My cousin was born with a short penile frenulum attaching his tongue to the base of his mouth: and no one realized it until he was taken to a pediatric dentist at the age of 4, who performed a Frenuloplasty. Doctors, including his father, thought he was having developmental issues and that is why he was not speaking. This was perhaps the biggest single event of my childhood, leaving me convinced very early on that pediatric dentists were nothing short of superheroes. My second major inspiration for a career as a pediatric dentist was from my volunteer work in high school in Iran, tutoring orphans. I was struck by the acute need that these children had for oral health care, some already with well-advanced tooth decay.
Born and raised in Iran, it was in this orphanage during high school that inspired me to make a commitment to a career helping underserved people, those without access. to oral health care. I moved to Canada at the age of 16 and finished high school, completing my undergraduate studies in Kinesiology at the university, and I have now been living in New York for the past 4 years. The challenges that I have faced have made me a strong woman, earning my DDS Degree at NYU and now giving my all to a one-year GPR.
I took multiple psychology courses as an undergrad which I believe helps me to be a better dentist, and I hope to specialize in the area of behavioral management as a pediatric dentist perhaps even publishing in this area in the future. I want to give back to the community by caring for patients with special needs, complex medical problems, or those whose life is challenged by cancer, or congenital defects, and children from low-income families with little-to-no access to dental care. I also look forward to teaching Pediatric Dentistry at some point in my career.
I want very much to become a state-of-the-art, pediatric dentist because in this way I feel that I will be able to make the greatest possible contribution to my society and community, in my new adopted homeland. During my GPR residency so far, I have not only developed broad exposure to the management of pediatric patients, but I have also thrived with the additional autonomy granted to me as a resident. I keenly look forward to the most rigorous training in a challenging Pediatric Dentistry residency program.
I have experience advocating for underprivileged children and even helping to lobby for their causes in Washington DC. Multiculturalism is critically important to me, and I could not have been happier to study and practice dentistry in an environment with such diversity as NYU. I also completed a 3-month rotation in Gouverneur Hospital while still a student at NYU, because I asked the director to be placed in the pediatric clinic where I could actively treat pediatric patients under the supervision of Dr. Brown.
I was very active with the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) throughout my DDS program. In 2019, we went to Washington to lobby for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA) Act, which sought to ensure that children suffering from congenital anomalies and birth defects can receive the treatment they need to be covered by insurance. I will never forget personally talking to members of Congress in support of ELSA.
I have a lot of leadership experience, working for the government of Canada, for example, as an executive member of Leave the Pack Behind. During dental school, I was involved in multiple organizations to develop my leadership skills, especially regarding the pediatric population. As part of the Ortho Club, I learned a great deal about the scope of a pediatric dentist’s field of practice in relation to Orthodontics.
Through participating in different specialty clubs, I learned the importance of having an interdisciplinary approach to team building and networking when you refer the patient to another specialty. As an executive member of the ASDA at NYU and District 2 level, I also gained extensive additional experience in the area of Teledentistry. Our organization would go to health centers located in elementary schools to provide dental care for students, free of charge.
Thank you for considering my application.
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