As a dentist, Morgan Barker Hurwitz helps bring smiles to the Baltimore area.
Hurwitz, 34, works as one of the eponymous dentists at Feldman, Slevin, Hurwitz & Choe in Towson. The dentists’ office has been voted as the top periodontists in the area by Baltimore Magazine for over 20 years due to the fact that they specialize in not only dentistry, but periodontics, which focuses on the gums, and prosthodontics, which focuses on dental prosthetics.
Outside of her career in dentistry, Hurwitz is on the board of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore’s Young Adult Division, or YAD.
She lives in Reisterstown with her husband Mike.
You grew up in Owings Mills. What led you to stay close to the area?
I went to Maryland for dental school, and I actually went to UCLA for a year after dental school. I did an oral surgery internship out at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. But then I decided I didn’t want to do oral surgery. I still love surgery, but I didn’t want to be in the OR, so I did a perio specialty. And so that brought me back to Maryland where I did my residency, and then I met my husband who’s from the area as well, and our families are all pretty much in the area. We didn’t really feel the need to move because most people we know live around there, so it’s nice to have family close by.
What made you want to be a dentist in the first place?
My dad is a dentist, so I knew I wanted to be a dentist since I was 6 years old, and I never strayed from it. I just always watched him going to work. My mom used to say that one day she would have to make both our lunches when I worked with him.
Did you learn anything about dentistry from your father?
He was really helpful throughout dental school, to my friends as well. He was kind of our in-house tutor. It was really nice. And even still, we’ll bounce ideas off of each other for some surgical things, and we talk about cases together and work on different cases together.
What would you say the most rewarding part and the hardest part of being a dentist is?
I would say the most rewarding part would be just transforming smiles and watching people’s faces light up when you’ve given them something that they’re happy about. And then I would say the most difficult part would be sometimes managing expectations.
I really love what I do, and I think that resonates with how I do things and how they turn out, because I truly care about patients, their needs and how I can make their lives better. I feel that my empathy and passion for what I do really shows through the work that I do.
Going to the dentist can be a scary experience for some. How do you reassure nervous patients?
I think that I try in my manner, I’m very empathetic, and I think the way that I communicate with patients helps make them feel more comfortable and confident in me. It makes them feel better about being there. We do offer different types of sedation in the practice, too, which is a nice touch. But I think it’s all about how you speak to patients and how you communicate that really helps give them the level of comfort they need.
How did you first get involved with The Associated?
In the last two years, I was involved in Young Leadership [Council]. With that you get put on a board to observe, so I was put on the YAD board to observe for the last year and then I was, within that, put on the Ben-Gurion Society group as well. I participate in things like planning different events, recruiting and organizing, so I come up with ideas for what YAD could do next.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Well, my husband and I are about to have a baby, so I think that will definitely change my answer soon. But for now, I just enjoy spending time with my family. We love going out to dinner, spending time with friends and family and going to the gym and traveling, whether it’s just to the beach or even going to different countries.
