Articles

Dr. Olesya Salathe: Leading on Dental Workforce Solutions and through the Oregon Board of Dentistry

At eight years old, Dr. Olesya Salathe immigrated with her family to the United States from the Soviet Union, where dentistry was a largely female profession and one that interested her from a young age. In high school, Dr. Salathe worked at a dental office where she was primarily responsible for clean-up and janitorial work. Today, she is the co-owner of that dental office where she and her youngest sister Olya Belko, an EFDA/EFODA, have worked together for 14 years. In addition to the family practice, she and her sister Jen Spooner built an aesthetic medical and dental practice from the ground up. She also serves on a number of boards for dental organizations, including the ODA’s Board of Trustees, the Oregon Board of Dentistry and the American Academy of Clear Aligners.

“When I was in second grade, someone came into our school and spoke about dentistry, and I was immediately interested,” said Dr. Salathe. “I like people, and I’ve always liked science, so I feel like dentistry is very interesting to me. I was always an artist and drawing as a child. Every day, I get to make something physically with my hands and get to connect with a human while digging into the science/medicine side so it’s the best of all those worlds.”