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Dr. Bill Rector in the Canterbury Dental Clinic  Photo contributed

Neither Bill Rector (DDS'74) nor his son John (DDS'11) ever expected to become dentists. And they certainly never expected to work together. But those two things happened and the results have been satisfying to them both. 

The routes that brought Bill and John to the same destination were very different. Bill wasn’t interested in school and failed grade 11. With no plans to return to the classroom, he thought he might become a truck driver. John wanted to be a pilot when he was a kid and "bounced around" in different jobs after his undergrad degree in engineering, including construction and working in bars and ski shops. Dentistry wasn’t on the map for either of them.  

Three turning points
Bill says he was lucky to have three turning points in his life. The first came when his mother took in a medical student from McGill University as a boarder at their home in Bible Hill while he worked in the chemistry lab at the Agricultural College (now Dalhousie’s Faculty of Agriculture). For four months, Bill shared a room with this student who "brainwashed" him into believing that he had academic potential and helped him plot a path that would give him a university degree.  

Bill returned to high school, completed grade 11, and achieved the high grades he needed to get accepted to the Agricultural College. In the process of studying for a BSc in soil chemistry, Bill discovered that he actually enjoyed learning and he met people who changed his outlook on education and work. 

After graduating, Bill went to work in Imperial Oil's sales and marketing division in Western Canada, where the second turning point occurred—meeting his wife Dianne in Regina. The third came a year after their marriage when they were transferred to Alberta and enrolled in a speed-reading course at Red Deer Junior College. One evening's assigned reading was an article titled "Dentistry as a Career," which described the profession's entrepreneurial opportunities and the potential to help people. 

"I never set out to be a dentist," says Bill, "but that article offered me a way of life that really appealed to me." 

Dal accepted him into the dentistry program and a few months after reading the article, Bill found himself in a classroom with 36 other students taking 11 different courses. The first two years were challenging, with a lot of didactic learning to absorb. But once Bill was in the clinic doing hands-on dentistry, "it became my passion. I loved it," he says. 

The joy of being hands-on
John is the youngest of Bill and Dianne’s four children. Born and brought up in Hampton, NB, he spent a lot of time during his younger years fixing things with his father. "dad was keen on teaching life skills, like changing the oil and tires on your car," he says, "so I was always very hands-on with things." 

After graduating from Saint Mary’s University with an engineering degree but no clear direction, John spent time in Europe backpacking, learning French and Spanish, and working in a variety of jobs. When he returned home to Canada, he started to think about dentistry, partly because of the hand skills involved, and because he could see his father’s great satisfaction with his profession. 

"Dad really loves what he does," he says, "and you can see how much it means to him to help people. That's what inspired me to apply to Dalhousie." 

After taking courses at UNB to get his grades up, John was accepted at Dal. He says it was a good choice for him because the dentistry program was hands-on from day one. Like his father, he had to work hard on the didactic learning, but the clinical side came easily, and he appreciated the help and real-world advice faculty members provided. 

Although he was offered an opportunity to practise in Vancouver with a friend after graduation, John opted to stay. The Maritimes are a great place to live, he decided, and he appreciates that his father is generous with his knowledge. "He'll stop what he's doing to help me learn complex procedures," he explains. "We often discuss cases and techniques – sometimes too much, according to my mother at family dinners." 

Dr. John Rector       Photo contributed

A dedicated team
Fourteen years on, father and son continue to work together at Canterbury Dental Clinic in Saint John. Bill’s focus is endodontics and oral surgery, while John concentrates on crown and bridge work."  

Both are committed to supporting their community through their work. Bill also served on Hampton's school board and town council, led environmental initiatives, and mentored over 16 patients who became dentists themselves—most of them studying at Dalhousie. He believes in supporting his alma mater each year, "the institution that gave me a career I love".  

Bill and John believe in giving back through their practice, which was the first one in New Brunswick to fully computerize operations and offer extended hours. It also offered an innovative preventive care program that provided children with fluoride treatments and dental hygiene education.  

Digital scanning and 3D printing are now being added to make treatments more comfortable and effective. "Dentistry today is more enjoyable because of the technology that allows us to deliver truly painless care," says Bill.  

Bill recently celebrated his 50th anniversary in practice with long-time patients. "There's something special about being part of families' lives across three generations," says John.  

As Bill now looks forward to retirement, John plans to continue to build the practice with new associates. They can both say they found the destination they were meant to have—the only surprise is that it was the same one for them both.