Meet Tina Saw | Serial Entrepreneur & Dentist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tina Saw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tina, do you have a budget? how do you think about personal finances?
Growing up, I was extremely poor. My mother was a lunch lady and my father worked two minimum waged jobs. No food ever got wasted. A lot of my clothes were hand me downs from boy cousins. I learned at a very early age to live very slim, be happy and set priorities straight. Those values and lessons carried on into my adult life.

Being a serial entrepreneur and growing businesses from scratch, I’ve learned the importance of smart capital, and putting my dollars into strategic areas. I knew I only had a certain pot of money to work with, and I always believed in making purchases that would help me grow my new business.

The same concept though goes for my personal finances, lifestyle and spending decisions. I do not ever set myself a budget, but I never ever impulse buy. I always think thoroughly if it is a need or a want. If it is a need, I definitely go and get it. But, if it is a want, I really ask myself if it will help contribute to long-term happiness and not add clutter to my life. Will this item or thing I am about to purchase be something I would enjoy for a very long time? If the answer is yes, I’d go get it! I’ve never been one to dedicate a certain budget to different things. I just step back and think about it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I currently own a dental practice called Elevated Smiles. I also have another company called Light Solutions Company that was founded after I had so many back issues from seeing patients. It can be challenging to see inside the mouth, and I created magnification and headlights to help dentists, hygienists and assistants work quicker, see teeth and get direct light into a patient’s mouth so they don’t have to bend in different angles to get dental work done.

I’m currently in the process of building my third company, called Oral Genome. Oral Genome is remotely monitoring and assisting in early detection and diagnosis of oral diseases through computer vision and a science-based point-of-care dental wellness test card, and engaging patients with deep dental insights and personalized oral health advice in seconds straight to their phone. I developed Oral Genome because I was so tired of giving my patients generic home prevention recommendations. I wanted people to get their saliva analyzed to get a deep understanding of what was going on in their mouth personally, and how we could reduce disease risks.

With every business, challenges come, but you just have to face them and be creative about how to overcome that hurdle. My current challenge is raising capital, and building a new category of dental wellness products. But, I do believe that consumers and patients want to be now more than ever in the driver’s seat of their oral health. I’m on a mission to help people get personalized health in the oral space.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I feel incredibly lucky to live in the San Diego area. I haven’t gotten a chance to see and visit everything. But, when I have visitors, this is my typical itinerary:

-Visit Carlsbad State Beach. Carlsbad has the most pristine, beautiful and least crowded beaches. I think most tourists automatically think of the big famous San Diego beaches, but Carlsbad has a lot of great spots to catch some good views.

-Visit Convoy Street. I love Asian food. You can get some really good authentic Asian food in San Diego.

-Visit Balboa Park. The park is so picturesque and there are always events and activities in the park. I love visiting all the international houses, and just soaking in the environment.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Shoutout goes to my parents. They support me through my ups and downs, and they always help me when I need them. Entrepreneurs need a lot of support in their life as it’s definitely a rollercoaster of emotions.

Instagram: @drtinasaw

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtinasaw/

Image Credits
Christy Odom Photography Antonio Correa Photography