When Tom Colina [DMD/89] became the first Filipino dentist to open a practice in Winnipeg in 1993, he didn’t see it as a significant milestone.
He was just doing what he’d been trained to do at the UM dental school. But leaders in the Filipino-Canadian community quickly told him he was now a role model.
“The Filipino community was excited,” Colina recalls. “They came, and we were swamped with patients.”
Colina was 11 years old when he emigrated from the Philippines to Brandon, Man., with his family. Today, 36 years into his career, he is known for his leadership in both the Filipino and dental communities.
He has, for instance, held prominent roles in the Knights of Rizal, a Filipino organization that presents scholarships to graduating Manitoba high school students of Filipino heritage. Still, Colina downplays his impact as a role model.
“I’ve had patients who have gone on to become dentists and doctors,” he says. “I don’t know if I’m part of it – maybe? I was just being a dentist.”
One person Colina knows he directly influenced is his son, Nick Colina [DMD/25]. The 26-year-old graduated this spring from the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry.
“I’m really proud of him,” says the elder dentist. “The program is tough.”
Colina didn’t push his son toward dentistry, but what Nick observed while growing up led him to choose the profession, the pair say. When Nick was seven years old, Colina took him on a dental mission trip to the Philippines, where Nick helped to comfort the impoverished kids his father was treating.
“Those experiences opened my eyes to the broader role oral health plays in well-being, and they continue to inspire me to follow in my father’s footsteps,” Nick says.
Colina has now brought Nick on board as the 11th dentist in his dental group. With three partners, Colina co-owns three Winnipeg clinics that employ more than 50 people.
Still dedicated to humanitarian dental missions, he has helped lead seven such trips to countries including Zimbabwe, Peru, Guatemala and Ecuador.
“Giving back is a core value I believe in,” he says. “I aim to make a difference in people’s lives.”
A different kind of community role for Colina has been performing four times in the All-Dentist Musical, a biennial event that sees Manitoba dentists stage a musical to benefit a charity. This year, when Colina had a solo in Chicago, his son stepped up as his vocal coach.
Colina’s higher education started at Brandon University, where he completed his prerequisites before being accepted into UM’s dental school.
He wasn’t sure he truly wanted to be a dentist until his third year, when he performed an orthodontic screening of an 11-year-old with cancer. He and his professor decided the patient was a candidate for braces, even though they didn’t know if she would survive the disease.
“That’s when I realized that dentistry is something that can improve a patient’s quality of life. I can make her bite better and make her feel better. I thought, ‘This is a good field.’”
In 1989, Colina became the first Filipino graduate of the dental school. At the time, he was enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces Dental Officer Training Program, which had covered the cost of his dental education.
After graduation, he was posted to the National Defence Headquarters dental clinic in Ottawa, where he was surrounded by dental specialists who encouraged him. “It was beyond what a young dentist would normally be able to experience,” he says. “Those four years were a tremendous time for learning.”
Following his four-year military service, Colina and UM classmate David Chin [DMD/89] bought an established clinic on Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg. It became so busy that Colina built, with partners, a second clinic in 2004 on Keewatin Street and a third in 2018 on Portage Avenue.
“A large dental organization provides a better chance for collaboration,” he says. “It means learning from each other and mentoring the associate dentists.”
Passing on his oral-health wisdom is important to Colina. He has been a part-time clinical instructor and lecturer at his alma mater for the past 22 years.
“My favourite part of teaching students is when there’s confirmation and realization of what they’ve learned. You see it in their eyes. Ooh – a lightbulb moment. I love those.”
He is also dedicated to furthering his own education to better serve his patients.
Around 2012, Colina wanted to learn more about relieving patients’ pain, so he looked to Dr. Stephen Ahing for advice. He told his former professor that he was considering a master’s degree, and they spent the afternoon discussing topics related to pain, oral medicine and oral pathology.
“Even after dental school, your professors are there to serve as your mentors and guide you,” says Colina, who went on to complete his master of science in orofacial pain and oral medicine at the University of Southern California in 2017.
In 2022-23, he attained another provincial Filipino “first” when he served as elected president of the Manitoba Dental Association.
“If I’ve had the privilege of being seen as a mentor or role model,” Colina says, “my hope is that my actions reflect the lessons I’ve learned – a commitment to growth, integrity, and always striving to reach one’s fullest potential.”
BY MATTHEW KRUCHAK