As part of the Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges project (3rd edition), we invited Francis Faubert Cloutier to accompany us on a series of visits to 10 SDC Côte-des-Neiges businesses that took part in the project.

Interview with
Dr. Claudia | Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges

Find out more about your local Côte-des-Neiges merchants and professionals! // Looking back on our meeting with : Dr. Claudia Buracu Cocirlan, Dentist and owner of Clinique dentaire Dialogue

The Commitment and Perseverance
of Dr. Claudia Buracu Cocirlan

Dr. Claudia Buracu Cocirlan is arguably the most reassuring dentist in Côte-des-Neiges, as well as a model of perseverance. Passionate about dentistry since her early childhood, Claudia has always known what her profession would be. “When I was a child in Romania, in elementary school, dentists would come to visit us. I used to go see them all the time even if I didn’t need to,” she says with a laugh.

After obtaining a degree in medicine and dentistry, the young woman left Romania for Canada. For two years, she attempted to enter the University of Montreal in order to obtain the necessary courses and equivalences to practice her profession here in Canada. “The requirements were very high! You needed a score of over 80% on the French test to be admitted to the University,” she recalls. In the meantime, she accumulated jobs as a dental assistant and raspberry picker.

Claudia finally secured her place at the University in 1997, while pregnant with her son. The dentist continued her studies while also becoming a mother. Ironically, Dr. Buracu Cocirlan now teaches at the same university that had rejected her in the past. She is a clinician, meaning she provides practical courses for third-year students.

The dentist is also deeply committed to family dentistry. She denounces the current trend of larger companies buying out smaller practices to establish profit-focused, impersonal practices. “It’s becoming less human. My patients, I will always call them patients. We are in dentistry, we don’t have clients, we have patients,” she asserts.

This human approach is very reassuring for Claudia’s patients. “We take the time to talk to people. We know their families, their lives; we are here a bit like friends,” she explains. Her impressive background in medicine and dentistry can also prove very useful for her patients. “I’ve already diagnosed more medical things because of my medical background,” she adds.

And if, like me, you tend to get anxious or even panic as a dental appointment approaches, know that on Dr. Claudia Buracu Cocirlan’s chair, some patients even manage to fall asleep!

Finally, for the dentist, the word “diversity” perfectly characterizes the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood.

For me Côte-des-Neiges is : diversity

Copywriter: Francis Faubert Cloutier

Photographer: Gaelle Leroyer

Art direction: Félicia Balzano (SDC Côte-des-Neiges)

Complete the experience by visiting the free exhibition from September 7 to December 5, 2023.

ABOUT THE PROJECT : 

After a great success in 2021 and 2022, the SDC Côte-des-Neiges is proud to present the third anniversary edition of its Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges project through an exhibition on the Promenade Jean-Brillant from September 7 to December 5, 2023, as well as online interviews accessible via QR code on each panel.

The aim of this initiative is to put citizens in touch with businesses in the territory of the Société de développement commercial (SDC) Côte-des-Neiges. Through a series of portraits of 10 shops and businesses, we get to know 14 local business owners and managers. This social and cultural project is a real encounter with the human side of business life.

In this third edition, you’ll discover men and women, young professionals and established entrepreneurs, all from different cultures and backgrounds, with a diverse range of commercial offerings. The common denominator? Their love for Côte-des-Neiges.

This project is an initiative of the SDC Côte-des-Neiges, made possible through collaboration with the Maison de la culture CDN and the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.