Welcoming Dr. Geneviève Bonin

Seaforth Oral Surgery welcomes Dr. Geneviève Bonin
Seaforth oral surgery is proud to congratulate Dr. Genevieve Bonin on successfully passing the Royal College of dentists of Canada licensing examination! We are thrilled to have her officially join our team! To welcome Dr. Bonin aboard and to give you the opportunity to get to know her, allow us to share with you her biography followed by a verbatim of the great interview that we had with her. We take this approach because we believe that it is important for you, patients & professionals, to learn more about our oral & maxillofacial surgeons.

About Dr Genevieve Bonin
BASc, MASc, DMD, FRCD(C)
Dr Genevieve Bonin graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Applied Science (2000) in Chemical Engineering, after which she completed a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering (2002) at the University of Toronto. She obtained her Doctorate of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the Université de Montréal in 2006 and subsequently completed a General Practice Residency at the Jewish General Hospital (2007). Dr Bonin then pursued a one year internship in oral surgery at Boston University (2008).  She subsequently completed her specialty training in Oral & Maxillofacial surgery at McGill University in 2012. She pursued further training by completing a Fellowship in Head & Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery at McGill University during which she was trained in the recognition and treatment of Head & Neck benign and malignant pathologies.

In addition to practicing the full scope of oral surgery in private practice, Dr. Bonin is an active part-time attending at the Montreal General and Royal Victoria Hospitals where she is involved in teaching and clinical activities. Dr Bonin is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and a member of the Canadian and American Associations of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (CAOMS and AAOMS) and of the International Team for Implantology (ITI).

INTERVIEW WITH DR. BONIN

Why did you want to become an oral surgeon?
I had started my university studies in Engineering, going on to complete a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering.  And then, one day, while in the laboratory, I said to myself: “this work is really interesting, but I need a little more human contact in my day-to-day work activities…”  So I stopped mixing polymers and followed in my father’s footsteps in dentistry!  During the last years of schooling, I became very interested in the medical and surgical aspects of dentistry and continued my schooling in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.  Yes, from Engineering to Oral Surgery!  They are actually more related than one thinks… Both require detail-oriented approaches to work.

Do you have a particular interest in oral surgery that you think will manifest itself in your practice at Seaforth Oral Surgery?
Although I remain interested in all facets of oral surgery, from wisdom teeth extractions to dental implants and bone grafting procedures, I have gained additional expertise in the management of pathologies and I wish to elaborate on this subfield within my private practice.

How do you feel about working with our team of surgeons, Dr Antoine Chehade & Dr Marc Shenouda?
Dr Chehade and Dr Shenouda are dynamic and pleasant surgeons. They run a well coordinated and gentle team that excels in patient comfort and care. My personal goals and ambitions are to provide the same type of state-of-the-art treatments in a caring setting, so I am certain to fit in easily with the team at Seaforth Oral Surgery.

Questions about her training & experience
After your training in Oral Surgery, you decided to do a fellowship in maxillofacial oncology. What motivated your decision?
Oral Surgery training provided me with a skill set amenable to treating most oral pathologies.  However, I was interested in the exposure to larger and more complex treatments related to more aggressive pathologies.  More specifically, I was interested in the multifaceted treatment planning and reconstruction of the oncology patient.  There is a very important component of human interaction with this subset of patients as they are faced with sometimes difficult situations. The fellowship allowed me to improve my required surgical skills and to use my social skills and human approach which are essential to guide these patients through their treatments.

What kind of clinical and teaching activities will you be undertaking?
I am very excited about this aspect of my new career! I will be working alongside the Oral Surgery residents and the General Practice Residents (GPRs) at both the Montreal General and Royal Victoria Hospitals as a part-time attending staff within the Oral Surgery group at the MUHC.  I will staff oral surgery exodontia and dental implant clinics and collaborate in  teaching activities.  Collaborating with the residents in Oral Surgery forces me to maintain a high level of knowledge and stay abreast with current and emerging surgical trends in our field.

Is it difficult to deal with the type of diseases that you are confronted with in your practice.
Why? Please elaborate.
As I eluted to briefly earlier, during my fellowship in Oral & Maxillofacial Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery I collaborated in the care of patients with aggressive benign and malignant diseases. I found it challenging, yet humbling, to participate in these patient’s surgery and post-operative care as it requires specialized surgical skills and importantly good human contact and empathy.

You completed five years of training in oral surgery. How do you think that this training has prepared you for the types of clinical cases that you are going to encounter at our clinic?
Our oral surgery program is very well balanced in regards to preparing residents and future surgeons for major surgeries as well as any type of minor surgery such as wisdom teeth and dental implants surgeries. Our exposure to surgeons like Dr. Chehade, Dr. Shenouda and Dr El-Hakim in the residency program has allowed me to gain experience in new technologies and to gain technological knowledge in the field at an early stage. Thus, this allowed me to enhance patient treatment outcomes and improve the care and comfort of patients.

Passions, hobbies? Is there anything about you that you would like to share with us?
I love to sail!  The summer in Montreal is unfortunately too short… so I try to get away once a year for a sailing trip.  Being on the water is the best method of relaxation!

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