Sheida Takmil, left, with Maryam Motabar
Like mother, like daughter.
Maryam Motabar worked as a dentist in Tehran, Iran, in a community health center and then in a private practice, before emigrating to the United States in 2000. She left her home, she said, to give her children a chance for a better life.
Hired as a dental assistant at the Ossining Open Door Family Medical Center after arriving in the U.S., Maryam quickly moved up the ranks. Within several years, she was the director at Open Door’s sites in Ossining and Sleepy Hollow, and in charge of its call center.
The opportunity to return to dentistry came about when the NYU College of Dentistry accepted her into a two-year program that would have allowed her to practice as a dentist in the United States. She admittedly wrestled with her decision. “I loved dentistry, and I did think about it for a few weeks,” she said. “But it’s hard to say no to Lindsay (Farrell, Open Door’s President/CEO). She can be very persuasive.”
The decision worked out well for Maryam. Today, she is Vice President, Practice Administration, overseeing the federally qualified health center’s medical and dental services, facilities, and call center.
Meanwhile, her daughter Sheida Takmil came to this country at the age of four and literally grew up at Open Door. She spent time there with her mother and used its primary care services as a patient herself. She saw up close the difference Open Door made in the lives of its patients, many of whom were new to the country and struggled to find quality healthcare.
During her teen years, Sheida read to children in the waiting room as part of Open Door’s Reach Out & Read program, volunteered at the Ossining village fair, and put together educational materials for the Baby Bundle packages. This program supports prenatal patients and new moms with necessities like diapers, wipes, socks, baby toys, and seasonal clothes, and provides information about resources available at Open Door and in the community. Through these endeavors, Sheida taught children oral hygiene and got the chance to interact with different providers in various departments.
“I thought about medicine, but I always came back to dentistry,” she said. “My mom didn’t pressure me in one way or another. She just let my interests grow and cultivated them.”
Added Maryam, “She’s an excellent artist and there is an art and science to dentistry. She drew upon those talents.”
After graduating from Ossining High School, Sheida went to the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated from UPenn in 2017, and the NYU College of Dentistry four years later. She did her dental residency at NYP Weill Cornell and recently completed a post-graduate program for implant dentistry. She recently earned fellowship status in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI).
Two years ago, Sheida returned to Open Door – this time as staff dentist Dr. Takmil in the Ossining and Port Chester offices. She’s one of several groups of family members – siblings, parents, and children – to work at Open Door in different capacities.
“The thought of working one day at Open Door, where my mother has worked for so many years, was always in the back of my mind,” said Sheida, who is now 28. “I was open-minded about where I wanted to work, but my heart has always been at Open Door, and that was hard to ignore. It’s very rewarding to be part of something so great. There have been so many positive changes over the years at Open Door, and now is an exciting time to be part of its future.”
Her mother is also pleased with her daughter’s decision to establish herself as a new dentist here. “We don’t cross each other’s paths. In fact, because we have different last names, many people here don’t even know she’s my daughter,” said Maryam. “I see how committed she is. She makes me really proud.”
For over 50 years, Open Door has provided accessible, high-quality health care and wellness services, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Open Door offers family medicine, dental services, behavioral health care, women’s health including obstetrics, vision services, insurance enrollment assistance, and much more. Open Door operates health centers in Ossining, Brewster, Mamaroneck, Mount Kisco, Sleepy Hollow, and Port Chester, and a dental site in Saugerties. Additionally, Open Door runs a mobile dental van and nine School-Based Health Centers in the Ossining, Port Chester, and Webutuck school districts.
