A Career As A Dentist

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

While most of the patients I interacted with were seeking non-dental care, I met patients who were seeking care to health conditions that stem from their oral health such as oral abscesses, which our team was unable to treat except for prescribing antibiotics or painkillers. I encountered similar situations when I shadowed physicians in the emergency room of hospitals, observing a variety of craniofacial disorders originating from a preventable tooth decay. From these observations, I learned that patients often did not receive treatment that addressed the root of their problems: their oral health. As the result, I learned that many physicians saw the same patient repeatedly for problems that would otherwise be easily prevented through proper preventive dental care. Determining to address the unmet needs for accessible preventive dental care, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry so that I can provide a positive and meaningful impact to the underserved community on their oral health and ultimately their overall

Dentistry, in one form or another, helps abate feelings of hopelessness and accountability that occur during periods of confusion. Not only are they knowledgeable about specific nuances that accompany oral hygiene, but they are also very good communicators. During my interview with the interviewee continually stressed the importance of communication. Communication is imperative in many respects as individuals seek closure within the context of an uncertain world. As she indicated throughout the interview, dental hygienist helps to facilitate a healthy exchange of both concepts and notions to an already emotional individual. This is quite important as the dentist can

A career in Dentistry is my main goal in life. I want to pursue a career in Dentistry for many reasons. Being a Dentist, you get to aid people and make them feel better about themselves. I have the personal qualities to be a Dentist and know that I would be great at the job. I would look forward to going to work every day. Dentistry contains many tools and oral practices that I am not familiar with. It would be awesome to get to be familiar with the lifestyle of a Dentist. Someday, I might even be able to live their lifestyle. Focusing in school is the main priority for all jobs. Dentistry also involves a diverse (longer) college route than most. This means that the academic requirements to be a Dentist are quite time consuming, but the

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.

I knew that having some basic background knowledge of the dental world would be very important considering being accepted in to dental hygiene school. As I grew very proficient within my assisting duties a hygienist in the office I worked for asked if I would want to be her personal dental hygiene assistant. I was so thrilled that I was given such an opportunity. I immediately started paying attention to the details of how she performed her job. In our down

For a person to be successful in the field of dentistry, he or she must be able to perform certain skills such as manual dexterity, the ability to work, the willingness to train, concern for people, commitment, an interest in science, and communication. Manual dexterity is the ability to work with hand tools. Dental hygienists range from creating small models from clay or wood, to as far as working in a patient's mouth. Dental schools look into how well someone can use their hands to grasp small objects and maneuver through small spaces. Another crucial skill to acquire is patience and the ability to work hard. Dental schools look at how well you handle irregular hours and conforming to a long extended period of time, so therefore, it would be important to obtain that skill! Willingness to train comes along with working hard. If a person is able to take orders from others during a training period in and school and on the job, they are one step closer to becoming a well rounded hygienist. Concern for patients is another skill a person interested in becoming a dental hygienist will need. “Being able to reassure and be concerned about the state of the patients oral health” (SB 106) is a big step he or she will have to take. Patients like to know that their hygienist cares about their oral health. Hygienists are there to assist their patients’ needs and inform them about proper oral

During Wednesday’s lecture we had the opportunity to hear Kathryn Trilli give us a short autobiography of her career, and introduce us to the roles of a hygienist when working in a specialty clinic. Mrs. Trilli started her career at Sheridan College in Wyoming. She received her Associates in Science in Dental Hygiene. Upon graduation Mrs. Trilli was serving tables while waiting for her license. It was at her serving job that she met her first boss, John Nabers D.D.S., a periodontist in Wichita Falls, Texas who later was the founder of the Nabers probe. After working in Nabers practice for two years she left to begin her teaching career. While teaching Mrs. Trilli obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene, from Midwestern State University. After relocating to east Texas for her husband’s profession she worked at various private practices. While living in Denton, Texas for five years she taught at Texas Woman’s University. After her husband accepted a coaching position at Newman University the Trillis relocated their family one final time to where they currently call

As a Registered Dental Hygienist worked in the dental field for more than 6 years, I am passionate with Dentistry. With an outstanding patients’ relationship achievements and understanding of patients first priority, I have established the confident with my people skills. My patients always feel very happy after seeing me, because I treat them like my family members and their comfort and satisfaction means a lot to me. Many patients have requested to see me again right after their first appointment. I also have an excellent organization and time management skills. Self-confident is my key to success and I am qualified to

When I was about 5-years-old, I was the only one in my Kindergarten class that was not frightened of the dentist. I was the only child for as long as I can remember who absolutely adored going to see my dentist; I thought it was better than going to the Science Center, which was a big deal for a child in my generation. Growing up, I watched people’s faces twitch with (terror, panic, dismay) as I explained that it was my ultimate dream to become a dental hygienist. “What if a child bites you?” “The human mouth is disgusting! Do you not realize the horror of this occupation?” Listening to people question and insult my dreams only enhanced my dedication to this occupation even more. I was determined to prove them wrong; to prove that this was

Before beginning dental hygiene school, I pictured dental hygienists as people who are just responsible for cleaning teeth, have flexible work hours, and overall dental hygiene being a good family-oriented career. While all of this accurate, I now have a more thorough and greater understanding of dental hygiene after entering this program. In these past two semesters, my view of a dental hygienist has definitely changed in a positive way. The dental hygienists role is not only to clean teeth, but also play an excessive role in educating patients, building relationships, and preventing and treating oral diseases. The mouth is a basic form of the rest of the body’s health, and dental hygienists have a duty to keep that in mind when evaluating

A dental hygienist is much more than just someone who cleans teeth. They are well rounded, educated professionals who are knowledgeable of many aspects of the dental and medical field. They are experts in dental anatomy, periodontal disease, related aspects of pharmacology, nutrition and even medical emergencies. As hygienists, we see a number of patients every day varying all different ages. With the advancements in the dental field the average age of a dental patient is now increasing. These advancements are leading to patients keeping their teeth longer, therefore coming into the dental office for more

Dental Hygiene is very important to me and has been since I was a child, this has influenced my desire of becoming a pediatric dentist. In a personal interview i conducted with Dr.Bills she informed me of this, “Dental Hygiene is emphasized by all dentists, we want our patients to have elegant white teeth and pleasant breath”(Bills). I would like to teach children the importance of keeping their teeth brushed so that they will have a beautiful smile and healthy teeth. Pediatric Dentistry is a superb fit for me because I care about dental health and I want children to know the importance as well. It is never too early for children to learn how important dental hygiene is.

With fondness, I will always remember when I first began to consider dentistry as a future profession. My childhood mentor Dr. Spigner was having a weekend workshop for his patients, at this moment, I was exposed to dental education at its full capacity. While there we learned how to properly brush and floss our teeth, the benefits of tooth hygiene, and how fillings are applied to adolescent teeth. After learning these helpful tips, I wanted to share my newfound information about the importance of

‘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.