Iranian born and raised in my native Tehran, Iran, I always excelled in school, studying at a National School for the Gifted and Talented. I was eager to excel and focus on dentistry incredibly early on since I was inspired by several relatives who are dentists. As a child, I began shadowing my uncles and dentists whenever I had the opportunity. When it came time for me to enroll in dental school, everyone wanted me to study dentistry in English, thinking about my long-term advancement. Yet, for us, there were very few options. After extensive research and discussion, we decided on the Philippines because the entire dental curriculum was in English. Thus, I went to the Philippines to study dentistry.
My family facilitated my time in the Philippines, and I am part of Iran’s small Christian minority. The Philippines is a Christian country, and I was met with great solidarity. I rejoiced that most of my fellow students and professors were Christian. This helped me bond quickly with my professors and opened doors to opportunities to help them with their research. They also invited me to go with their groups on dental missions to provide free treatment to the many underserved in the Philippines. International students in our university selected me as the Vice president of our student association.
As a part of the curriculum in my dental school, we worked in different public hospitals shadowing dentists in the dental wards and becoming familiar with dental public health issues and hospital dentistry. In this way, my interest in general oral health and a concern for those who depend on public hospitals was cultivated since the beginning of my studies in dentistry. After graduation, I returned to Iran, received my permanent dental license, and began working as a licensed dentist in public and private clinics—giving my all to dentistry in the land of my birth for almost four years. At the same time, I also kept up my charity work during this period helping with various organizations and projects dedicated to helping the underserved in Iran as much as possible. I am very thankful for that opportunity to acquire hands-on experience, long hours, attending care to patients with scarce resources—as I learned a great deal that will always be with me. Working in public and private clinics allowed me to treat many diverse patients. I helped to discover and better understand my strengths and weaknesses as a dentist, working to correct the latter. I also attended several continuing education programs in different branches of dentistry in Iran, as I would continue to do after arriving in the USA.
Upon my arrival in the US, I immediately began preparing to re-launch my career in dentistry, preparing for and passing the National Dental Board exams, for example. I have my heart set on being accepted to an advanced education program here in America because I see dental education in the USA as the innovative frontier of dentistry, and I could not be more eager to learn while taking full advantage of the vast resources of US dental schools and especially the state-of-the-art facilities. Most importantly, to hit the ground running in your distinguished DDS Program and excel, I have been giving my all to earning a master's degree in health services/sciences at the University of XXXX. I will complete this program before enrolling in dental school, and I see it as excellent preparation, especially since I want very much to practice dentistry in the USA in a way that compliments public oral health efforts geared towards attending to the underserved, those who have no resources or insurance to cover their dental care. As a graduate student at UXX, I have had the invaluable experience of becoming familiar with the American educational system while learning about American healthcare structures and processes. My GPA is currently 3.5.
My heart will always be devoted to research; thus, serving as a graduate research assistant at XXXX University is a special honor and joy. I particularly appreciate the many things I am learning about research design and statistical software. As part of the curriculum in my Masters's program, I am currently in the process of completing the first of two internships in dental clinics in the XXXX area, shadowing both general dentists and specialists to familiarize myself with dental practices and options here in the US, learning how to operate the latest equipment being used in the local clinics, how the patient referral system works, drug prescription processes, as well as insurance coverage and services.
Thank you for considering learning my application to your distinguished and competitive program.
CAAPID Application Iranian Dentist Example
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