Application Essay: A Career As A Dental Assistant

The domino effect was at its best today. One six year old patient started crying after the injection. The five year old patient in the room next to him started crying when I walked over to the chair. The 9 year old patient getting walked back by the assistant started walking with hesitation and the hygiene patient started crying right before fluoride application. This was just another wonderful day in the pedo clinic in dental school over eight years ago. As crazy as that day sounds, I remember going home at the end of the day of a pedo rotation smiling, laughing and in a good mood. I recall my husband telling me that I was my happiest at school during my pedo rotations.
Dentistry found me in early 1994 when I was afforded an opportunity to work as a dental assistant. This opportunity started a different type of domino effect for me. This is when and where my passion for dentistry began.
After a couple of years I knew that this was for me so I continued to work full time while going to school full time as well as being a part-time soldier in the Kentucky Army National Guard with my focus being on making it to dental school. There were many hurdles along the way, people telling me I was working too hard and even school advisors telling me that I would never make it to dental school and that maybe I should think of something different, but I did not let that deter me. I proudly completed that dream and was admitted to the University of Louisville Dental School in the Summer of 2004.
During the four years I was able to serve as freshmen class vice president and be active in National Student Dental Association with helping to mentor minority youths on the profession of dentistry through the Upward Bound program. I was also an active member in Christian Medical Dental Association where I served on mission trips to provide free dental treatment to underserved populations in other Countries. By being a student at University of Louisville I was able to participate in Smile Kentucky several years and be a part of helping assure that underserved Kentucky children received free necessary dental treatment. It was also very rewarding to be one of the few students picked to be on the student admissions board.
Since graduating dental school in 2008 I have worked in many faucets of dentistry.
In this short time I have owned my own private practice with two other partners, I have worked as an associate dentist for a company in private practice, provided treatment to thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of foreign soldiers and local nationals in Afghanistan. The most rewarding time in my career thus far was being a lead managing doctor in a general dentistry practice focusing on treatment for children in underserved areas. I was also lucky enough to practice under a great pediatric dentist which increased my interest for pediatrics. While I have enjoyed every aspect of dentistry that I have had the opportunity to experience, the time I have spent working with children gives me the most joy. Things like having a scared five year old give you a hug after the treatment and tell you that she is not scared anymore are so rewarding. So when I made the discussion to apply to the Pediatric Residency Program it was like I had found a shoe with the perfect comfortable
fit.
Why do I want to be a pediatric dentist? Similar to my process to applying and starting dental school, there have been challenges and setback during this process. Last year I was called to active duty for a deployment in Afghanistan right before the time I was planning on starting another application. Outside of thinking about my family while gone, my other thoughts were if I make it back home I am going to apply and get accepted to a pediatric residency. It's something about having bombs shot at you frequently that helps you realize just what you are about and what you want. I want to be a pediatric dentist to be able to continue providing great care to children and have the ability to reach out to other children who need treatment beyond my current knowledge or education. I know that there is much more for me to learn and I welcome every opportunity to learn. I look forward to the challenges of clinical experiences, teaching and research opportunities that a pediatric residency program has to offer. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss a position as a pediatric resident with your program. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.