The following narrative discusses the reasoning behind my chosen career path.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a close friend who had just gotten into Optometry School. When he asked me why I was interested in the medical field, I paused. I simply told him that I enjoyed helping people. “Why aren’t you interested in Optometry then? You’re still helping people,” he said. That one question indulged me into a deep thought. I didn’t know how to respond back because I knew that he was right but also realized that our missions were stated by using a statement that has largely become a cliche. I took a deep breath and told him my story.

I told him that regardless of the fact that I’d be helping others, the medical field attracted me for some reason. I was set on that career path from the moment I set foot in college. For my first semester of college, I studied abroad at the American College of Thessaloniki in Greece through Northeastern University’s N.U.in program. Despite having the opportunity to explore a new country and having a lot of freedom, I still took my studies seriously and devoted a great deal of time to them. I noticed myself working harder than others to the point where I found myself as the only one to participate in my Chemistry lecture and answer questions. I locked myself up in my room to study because I dreamed of becoming a doctor badly.

Upon my return to Northeastern University, I started to have weekly meetings with my advisor. My advisor supported me throughout my decisions and truly believed in me. However, when I told him I was interested in the medical field because I enjoyed helping people, he encouraged me to start volunteering in a hospital to ensure that medicine is truly what I desire to pursue. I agreed and ultimately started to volunteer at the New England Baptist Hospital. I volunteered as an Operating room Orderly. In the Operating Room I was in charge of using turnover kits to prepare surgical rooms, as well as clean surgical rooms after surgery. Being in this type of environment did feel slightly nauseating. When I saw knee replacement surgery take place, I especially started to have an uneasy feeling. Perhaps this occurred because it was my first time witnessing surgery. I started to ask myself if I’m capable of doing this profession if I feel nauseas at the sight of surgery. I realized that the medical field requires more than just a cliche of wanting to help people, and I started to diverge away from the profession.  

Looking back at the conversation, I realized that my friend was doing optometry, and he was still able to reach his goal of helping others. However, he’s been interested in optometry itself for a very long time. His mother is an optometrist and he’s had a lot of experience with it before declaring it his career choice. I knew that I did want to establish a career in healthcare. As a result, I started to become more open minded and research other options within the healthcare field, such as dentistry. I knew that I’d still have the opportunity to help people. However, knowing now that the cliche isn’t enough of a reason to pursue that career, I took a more experiential and interactive approach. I started to volunteer in different dental clinics and spoke to many dentists about the profession. Dentistry is still a method of helping others, even though the path isn’t the same as that of medical school. In fact, in dentistry I realized that I would actually be helping people smile. It was at this moment that I started to think dentistry as another potential career option.

My parents have actually never been to a dentist. Having grown up in rural India, they worried more about pests than pesticides, about insects more than infection, and about surviving more than having clean teeth. They never visited a dentist, because to them, a tooth was just used to bite into something. The only time my parents visited a physician was when they were in pain. They believed that going to the dentist would mean getting their teeth pulled out, having their teeth drilled, or getting injections in their mouth, which would cause greater pain. Despite immigrating and being exposed to the American dental hygiene culture years later, they still held onto their false ideas about dentistry, which unfortunately were instilled into me.

I never visited a dentist until my freshman year of college, when one of my friends told me one day that she had her teeth cleaned. At the time, my teeth were in bad shape, and I really wanted to have glistening teeth like hers. Therefore, despite the beliefs of dentistry that were instilled in me, I scheduled an appointment. I remember the whole situation vividly; I entered the office with a fearful look, even though my dentist assured my welfare. The prickly explorer approached my teeth, levitating above my mouth menacingly. I was frightened, hoping that it would stay as far away from my gums as possible. Inevitably, I felt a piercing pain in my teeth and gums. I rinsed and spat out a pool of blood. Small fissures inside my teeth indicated the presence of mild cavities. My gums were red, swollen and decayed. These symptoms were precursors to bone loss if not taken care of, and depicted my ignorance of proper oral hygiene. My beliefs about dentistry were starting to shift, and this experience helped me understand the critical role that it plays in our daily lives.

I realized that dentistry is a field that should be receiving more attention and started to develop a true interest in it. Over the next few years, I received more teeth cleanings and cavity fillings. Each subsequent dentist appointment gave me the constant urge to learn more about oral health. On my journey to improved oral hygiene, I was fascinated with the field, and this spark of interest became a burning desire to pursue dentistry as my career. I knew that in the future I wanted to provide invaluable service to individuals and make a positive impact on their lives. At this point, I also knew that I wanted to improve the oral health of individuals, educate them on the importance of the field, and ultimately help prevent them from being in the same predicament that I was in.           

Looking back on my experience, I I had more of a reason to enter the dental field rather than the medical field. Though I initially was fond of becoming a doctor, I realized that dentistry was always in my roots. My experiences with shadowing and my educational background have prepared me well to take on this career.

To this day, many people still do not understand the importance of proper oral hygiene. They, thus start to exhibit severe oral symptoms such as cavities and even loss of tooth structure. In 2013, 178,072 individuals in America were interviewed, and only about 64.7% of them confirmed that they visit the dentist. What’s more surprising is that many populations, especially the vulnerable population, are denied access to dental care. According to a recent study in New Jersey, only about 211 out of 7900 offices offered dental care to the vulnerable community. The fact that many people are denied the right to obtain a basic necessity is outrageous. This has added to my reasons of wanting to become a dentist. My reasons for becoming a dentist are more than just a simple cliche of wanting to help people. I want to become a dentist to provide a positive impact on the greater community The path will be tough, but I am not more motivated than ever to become the best possible dentist I can be to help support these individuals.I want to be that individual who fixes their teeth and puts a smile on their face. I want to be that individual who can tell a child that he or she can bite into a piece of candy again.