Owner of Oak Forest Family Dental in Oak Forest, Illinois 
In addition to running her practice, Paragas is married with two daughters. “It takes some serious juggling, and as soon as we think we’ve got schedules figured it out, things change — for example, the COVID-19 pandemic. But, we know our priorities and values, so we strive to make decisions to maintain balance between those priorities.” Paragas has shifted her lunch hour to be able to pick one of her daughters up from preschool and drop her at the babysitter’s house. Sometimes, her husband will step in to do mommy-and-me gymnastics. They work together to be flexible, caring for their family and their careers. “I’d rather feed the girls a healthy dinner, but some nights I let them eat Happy Meals in the break room while I catch up on an entire day’s worth of clinical notes. I think it’s good for my girls to see me working hard at a job I love.”

Read the full article in the October issue of AGD Impact.