After earning his dental degree, Dr. Anthony Mendicino says it didn’t take long for him to decide that community service was his calling.
“Growing up in Irondequoit, I didn’t get to see a lot of rural towns, but I had an eye opener when I went to a (dental) clinic in Rushville, N.Y.,” Mendicino recalls. “I saw a huge need, and a lot of people who had no access (to dental care). I knew it was something I needed to do.”
More than two decades into his career, Dr. Anthony Mendicino, now Dental Director for Finger Lakes Community Health, which has nine centers in the region, was recently honored with the Dr. Gary Ogden Rural Health Practitioner of the Year Award by the New York State Association for Rural Health (NYSARH).
“Dr. Tony, as he is respectfully and affectionately known, has been providing dental care to patients for the past 22 years, said Mary Zelazny, CEO Finger Lakes Community Health. “He leads by example; he is kind, humorous, and professional – dedicated to improving the oral health of adults and children in the rural Finger Lakes and western New York communities.”
“I’m not doing this to receive any awards,” said Mendicino, who shared the honors with “the whole organization that works together ... We’re a whole bunch of cogs in a wheel.”
Dr. Tony leads a family of hygienists, dental assistants, as well as seven other dentists in six centers including Geneva Community Health, Sodus Community Health, Port Byron Community Health, Penn Yan Community Health, Bath Community Health, and Dundee Dental.
He supervises, as well as provides comprehensive dental services for Migrant Health Services, school based portable dental sites, and jail based portable dental programs.
Dr. Tony recently answered the following questions for the Post.
Q. What inspired you to become a dentist?
A. “I have a sister who’s quite a bit older and she was working as an assistant at the Eastman Dental Center in Rochester. I have notes back to when I was a third-grader, saying I wanted to be a dentist when I grew up.”
Q. How did you get into this line of work?
A. “There was a private practice I was interested in purchasing, but then the Monroe County Dental Society gave me the number of a clinic in Rushville. I went there and the rest is history. I never did go into private practice. I love the patients and working with the migrant population. I’ve never had any doubt about my choice.
After earning his dental degree, Dr. Anthony Mendicino says it didn’t take long for him to decide that community service was his calling.
“Growing up in Irondequoit, I didn’t get to see a lot of rural towns, but I had an eye opener when I went to a (dental) clinic in Rushville, N.Y.,” Mendicino recalls. “I saw a huge need, and a lot of people who had no access (to dental care). I knew it was something I needed to do.”
More than two decades into his career, Dr. Anthony Mendicino, now Dental Director for Finger Lakes Community Health, which has nine centers in the region, was recently honored with the Dr. Gary Ogden Rural Health Practitioner of the Year Award by the New York State Association for Rural Health (NYSARH).
“Dr. Tony, as he is respectfully and affectionately known, has been providing dental care to patients for the past 22 years, said Mary Zelazny, CEO Finger Lakes Community Health. “He leads by example; he is kind, humorous, and professional – dedicated to improving the oral health of adults and children in the rural Finger Lakes and western New York communities.”
“I’m not doing this to receive any awards,” said Mendicino, who shared the honors with “the whole organization that works together ... We’re a whole bunch of cogs in a wheel.”
Dr. Tony leads a family of hygienists, dental assistants, as well as seven other dentists in six centers including Geneva Community Health, Sodus Community Health, Port Byron Community Health, Penn Yan Community Health, Bath Community Health, and Dundee Dental.
He supervises, as well as provides comprehensive dental services for Migrant Health Services, school based portable dental sites, and jail based portable dental programs.
Dr. Tony recently answered the following questions for the Post.
Q. What inspired you to become a dentist?
A. “I have a sister who’s quite a bit older and she was working as an assistant at the Eastman Dental Center in Rochester. I have notes back to when I was a third-grader, saying I wanted to be a dentist when I grew up.”
Q. How did you get into this line of work?
A. “There was a private practice I was interested in purchasing, but then the Monroe County Dental Society gave me the number of a clinic in Rushville. I went there and the rest is history. I never did go into private practice. I love the patients and working with the migrant population. I’ve never had any doubt about my choice.
Q. When did you join the community health organization?
A. “Rushville split off eight or nine years ago and in 2005, I went to Finger Lakes Community Health. Besides the clinics we have now, we’ll be soon adding (clinics in) Newark, Penn Yan and Ovid. We also have a large portable dental program that works with children in schools and in Head Start.
Q. Does being a dental director mean that your role is mostly administrative?
A. “No; I still see patients 28 to 34 hours a week. I work three days a week in Sodus and one day a week in Geneva. I also see patients in the Wayne and Ontario County jails one day a month.”
Q. What drives you to practice in rural areas?
A. “We’re a safety net for a lot of these folks. And, we’re lucky to have a dedicated staff.
Q. Don’t you log a lot of mileage?
A. “I’m on my third vehicle now! I’ll bet I’ve driven 250,000 to 300,000 miles since I started ... But I haven’t hit a deer yet!”
Q. What are you plans for the future?
A. “I hope I get to retire someday, but this is it ... I plan to stay the course.”
