Actually, I was pre med for most of my undergraduate career. However, I was never able to shake the urge of becoming a dentist, which was my original interest before being persuaded to pursue medicine in college. After doing a little soul searching and weighing the pros and cons of both medical and dental, I came to the conclusion that dental was actually the best fit for me. I find that dental outweighs medical in a many aspects in terms of lifestyle and most importantly, it fits my own personal interests.
My interest in dentistry started as a child. I grew up in a low-income family, which was supported by a single mother. There was no money for unnecessary dental procedures and I desperately needed oral attention to address my far less than perfect smile. It was so out of line that there was actually some foods that could not eat. I also felt that I could never express myself with a gesture as simple as smiling, which allowed me to be somewhat miserable, no matter how great of a day I was having. I was teased a lot in school and girls would not dare speak to me. Basically, my teeth made me an easy target for rejection, ridicule, and depression.
At the age of fifteen, I began doing odd jobs and saving my money with one objective in mind, to straighten my teeth and actually have a few of them replaced. At the age of sixteen, I began working in a grocery store and had eventually saved up enough money to secure payment for the procedures that were necessary to repair the smile that had plagued me throughout my pre-teen to teenage years. Honestly, I think that my dentist knew I was paying for it and had a good idea of my motives, so he cut me a deal. After my teeth were repaired with a combination of braces and veneers, I found that my confidents increased dramatically. I was no longer depressed or teased, and for the first time in my life, girls actually spoke to me. I was finally able to express feeling of happiness without being laughed at or insulted.
I see so many people that take there natural healthy smiles for granted and they have no idea just how lucky they are. Teeth became an obsession of mine at a very young age, not just out of interests but also out of desperation. I can honestly say that a healthy smile or oral care in general is not something that I take for granted. To sum things up, I feel very passionate about the profession as a whole. I have witnessed first hand the differences that the field of dentistry can make in an individuals life both physiologically as well as mentally and who wouldnt want a job that allows him or her to impact so many lives in such a positive way? It sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
