Check Out Christine Sanaphay’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Sanaphay.

Hi Christine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I am an Arizona native, born in Phoenix, and grew up in Peoria. English was my second language when I started grade school, but I learned English very quickly.

I have been a dental hygienist for over 15 years and have been working in the dental field since I was 12 years old. My mom was a dental assistant so she would take me to work with her. At first, I wanted to be a dentist but during my first year in college, I got pregnant. Being a young mom motivated me to finish school sooner, so I decided to become a dental hygienist.

During dental hygiene school, I was going to school full time while working as a receptionist in a dental office.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A major struggle in my career was leaving a 14-year job in the middle of a pandemic, so I could work closer to home. It was very hard to leave a job where I had patients I was taking care of for a very long time.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
During my career as a dental hygienist, I had the opportunity to be part of the Arizona Dental Missions to help the less fortunate in the Philippines and Cambodia.

I love dentistry and I love building long-lasting relationships with patients. I like to help patients overcome dental anxiety so they feel comfortable during their dental visits. My goal is for every patient to want to come back so I can help them maintain their oral health with personalized compassionate care.

I have a passion for fitness and believe that building good dental habits is like building good fitness habits. With a fitness nutrition background, I can also provide my patients with nutrition advice. Creating good fitness and dental habits are all good for your overall health and longevity.

If I didn’t love dentistry as much as I do, I would probably be doing something in fitness. I started lifting weights in the high school’s weight room with the boys and now moving my body regularly is part of my lifestyle. I try to live a fit life so I can continue to do what I love.

How do you define success?
Success to me is happiness and living a life that aligns with my core values.

I am grateful to have a career that is rewarding where I can go to work and it doesn’t feel like work because I love what I do. I also believe that being successful requires having a good work-life balance, which I have always struggled with. As I approached my 40th birthday, I had to reprioritize my life so I can improve my work-life alignment.

Overall, wellness is very important to me. After almost 16 years of working 5+ days a week, I have transitioned to a four-day workweek with a 3-day weekend. I am excited for this new journey at Modern Dentistry of Peoria. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions so you can live your life in alignment with your personal values.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @christinelefitness
• Facebook: Christine Le Fitness