I did not choose pediatric dentistry; I feel like it chose me. When I look back at my life and how I got to where I am now, I am blown away by how God directed my path. My childhood dream was to become a princess, my elementary school dream was to become an artist, my high school dream was to become an interior designer, and my college dream was to become a dentist that focused in esthetic dentistry. It’s funny how God takes your dreams and puts you exactly where you need to be.
With college graduation approaching, it seemed my dreams of becoming a dentist were being lost. I remember the feeling when I opened that small envelope from the dental school stating that I was an alternate for the upcoming year’s class. And when a spot did not open for me that year, I was dejected, frustrated, and felt betrayed. I had felt that this was where God had led me. “God, I was just following your call.” He remained silent.
I set up a meeting with the admissions dean at the time, and he recommended that I get more shadowing experience before applying for the next year. When discussing my future with my father, he understood my pity party, but would not let me dwell in it. He told me that I was an adult now and, that if school was not where I would be next year, I needed to find a job. I was able to compromise with him by asking for one month where I would be able shadow in various areas of dentistry, and I would look for a job during this time. Thankfully, he agreed.
I set up appointments for a week at time in an oral surgeon, general dentist, endodontist, and finally a pediatric dentist’s office. I must say, I was dreading the week at the pediatric office. It had been a long time since I had been around kids and had no idea how to interact with them. The week came, and I began to get more and more comfortable with the office, assistants, and believe it or not, the kiddos. On Thursday, they had a staff meeting that they invited me to join. The dentist began going over different office issues and as he was wrapping up the meeting, he said, “We need to hire a new assistant, so if y’all know of anyone who needs a job, let me know, and we can see if it is good fit.” One of the assistants chimed in and said, “I know someone who needs a job. She does!”
And that was it: the turning point. As the year progressed, the kids brought to light parts of me that I did not even know I had: empathy when they were in pain, love when they craved attention, and patience when they needed a little extra time. My dreams changed from wearing a classy suit, fancy office, and doing cosmetic dentistry to wearing machine washable clothes, a kid-friendly office, wiping away tears, and giving hugs. And I would not have it any other way!
Whenever anyone finds out that I am a pediatric dentist, I seem to get a lot of questions. When does my child need to see the dentist? Do kids really need to floss? Does it even matter if my kids get cavities in their baby teeth? The reason I started this blog was to answer questions you may have based on the best clinical research we have at our disposal in combination with the best of my clinical knowledge. Let the questions begin! Feel free to send me any questions you may have.