Since opening its doors in 1964, the UBC Faculty of Dentistry has graduated over 3,500 dental professionals who continue to impact communities worldwide. From dental hygienists to dentists to dental specialists, we are incredibly proud of our alumni family!
As part of our “in conversation with” series, where we connect with some of our outstanding alumni, and to celebrate Oral Health Month, we spoke with Dr. Les Campbell, MSc Craniofacial Science Dip Endodontics 2013, who leads the Division of Endodontics at the University of Alberta.
What first got you interested in a career in dentistry?
I enrolled in a pre-dentistry program in the late ‘80s, thinking dentistry would be a cool job and that I wanted to help society. I had no idea about all the different places it would take me.
I pursued endodontics later in my career, but that decision was easy to make. In my opinion, endodontics is the most rewarding discipline—a lot of patients come to me in pain or discomfort, and I’m able to relieve them of their pain. I also enjoy the practice model —we’re a small team who make a big impact.
What did your career path look like?
I joined the Canadian Armed Forces in my first year of dental school and stayed for 20 years. It was hard for my family to move a lot and I was deployed twice, but I had a lot of great experiences. I spent two years in Texas completing the advanced general dentistry program, which is an army specialty, and we travelled across Canada. I also had the honour of being the Canadian Armed Forces forensic officer during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
After my time in the Army, I enrolled in the Masters of Science in Endodontics program at UBC and then worked on Vancouver Island for a few years before moving to Edmonton. I got a call from the Dean of Dentistry at the University of Alberta asking me to run the endodontics program, which felt like a great opportunity. In 2019, I also opened my own endodontics practice.
You’ve received teaching excellence awards. What do you love most about teaching?
The impact you have as an instructor is huge—it’s like having your thoughts and philosophies multiplied dozens of times over through the students you teach. Even though I’m not directly treating my students’ patients, my methods are.
The way I think about endodontics and how I practice has been greatly influenced by past instructors, including Drs. Markus Haapasalo, Ya Shen and Jeffrey Coil, and I like knowing I can have the same impact on my students. Two of my past students are now in the UBC Endodontics Graduate Program, and that makes me proud, knowing I must have influenced them to get them excited about a career in endodontics.
What advice would you give to current UBC Dentistry students?
My advice is to listen very carefully to what your instructors have to say; when you’re a student you don’t realize the volume of what you don’t know. Also, being a student is often the last time you will have someone standing over your shoulder to help you so take advantage.