The Dentist Who Curled at the Olympics: Team USA & Milan Cortina 2026 | Dr. Tara Peterson

What's it like to be a dentist and an Olympian? Dr. Tara Peterson, a general dentist from Minnesota, curled for Team USA at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, her second Olympics, with a one-year-old at home. She tells us how a kid who only went for the snacks ended up on Olympic ice, what a month in Italy was like, why the village dentist is the busiest medical service there, and what happened with the double-touch controversy. In this episode: - From hating Saturday junior curling to the Olympics - The test event at the Vancouver Olympic venue that made her believe - A month in Switzerland, Milan and Cortina with her husband and baby - The Olympic village dentist, and why athletes line up to see him - Why every curling rock comes from one Scottish island, and what a rock costs - The double-touch controversy and handling the media zone - Staying sharp through three-hour games and long tournaments - Practicing dentistry three days a week while training like a pro - Beat Canada or win a medal? 📰 Plus dental news: new CDT codes for 2027 (implant restoration removal, healing caps, neuromodulators and trigger point injections), Kentucky's sweeping new dental practice law, and the ADA's licensure exam alliance with ADEX. Chad also shares his visit to Bisco and remembers Bisco founder Dr. Byoung Suh. Dr. Tara Peterson is a general dentist in a four-doctor private practice in Minnesota and a two-time Olympian (Beijing 2022 and Milan Cortina 2026), curling for Team USA alongside her sister. She graduated from dental school in 2018 and comes from a dental family: her father is a dentist and her mother a hygienist. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:10 Welcome: an Olympian on the show 2:53 Breaking your jaw with a hammer? 3:55 The wrong organ, and a full moon week 6:13 Chad at Bisco: testing bond strength 8:46 Remembering Bisco founder Dr. Byoung Suh 9:33 Favorite Bisco products 11:25 News 11:31 News: new CDT codes for 2027 13:56 News: Kentucky's new dental practice law 14:27 News: the ADA and ADEX licensure alliance 15:08 Kentucky: everyone moves up 16:47 Meet Dr. Tara Peterson 19:35 How she got into curling 23:51 Junior worlds at the Vancouver Olympic venue 26:18 A month in Italy 27:11 Team USA scrubs at work 27:53 Is there a Team USA dentist? 29:53 Cortina 30:52 The history of curling and the Scottish granite 32:10 What does a curling rock cost? 33:05 Every rock is different 34:07 The double-touch controversy 37:09 What winter sport would the hosts pick? 40:11 What really happened 41:46 Handling the media zone 43:10 Staying sharp in long tournaments 45:18 Beat Canada or win a medal? 45:57 Practicing dentistry three days a week 46:47 Her training schedule 47:47 The curling beer tradition 49:26 Does curling ever feel like a job? 50:43 How curling teams form 51:38 Smack talk in curling 53:57 Will she go for 2030? 55:02 Thank you, Tara 55:53 What's an ideal bond strength? 57:28 Find a curling club near you 58:02 Closing 🎧 Listen to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dentists-in-the-know/id1543254763 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Elfj6LX0hCUyp0AgdTsij 📺 Make sure you subscribe to catch new episodes live every Wednesday at 8pm ET! https://www.youtube.com/@dentistsintheknow 🌐 Check out our brand new website: https://dentistsintheknow.com 🌟 Stay up to date on all the latest dental trends when you follow the DINKs: https://fanflet.com/dinks/social-2