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Dentistry Personal Statement

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Growing up in Iraq among healthcare providers of various disciplines has influenced me from a young age to pursue a career that would allow me to heal people. Having a mother who practices dentistry has allowed me, from childhood, the privilege to observe what dentists do. Since I used to get out of elementary school before the time my parents would come home, I spent most of my after school time with my mother at the free clinic she worked at. Looking back, this experience was a huge source of inspiration for me; I was able to see how highly my mother was looked upon in her community and how much of a positive impact she had on her patients through improving their oral health. One thing that intrigued me about this experience was how a patient can walk into the clinic with great toothache pain and in a matter of minutes, the doctor could ease that pain. Being my role model in life, my mother has inspired me since childhood to become a dentist. While my mother was able to practice dentistry abroad, the hardships we endured as a family limited her ability to practice in the United States. In 2007, at the age of 3, my younger sister was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and needed medical intervention. As a consequence of decades of war and international imposed sanctions, the healthcare infrastructure of my home country was …show more content…

Since last year, I have spent approximately a thousand hours studying virulence factors of various bacteria of the oral cavity. I am currently in the process of writing a report on my latest project in preparation for publication. One of the highlights of my research was discovering how some bacteria that cause systemic diseases share the same virulence factors with cariogenic bacteria of the oral cavity. This experience made me realize how having a good oral health is vital for having good overall

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