Committed to protecting personalized patient care and best surgical outcomes, Corey C. Burgoyne, DMD, is a board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Blue Ridge Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Here areas of expertise include anesthesia, implants, dental extractions and reconstructive surgery for oral rehabilitation through hard and soft tissue grafting. Corey C. Burgoyne, DMD, also serves through education of students and nurse practitioners as well as dedicating her time to serving the local dental mission through her surgical services.
Dr. Burgoyne attended the University of Tennessee, earning her undergraduate degree in biology with honors and graduating summa cum laude. She had the opportunity to study abroad in the Netherlands and pursued studies in Dutch language and art history. After earning a dentistry degree at the Medical University of South Carolina, she successfully completed an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Burgoyne’s areas of specialized training include anesthesia, implants, exodontia, and treating patients for overall health and wellness.
Dr. Burgoyne’s practice has earned Virginia Living recognition as being among the Best of Virginia for several years running. She has a strong interest in facets of wellness such as mental health and plant-based nutrition, and volunteers regularly in her local community.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I am most productive when I plan out my what I need to accomplish each day and organize it on my calendar, so I know what needs to get done and when is the best time to do it.
I also prioritize the most important things for my day (around my work schedule), such as getting in exercise, planning healthy meals for the day, and setting a goal for bedtime.
I start my day quite early, around 4:30 am, and since I am a morning person, I begin with exercise. I then prepare for work and visit with my family over breakfast, and I head out the door around 6:30 am.
We begin seeing patients at 7:30 am, and I provide surgical care until 3:30 pm. We optimize our patient flow by utilizing a block schedule, meaning there is a dedicated time that we preform procedures, complete consultations, and assess post-operative patients.
I am able to be at home to receive my family after school and enjoy my role as a mother and wife. Our evenings are usually composed of reading, piano, dinner together at the table, and a bit of laughter before an early bedtime.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I am a dreamer naturally, but I tend to lean on others—such as my children, my husband, or my work colleagues—to implement ideas in a collaborative fashion. I realize that any plan that I may have impacts others and is usually better when put into action with the partnership of others.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Wellness and longevity, as well as work-life balance, have become popular and important issues in the recent years.
I am excited to live a long life, to be present with my family; but I want those years to be healthy, functional years. I enjoy learning about healthy foods, natural remedies of illness, exercising for daily function and cardiovascular health, and how to down-shift from life stressors.
The time that we have for our profession, our families, and ourselves is limited, and when each aspect of our life is given the appropriate space to be nurtured, each can more effectively thrive.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
I maximize my productivity by writing things down. Whether it is while in a business meeting, on the phone with a colleague, or talking to my husband about things we need to accomplish in the home, I almost always have a piece of paper and a pen in hand. I jot down notes for me to keep track of facts, write out needs, or hold a question to return to. This way I have a reference for when the moment is over that I can refer back to.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Pace yourself (don’t be in a hurry), take care of yourself (although my nature is to be doing for others) and seek meaningful relationships in all aspects of your life (relationships require effort and vulnerability and are not born out of happenstance).
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on.
I don’t find that eating junk food is pleasurable.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I find that starting my day with exercise is helpful for my mood, energy, and stability throughout the day. I also find that it is a gift to myself later in the day when I am a little bit too tired to muster up a workout. I would recommend that everyone, if they can, start their day with some form of exercise.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I talk to someone I trust, or I find quiet time to be alone. When possible, I call my husband to talk, and, at times, we pray together. Other times, I like to go into my garden and work the soil and tend to plants by myself.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Being willing to serve. By truly serving my patients, their experience and health outcomes is optimized. By being willing to serve the community by volunteering my surgical services, I meet other providers and develop relationships that support my practice. And by serving on professional teams or committees, I stay abreast of current topics and engaged with the state of my profession.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Partner oral and maxillofacial surgeons with dental stem cell storage companies and medical researchers to provide a pathway for harvesting and utilizing the mesenchymal stem cells from extracted primary teeth and wisdom teeth for regenerative therapy in medicine. Currently, extracted teeth are disposed of as biohazard and, sometimes, the metal from dental restorations (from the extracted teeth) are recycled for refining. Very few teeth are saved and processed for storing the mesenchymal cells because of the significant cost to do so. If the cost barrier were removed and the chain of harvesting-processing-storage-utilization were unified smoothly, the application in dentistry and medicine could extend from repairing or regenerating dental tissue to treating neurological, cardiovascular, and autoimmune diseases.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Three-dimensional radiographic imaging. It has become more common in the daily practice of oral and maxillofacial surgeons. In our practice, we use the DEXIS imaging software, which is a diagnostic and treatment planning software for photos, intraoral scanning, 3D radiographs, and implant planning.
We obtain 3D imaging by using an in-office cone beam CT scanner. The x-ray images are immediately viewable after being captured on the computer monitor. The software helps to identify vital anatomic structures. It allows for measuring distance, volume, and density of the osseous structures, which helps me to accurately evaluate impacted teeth and plan treatments for bone and implant surgery. I use this technology and software on a daily basis, and it helps me to provide the most thorough assessments and accurate treatment planning for my patients.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Purchasing the “Narnia” series book set for my children. Having the books in our home, we can easily grab a story and sit and read together. Having the books in our home, the children go back to them, peruse them, and I see the joy of reading and enthusiasm for the stories in their eyes.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I really enjoy Dr. Greger’s “Nutrition Facts.” It is a science-based, practical application of dietary and lifestyle techniques that truly make a difference in how I nurture myself and my family. It also influences how I engage with patients who are seeking natural health solutions.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
“David” by Angel Studios. The animation is rich and gives a tactile sense to the viewer. The story is challenging yet gracefully executed, and the messages are encouraging.
Key learnings
- We are all human and have fundamental needs.
- Valuing life and taking care of it is important.
- Rely on others to navigate the challenges and joys of life.