Why I became a dentist...
Why I became a dentist...
Some people know what they want to do their whole life. At the age of 5, my friend Dr. Lewis routinely dressed up as a dentist proudly wearing a stethoscope, red eye protection goggles, and a white coat. Apparently they don't make dental drills and lasers for kids that want to be dentists. Dr. Lewis’s mom made going to the dentist an adventure which encouraged him to look forward to dental visits. It was this sense of excitement that inspired him to pursue dentistry, but let's face it, I'd wager that this is not the norm. I mean, honestly, what child wants to be a dentist? A firefighter, cop, and astronaut sound way more interesting than looking into mouths all day. A firefighter saves people from burning fires. A dentist saves teeth. When I was a kid I'd rather repel down a burning building.
My path to dentistry was by chance. I got in a life changing car accident when I was in high school and spent a month in the hospital recovering with the aid of wonderful hospital nurses, staff, and doctors. It was the caring nurses who had the biggest affect on my fast recovery and well-being. I always knew I wanted to go into medicine as a kid loving science and being a natural born leader. After healing, I headed off to college at UCLA knowing that I wanted to bring the same level of care to medicine.
Like the 75 percent of incoming undergraduate science majors, I thought my calling was medicine. A medical degree was like having a precious Mercedes Benz while other degrees was like owning a Ford. The only problem was my life sciences curriculum was uninspiring, lacked creativity, and was mostly memorization. “Everyone knows that you have to be the top 10 percent of life science classes to get into medical school.” At least that is what some UCLA professors will taunt. My life science professor showed the bell curve distribution after exams pointing out the top ten percent. According to him, these were the kids going to medical school. Then there was the bottom ten percent going into research. I said I was pre-Med, but in the back of my mind I questioned if I could endure the four years of schooling and three+ years of 100 hour a week residency.
Regardless, I prepared for medical school applications and joined United Students for Veterans Health (USVH). As a part of USVH, participants volunteer at the nearby West Los Angeles Veteran’s hospital; the goal is to form relationships with the patient's, fighting off loneliness. We volunteered in the long term portion of the hospital where patients stayed days to years recovering. For some, the hospital was their permanent home. USVH visited weekly giving the Veterans an opportunity to talk to someone, and the students an opportunity to listen. We walked around the garden, played pool, and watched afternoon movies that coincided with afternoon naps. My time at the VA hospital instilled my desire for a profession with patient interaction, but I noticed that the doctors were not around often. I rarely noticed a physician.
“I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they ‘want to do’ and start asking them what they don’t want to do. Instead of asking students to ‘declare their major’ we should ask students to ‘list what they will do anything to avoid.’ It just makes a lot more sense.”
-Amy Poehler in Yes, Please!
I knew medicine was not my calling in sophomore year. I felt lost. Luckily, my cousin Chau was in an Orthodontic Residency and encouraged me to pursue dentistry. She and her husband Adam just graduated from dental school a year before and were enthusiastic and happy with their choices. Adam stated that all his medical friends were in residency putting in 100 hour weeks, while he was out of school working, making money, and enjoying life.
The selling point for me was the artistry aspect of dentistry. Listening to Chau and Adam question if I liked art was like music to my ears. A career that incorporated creativity and science was ideal. On top of that I would have to opportunity to build relationships with patients. I was intrigued. Up until that point, dentistry as a career never crossed my mind. There were a lot more aspects about dentistry that I was interested in than not. Chau told me that I had to be good with my hands. It was not until I took and successfully passed the dental tooth waxing technique course at UCLA that I knew dentistry was for me. I confidently made the decision to keep it off my “don’t want to do” list.