A dentist from India who completed my education in 2013, I also had the invaluable privilege of completing an internship for one full year before moving to America, having the opportunity to care for the oral health needs of some of the world’s neediest people, many hundreds of them. I hope to be accepted to your competitive program for international dentists based on my solid preparation and experience, along with my efforts here in America to prepare myself for your program. I am incredibly proud that I am now published in the North American Journal of Medical Sciences on the Prevalence of Dental Caries, and Treatment Needs in 3-5-Year-Old Preschool Children in Rural Muradabad District, India. (April 2015, Vol 7, Issue 4) and in Holistic Nurse Practice (2015; 00(00):1–6) on CAM Modalities for Musculoskeletal Pain among Dental Professionals in East India. I also now have two full years of experience as a Dental Assistant and almost six months of research experience here in the USA as a research Volunteer at University of XXXX at XXXX College of Dentistry, so I have become quite knowledgeable concerning US research work, patient expectations, dental insurance, state-of-the-art software used in clinics, etc.
I chose dentistry as a career in response to the vast ignorance about the basics of oral health care, especially in India. People use brick powder, burnt wood ashes, coal, Neem twigs, and many other materials to clean their teeth. Having been extremely interested and active in the arts and crafts since childhood, I especially enjoyed learning exercises in tooth carving and preparing plaster models as a student. I loved the idea of simultaneously alleviating pain and restoring both function and esthetics. Before moving to the USA, I organized oral health education and oral screening camps in my village and successfully created awareness about oral health in that population. In addition to my research in India into dental caries in children, I also completed extensive research concerning occupational health issues among dentists and managing musculoskeletal pain among dentists.
Over the past eight years, I have spent increasing amounts of time with my family, who live in Illinois, and I have been a permanent resident of the USA since 2007. As a dental student in India, I made it a point to visit a few dental schools on visits to the USA. I was fascinated by the research work, the higher education standard, and the latest advances like CBCT, implants, CAD CAM, and so on. It was then I decided to further my dental education here in America so I could become a world-class dentist practicing in state-of-the-art facilities. I have spent almost two years since I arrived in America working as a Dental Assistant and observing dentists; so far, a total of 9. This allows me to compare different treatment plans and clinical styles of excellent dentists, particularly pediatric dentists, since my area of most significant interest is dental care for children.
I have also been active at the XXXX Family YMCA (Child Community) in XXXX, Missouri. I also volunteered as a Dental Assistant at the XXXX Dental Camp, ONU Campus in Bourbonnais, Illinois. I also helped with a breast cancer awareness campaign for Sinai Health Systems in Chicago last year. These experiences as a volunteer here in my new home, the USA, have been among the most profound joys of my life. Earning the DDS/DMD Degree will enable, empower, and inspire me to continue in a lifetime of services in addition to my professional practice. At some point in my career, I hope to re-engage with dentistry in India, also as a volunteer.
Presently, I am assisting in the research laboratory of Prof. XXXX, a Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the UXX, and it has been an honor for me to learn and work with her. I am learning about research methodology and how to prepare mediums and culture specimens. I have always believed that natural products have enormous potential for preventing and even curing many oral diseases, and I am primarily engaged with research in this area. In my free time, I always read about how cranberries and grape seed extracts attack and destroy oral bacteria. Since dental caries is a pandemic disease that is most common in children, I would like to introduce oral health care awareness programs more extensively in schools. I hope to earn a Masters's Degree in Pediatric Dentistry and develop a treatment protocol for special needs children. I hope to teach part-time as I continue to practice.
I have spent the last two years shadowing and assisting some of the finest dentists in America, subsequently familiarizing myself with an abundance of information about the best way to run a dental clinic, from front desk management of patients to ethics in dental practice and the latest techniques and resources for dental care.
Thank you for considering my application.
Published International Dentist Personal Statement