Dentistry is the Career i Want to Pursue

The sky seemed a little too dark, so I changed it completely. I added in some reds and yellows and changed a dark gloomy day into bright and beautiful sunset. I then went in and added the small details to lighthouse and to the mountains in the background. The sky then seemed empty, so I added in some birds. Finally, the ten hours I spent working on this painting had paid off, it was finally complete.

To others, it may seem that the true joy in creating a piece of art is seeing the completed work, but for me, the true joy comes from the process. I love spending hours staring at my canvases, filling them up, adding in details, and then getting new ideas and starting over again. As tedious and frustrating as it may seem, it gives me pleasure in knowing that if I am patient and persistent, the end result will be something that both I and others can enjoy.

Dentistry, like painting, is a form of art that is very focused on the process rather than the outcome. My interest in dentistry first began when I shadowed my own dentist during my senior year of high school. I remember this one patient who came in for dentures and needed to have her lowers pulled. I watched as the doctor extracted about five teeth. Some came out easily, while others required work. Each tooth he pulled produced that same gratifying feeling that I had when I completed a part of my paintings. When he later finally placed her new dentures in her mouth, the smiles on both of their faces led me to believe that I had just witnessed an artist create his masterpiece. The precision and patience that each step required left me in awe and that was when I knew that dentistry was the career I wished to pursue.

My interest bloomed into passion, when during my freshman year of college, I went on a dental mission trip to Guatemala. This was also my first hands on experience with dentistry. Most of our patients were children, and because there were only three of us, we were working back to back from morning until evening with very little break. We would set up our trays and brush and floss their teeth and teach them along the way, and their bright smiles and big hugs made the long hours we put in worth it. The one defining moment during this trip was when we had a woman, Maria, come in with excruciating pain in her jaw. The pain left her unable to work and provide for her family.

She needed a root canal which was something that she could not afford, and we could not do with our limited equipment. In order to alleviate her pain, the doctor decided to extract her tooth instead. The roots of the tooth were so curved that the extraction ended up taking over an hour. We stood there with the doctor, assisting her as she tirelessly worked away with precision, never letting her frustration show. Being a part of this process, as well as the whole trip, gave me a deeper appreciation for not only the amount of work that can go into the smallest procedures, but also the amount of faith that the patient has within their dentist. These people trusted us to take care of their problems, and some like Maria literally put their entire futures within our hands.

I was able to take all that I learned from these experiences and apply it to my volunteer position at House of Hope. I volunteered at their food pantry, and although it may not seem like it, we played a big role in shaping people’s futures. As dentists do with their patients, I was able to create relationships with the people that came in. At first, I was just a pair of ears to listen to their stories, but eventually, I became a source of friendship and companionship. It was beautiful seeing and being a part of the process of them going from being helpless, to being able to completely support themselves. This experience also taught me about empathy and how powerful it truly is. My believing in these people and being there to support them, helped them to believe in themselves.

Through all of these experiences, I have learned that there is an entire process full of struggles and obstacles that one has to go through in order to create a masterpiece. Some like those at House of Hope struggle to make a life for themselves, while others, like the dentists I shadowed, go through struggles to give their patients the best care. I know that dentistry is not an easy career and that it will not only get harder as I move on, but I am determined and ready to work as hard as possible, and I hope that all I have achieved thus far is a testament to that.

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