dental Association’s board, representing the central district. While new to this level of organized dentistry, the role does not intimidate him. Having watched Lindsay serve in leadership positions within her profession, Ord sees board service as an additional way to give back—particularly in advocating for access to care and fair compensation under public dental programs.
“I don’t think you have to know everything before you step into something,” Ord says. “Sometimes you show up, listen, and learn as you go.”
More than 23 years after taking over his first clinic—and decades after that childhood journal entry—Ord remains guided by the same philosophy. “Sometimes you have to dive in and do, and you might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish,” he says.
For him, leadership has never been about certainty. It’s about responsibility—and the willingness to step forward when it matters most.
ARTICLE by Tammy Vineberg, APR
PHOTOS supplied by Dr. Ord
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