The Career of a Dentist - Essay Example

The Career of a DentistMy passion to help people in need of dental health care was ignited when I learned about the Internal Service Learning (ISL), a remarkable organization that sends teams of college students to deprived areas in different countries to assist local physicians and dentists in free clinics. I joined the San Jose, Costa Rica team and set off with excitement and worries. I never imagined that this journey would be a turning point in my life, from biology to dentistry and public health.

Our dental clinics were always crowded with patients who had suffered from various dental problems. Many of the patients were left untreated for a long time due to the fact that they could not afford to go to a dental clinic. For them, dental care was a luxury, not a necessity. While working in the clinic, I realized how blessed I am to live without worrying about dental and medical care. This situation opened my eyes to the pain and suffering of those who cannot afford the help that they truly need.

This trip amplified my desire to help people in oral health care. Based on my experiences with ISL, I have become an active volunteer at the Dental Fear Research Clinic at the University of Washington, School of Dentistry, specializing in solving different types of dental fears and phobias. I have received further experiences by being able to shadow Dr. Tar-Chee Aw. I have come to realize that there is more to the fear of dentistry than you would first believe, such as fear of X-rays or not being numb.

Thus, these experiences have helped me to understand how varied the field of dentistry really is and to have made me truly interested and motivated to learn more about the different facets of dentistry.Since my childhood, I have understood how important it is to treat a patient's fear as well as their oral health care. Dr. Tar-Chee Aw´s work is an inspiration as I also want to become a dentist who can heal the patient's deep-rooted pain, both in their heart and in their mouth.While my volunteer and research experiences bolstered my determination to study dentistry, it was my class in Dental Public Health Science that taught me how to become a "good" dentist.

Most of the lecturers agreed that dentistry in the United States of America is probably the most advanced in the world however, not everyone in this country enjoys this, due to its high cost. Even if people are able to afford the high expenses, they tend to wait until they feel pain. Good oral health is the most important first line of defense in our body against diseases and oral bacteria, which left unchecked, lead to serious health complications such as heart attacks. It is disheartening to watch people disregard this fact and consider dental health care to be an option and being exposed to a preventable danger.

From this class, I gained a greater understanding of many aspects of dentistry beyond the public's general belief and these beliefs need to be changed, for their betterment!In closing, given my childhood fears of dentists, I have developed a real thirst for knowledge related to this subject and my valuable prior experiences in dentistry have led me to set two goals as a dentist, promoting dental public health and educating people concerning the importance of oral health. I hope you are able to visualize my passion and interest for dentistry, give me the opportunity to expand upon it, and allow me to reach my career aspiration to be able to help others.