Personal Narrative Analysis

When I was a child, I have always wanted to be an orthodontist. I love to see people smile, especially when they are confidently smiling without any hesitation. I remember when I was ten years old, one day, I got scolded by my parents due to waking up late for school. I was very upset as I walked to school. I was facing down at the ground the whole way to school. Without realizing what was surrounding me, I accidentally bumped into an older sister. At that instant, she turned around give me a bright smile and said, “Good morning, little sister. Be careful as you walk okay?” Her positive attitude and cheerful smile gave such a lively energy within myself. I would never have thought a beautiful smile could lift my mood in such a way that I hadn’t

It was not until participating in the Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) that I became interested in dentistry. It all started when my best friend convinced me to join American Student Dental Alliance (ASDA) with her. Initially I was hesitant, but I wanted to try to open up and experiment with careers in college. Although I was a member, I was not as active in the organization at first. However, this all changed when I decided to attend the most promoted event of the year, TMOM. TMOM is an annual event that provides free dental care to low income residents in Texas. I observed and assisted dentists and dental students for the first time. One lady, in particular, was physically abused by her husband, and she had many missing front teeth. The dentist was able to repair her smile and give her the smile she deserved. It was an incredible experience being able to witness the transformation of a person’s confidence. TMOM was the turning point of my life because the people I encountered inspired me to pursue dentistry as a career.

The more I shadowed, the more enthusiastic I became. Working as an assistant to a dentist, I witnessed each procedure clearly from an up-close perspective. The amount of precision required in dentistry intrigues me. Whether it be a restoration, crown, root canal, or implant, meticulous attention to detail is required. Manual dexterity is also important, and looking back to all my extracurricular activities through the years, whether it was woodworking as a volunteer at the church, tying knots as a scout, sculpting as an art student, or playing piano and guitar, all of the activities improved my manual dexterity.

It wasn’t until participating in the Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) that I became interested in dentistry. It all started when my best friend convinced me to join American Student Dental Alliance (ASDA) with her. Initially I was hesitant, but I wanted to try to open up and experiment with careers in college. Although I was a member, I was not as active in the organization at first. However, this all changed when I decided to attend the most promoted event of the year, TMOM. TMOM is an annual event that provides free dental care to low income residents in Texas. I observed and assisted dentists and dental students for the first time. One lady, in particular, was physically abused by her husband, and she had many missing front teeth. The dentist was able to repair her smile and give her the smile she deserved. It was an incredible experience being able to witness the transformation of a person’s confidence. TMOM was the turning point of my life because the people I encountered inspired me to pursue dentistry as a career.

Dentistry offers the ability to apply my interests in science whilst having the opportunity to communicate with people and to make a positive contribution in their lives. I developed my interest in dentistry during my regular check-ups where I got to know my dentist and build up a relationship with them. I believe that with my dedication and work ethic alongside my extensive volunteering, I have the ability to become a reputable dentist. An aspect of dentistry that I enjoy is the ‘hands on’ experience obtained and the teamwork involved alongside the mentally and physically challenging demands of the profession.

You walk into the building, check in, then sit down in the waiting room. You try to sit comfortably and read the magazines that are provided for customers. But you know it’s no use. You’re too nervous and scared to do anything else. You can only wait in the sitting area, palms sweating and the constant shaking of your leg keeping you from absolutely losing it. You can only sit there and fill time till the dentist calls you in for your appointment. Through the years I’ve heard many stories of their dental experiences. Sometimes the stories are very dramatic and overall horrifying. Other times the stories are bright and went very easy for that person. I, on the other hand, have had a wonderful dental experience with your company, Mr. Kushner. I am an eighth grade student from Silver Hills Middle School, I am fifteen years old, and in Mrs. Moncada’s fifth period class. I was a loyal patient who would go to your business once a month for about two years. And before my experience there, my sister had been a patient for an additional two

According to Knight (personal conversation, March 28, 1999), the most area most dentists are trying to improve is the "relationship between the dentist and the patient itself." Studying Dr. Knight's practice at work shows that he is indeed very adept at dealing with dental anxiety. With each patient he treats he keeps a record of their personal lives that they discussed at the last visit, and asks how those areas of his patients' lives are going. He maintains a strong relationship with each of his patients, and pays full attention to them

Dentists are doctors, trained to diagnose and treat problems related to the oral cavity; commonly known as the tooth doctor. Moreover, they are highly trained individuals who have worked their way through four years of college and four rigorous years of dental school. One might assume a dentist would be satisfied with the high achievements they have accomplished with their life. Although this may be true, dentists have to overcome significant obstacles to advance to the pinnacle of their profession. They might earn a large salary, but shockingly a dentist’s suicide rate is twice the rate of the general human population (“Lang, Randy”)! Even though becoming a dentist might look from the outside to be an awarding and prospering career; dentists are in the highest percentile for suicide rates due to a variety of stresses they encounter throughout their work experience.

I started to draw down my experience. I sketched the dental room first, filled it with my imagination of there were many different weird Cheshire cats there grinning their huge mouth as if I am the Alice who fell into dentist’s wonderland. I tried to express my fear by the atmosphere. Then, the next step, I drew myself lying on the operation chair, frowning and scary. I chose to make it more anime style so I sketched 3 lines on the head of myself in the picture and gave it a square expanded mouth standing for the emotion of nervous and fear. After I finished drawing myself, I burst out laughing because I recalled the moment when I was really sitting and waiting for operations. “It must looks like silly Hello Kitty.” I said to myself. Actually I just like I were watching over my past self and kind of making my rejection of thinking or telling out about the awful experience collapsed. I kept drawing myself cute and adorable, showing how I looked brave while in such an uncollected scene with such an awkward moment but I still chose to face it. Yes it is! Yet the reality seems unchangeable, so why don’t we just accept it with the bright side of our minds,

According to Carter (2014), “Dental fear is a unique phobia with special psychosomatic components that impact on the dental health of the odontophobic persons” (p. 1). A study by McMaster (2012) found that, “5.5% of Canadians reported being “very afraid or terrified” for their dental visit and 9.8% were “somewhat afraid”.” No one is born having fear towards dental visits, so anyone who is afraid has been taught somewhere that dental treatment is something to fear. Having a negative dental experience or having your parents act in a negative way about going for their dental appointment can both be factors towards you having dental anxiety or dental phobia. It is important to understand the affects dental phobia has on adults and children because exposure to the stimulus can provoke an anxious response. Dental phobia can cause a lot of distress, and can impact other aspects of your health, not just inside the oral cavity. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the link between parents and their children on dental fear, the harm to peoples overall health, and the proven methods to overcome dental phobia. Our role as dental hygienists are to educate the clients on what is happening at each moment so they understand and are reassured there is nothing to fear. It is our role as well to realize if someone is too afraid to to try and do the best we can in the situation, even if that means referring the client elsewhere for

Since I was a child I have been surrounded by the science and art of the Dentistry. My father is a Cuban dentist who takes a lot of pride for his profession. He transmitted that passion to me. During my summer breaks, I preferred to go to my father’s dental office instead of watching tv at home. My father was my superhero. He was able to transform a piece of broken tooth into a piece of art. He could heal the most painful toothache and return the smile to the face of the patients. Since I was a child I knew that I wanted to be just like him.

Dentists are often thought of as people to be feared. Most people try to put off going to the dentist until their teeth hurt so much that they have no choice but to visit the feared dental office. Waiting for pain in the mouth or gums before visiting a dentist is one of the worst things a person can do. Paul J. Flaer, et al. observes, “Fear in approaching the dental visit may be generated by psychosocial factors such as history of bad experience(s) at the dentist and by the effect of poor representations of dental treatment in the media” (104). If more people could get over their dentophobia they might have better oral health and probably better overall health.

‘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.

In my younger years, I was constantly reminded by my family, teachers and peers about the significance of spreading joy. I started to equate joy with making people smile. Inevitably, those childhood reminders and mindset helped manifest my adult aspirations. It has now become my aspiration to continuously experience joyous occasions when the beauty of genuine happiness is reflected through a confident, vivacious smile. However, growing up in Cameroon, I was not sure how this aspiration could be manifested into an actual profession. Upon moving to the United States, I had one of the most memorable experiences in an unexpected place, the dentist office; it awoke a hidden passion and desire in me. I never thought that sitting at a dentist office for over an hour would have such a great impact on my life. I never felt the stark confidence to allow joy to fully shine through my seemingly crooked smile, until my experience with Dr. Centty, the first dentist I ever encountered. She was very captivating and spoke in detail regarding brushing and maintaining a healthy smile. I was left astonished and felt a puzzling sense of joy and pride that I still feel until this day when Dr. Centty fixed my chipped tooth. It surprised me that a chipped tooth that made me self-conscious for over five years was taken care of so proficiently and gave me a reason to smile more often. Smiling may seem small, but a smile can change a person’s life. My smile changed that day and this childhood

When I was six years old, I needed to have a tooth pulled. The dentist had my father leave the room, then, as I kicked and screamed and fought, he proceeded to restrain me with one hand, while he held a black anesthesia mask over my face with the other. I woke up with a mouth full of bloody gauze and an intense fear of dentists. For many people, finding a good dentist is a hard task because of past bad experiences. I often tell people that I 'd rather give birth than go to the dentist. Since I have seven kids, born naturally, I know from which I speak. I also know that it is possible to find a great dentist, and while I am largely over my phobia, I would have no compunction about switching dentists if I felt that the one I was seeing did