My epiphany occurred in the summer of 2013 when I offered to assist at my father’s dental office. I watched him gracefully prepare a tooth, inspire his employees to work hard, and hold himself and others to the highest standards of dental care. I was impressed by how he improved his patients’ lives by relieving them of pain or infusing them with a new sense confidence in their smile. I developed a sense that I should follow in his footsteps.
While the idea of being a dentist seemed exciting, in shadowing my father and his partner, Dr. Lynch, I wanted to discover if I could envision myself working in the profession. I challenged myself to find two aspects of dentistry that appealed to me every day that summer. Upon such reflection, it was easy to identify those elements. From observing the removal of an abscessed tooth to retracting lips in the placement of veneers to watching a bone graph procedure finish with an implant, I became excited to go to work again each day. I started looking at x-rays of patients to see what the most interesting case of the day would be, including the observation of baby teeth that had yet to emerge in an adult. Every day brought a new task or procedure that solidified my interest in dentistry as a career.
Still, I knew my desire would not be enough to make me a successful dentist. I would also need the talent and personality to thrive in this profession. As I spent time in my father’s office, I noted the necessary skill set possessed by both dentists. One must be a leader, detail oriented, and enjoy helping others. I believe I possess all these attributes.
I demonstrated leadership when I launched my collegiate tennis team to nationals with an overhead winner to the back corner. The tennis court became a place where I learned that others can depend on me and that my contributions can make a difference. By fighting for every last point through a three-hour match, my team advanced to the national tournament. Being a leader on this team meant leading by example and playing for my teammates, who had already fought for their match. Knowing that they depended on my win to finish the match, I dug deep to continue our season.
My commitment to detail can be seen through my
With my early trips to the dentist and the natural loss of my baby teeth having sparked an interest in dentistry before I really knew what being a dentist meant, I began shadowing to further explore the profession. As I watched a tooth take shape from a blob of acrylic under the experienced hand of the dentist I was shadowing, I was filled with the same awe and satisfaction that I gain from the piano. Dr. Aboud repeatedly positioned the temporary crown in the patient’s mouth, checked his bite, and painstakingly continued to adjust the crown until the fit was just right. Though I have wanted to be a dentist for almost as long as I have played the piano, my interest in dentistry grew
As a teenager, I read Doctors by Erich Segal and instantly, my love for medical sciences was born. Though, I was certain that I wanted to pursue a career in health sciences, dentistry was not always what I had in mind for a career. But it was my father’s dream and I decided to live it. In 2009, at the beginning of my first term in
My whole life, it has been apparent to those around me that I would be a dentist. I am highly inquisitive, passionate, compassionate, experienced, and I love teeth. I remember getting so excited to have my teeth cleaned as a child because my trips to the dentist were so much fun! At a young age, my mother instilled the importance of oral hygiene care. To this day, I wonder if it was the dentist, dental hygienist, or just the dental office ambiance that had me engaged as a young child. Almost immediately after graduating high school, I went to school to become a registered dental assistant and at that point, I figured out that I possess good manual dexterity, which is a fundamental skill to be efficient in the dental field. At the same time, I unlocked the key to my calling, passion. Six years later, I realized I had the potential to
Before this school year started, me and my group members had little knowledge on dental specialties, but now we’ve become experts on the topic. This project has helped us become acquainted with the structure and appearance of dental offices, and it will help us educate the community through our models and presentation. Not only did this experience inform us, it opened our eyes as to what we want to pursue. I’ve become more interested in the orthodontic field and I know my group mate is thinking about going into pedodontics. Our project took a lot of time and effort and we hope it will expand the way the public sees the dental
My life has truly been transformed by Dentistry; it has boosted my confidence and aligned me with the career path of my dreams. Early on in life, every aspect of Dentistry captured my heart. Learning to cope with my embarrassing smile inspired me to want to help others by giving them what they always dreamed of. Knowing I have the power to make someone's dreams come to life is the reason I wake up each morning with a drive and desire to achieve my goals. While striving with a strong focus, packaged with confidence and sincerity, I will pursue my passion through demanding training. I not only plan to be a hardworking, determined and ambitious student, but with my skills as an orthodontist, it will further my ability to be an active member in
Ever since I was in middle school, I would tell everyone that I was going to become a dentist. That was my career plan until the summer of my junior year. During that summer, I had the opportunity to do an internship and job shadow Dr. Bradshaw at his private dental office. While observing and talking to the doctor, I realized that I would not enjoy working as a dentist. I still wanted to pursue a career in the dental field so I decided to job shadow the dental hygienists. Watching the dental hygienists perform their duties and interact with patients made me want to pursue a career in dental hygiene. I knew very little about dental hygienists besides the fact that they clean teeth. As I spent time with the dental hygienists, I learned more each day. While researching for this paper, I became knowledgeable on even more information. From reading The Occupational Outlook Handbook and A Career as a Dental
Another reason why I chose dentistry as a profession is because the connection dentists build with their patients. While I was volunteering at Dentistry from the Heart, an annual event providing free dental treatments, the dentist asked me to try to calm down a crying Vietnamese girl, Ha, as he waited to finish her extraction. I wanted to keep her mind off of the pain, so I spoke to her in Vietnamese about various topics ranging from cartoons to her
Dentistry has always been on my mind ever since I watched the Pixar film, “Finding Nemo.” Finding Nemo was the first time I ever witnessed a dentist in action, and although it was quite traumatizing because of how the patient was screaming in the chair and how Pixar decided to use a little girl, who wore an intimidating style of braces and hurt fishes on her free time, as one of the antagonists in the film, I was curious to know what was happening in that chair that the director did not want the audience to see. Despite this, the combination of these negative portrayals in Finding Nemo did not make a dental office my most favourite place in the world; however, my opinion soon changed when I met my first dentist, Dr. Le.
Another reason why I chose dentistry as a profession is because the connection dentists build with their patients. While I was volunteering at Dentistry from the Heart, an annual event providing free dental treatments, the dentist asked me to try to calm down a crying Vietnamese girl, Hoa, as he waited to finish her extraction. I wanted to keep her mind off of the pain, so I spoke to her in Vietnamese about various topics ranging from cartoons to her
My choice in careers seems now: to go from managing a tooth-decaying candy store to dreaming of cleaning teeth, would be a large leap on my effect of the tooth-health-spectrum. As a dental hygienist, it will be my job to clean people’s teeth, examine them for any type of oral disease, and to educate others on proper dental hygiene. To perform my job properly, it will be important to have high communication skills, a general knowledge of anatomy and diseases, and to have a close attention to detail.
My love for orthodontics has developed at a young age when my confidence has shined after finishing my treatment. The happiness I experienced at that moment is a feeling that I would love to share with my patients every day. The anthropology of orthodontics has also been a very fascinating topic to me. Coming from an Egyptian background has increased my interest in learning how the evolution of teeth has changed across different ethnicities throughout centuries. My fascination for the specialty has grown when I shadowed orthodontists and noticed that cases are presented in a way where teeth need to be puzzled together to create a beautiful smile. Also, expressing a personality that loves to connect with people and their families makes orthodontics a very enjoyable field. Orthodontic patients are usually excited about coming in and moving forward with their treatment, this leads to having a friendly environment where everyone works together to provide the highest quality of care to the patients. In combing my personal experience with my desire to solve puzzles to help people radiant beautiful smiles, I believe that orthodontics is the perfect fit for my personality and
Dentistry is the profession in which the dentist helps with the prevention and treatment of mouth diseases and malfunctions. The dentist performs many duties within their profession. Some duties the dentist may do on a daily basis are: diagnose oral problems, fill cavities, write prescriptions, perform root canals, treat gum disease, examining radiographs, removing root decay, and providing instruction to the patients along with many other duties. Becoming a dentist allows for many different working opportunities. A dentist has the opportunity to work in the military, in a hospital, in administration, or they can even work in a classroom and teach. Most commonly though dentist tend to work in an office which they may own fully or
According to The Balance, leadership is defined as “the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.” To inspire all 800 students in my class seems merely impossible, but establishing myself as a leader for those on my tennis team made this task seem rather feasible. Leading this girls’ high school team has enabled me to expand my leadership beyond just my high school team and to the entire community. The sport of tennis has not only shaped my life, but it has helped me shape the life of others.
Being surrounded by such a great community, I have learned the qualities of exceptional leadership and have implemented them into my own life. I am the Walden Grove Band secretary, and am a strong member of my church’s youth group. I use the trait of integrity to help guide my decisions and to ensure they are the best for everyone in the group. Not only am I a leader in clubs and organizations, I exhibit leadership qualities while in the classroom, volunteering, and during my extra curricular activities. As Tennis Manager, I take the initative to prepare the equipment for practices and matches, and do many other nessecary tasks to make sure the practices and matches runs smoothly and efficiently. I am responsible for making sure all tennis
‘Randi, why would you want to look into someone’s mouth?’ is a question I frequently am asked when I tell someone of my future aspiration of becoming a dentist. Every time I am asked this question I cannot help myself but to chuckle a little because to me becoming a dentist is so much more; to me being a dentist is about becoming a contributing member of the community as well as an advocate of compassion, mentorship, and social justice. Becoming a dentist will allow me to utilize my creative and academic abilities while servicing others. I am fortunate to have the ability to understand complex concepts, ideas, and theories and can simplify them for others, so they may gain their own basic understanding. On the other hand, I am motivated to give thanks for this ability and to offer my service as a dental professional to assist in the health needs of those served and underserved in my community.