A woman and a dentist from India, since I immigrated to the USA in 2007, I have been working extremely hard to prepare myself for dental school here in America - for my National Board Dental Examinations in addition to the TOEFL while raising two lovely children. I am completing my second of two Continuing Dental Education courses through the California Dental Association, dealing with evidence-based dentistry for the clinician and infection control. I feel strongly that I have enhanced my potential as a dentist concerning treatment, assessment, and evaluation. I have particularly enjoyed the case studies I have engaged in that focus on the elderly, particularly those with uncertain treatment options.
My ongoing dental education in California has helped me become quite familiar with evidence-based dentistry, helping me significantly refine my understanding of scientific rigor and relevant research results. I now have a better grasp of clinical guidelines in America and how to apply them through shared decision-making processes. To complement my CE studies through the California Dental Association, I have also taken private online classes through Duggan Dental Studies to enhance my capacities, particularly in preparation, amalgam, composite, gold crown preparations, and full ceramic crowns. I have been serving as an observer with Dr. XXXX here in Los Angeles, learning a great deal from the general management of the practice through digital ex-rays and complete and partial removable dentures and crowns.
I am especially interested in the complex relationships between infection and oral health. I was especially excited by my second CE course dealing with illness. I learned much about minimum infection control standards, disease transmission, waste management, and laboratory controls. In the future, I look forward to being highly active in professional associations. At the Tamil Nadu State Dental Conference, I presented a paper in 2004 dealing with Oral Sub Mucous Fibrosis. I became most concerned with the devastation from tobacco and alcohol, leading to oral cancer, even among some family members. I carry the dream of returning to India and helping to implement verbal health consciousness-raising campaigns. I hope to use the world-class training I will receive in America to return to India and stay as long as possible over several decades to make my mark in dental outreach and education among some of the world’s neediest populations.
I did not see a dentist myself until the age of sixteen. I was convinced I was ugly until that time due to a retained deciduous tooth, which the dentist extracted. Until then, I had repressed my smile lest others notice my abnormal tooth. After the extraction, I became confident with my smile and yearned to bring this joy and confidence to others.
I thrive on recreating what is lost, restoring a smile to its original or intended form. I will soon complete a decade of preparation since I finished my dental studies in India in 2004 and then interned for one year. I practiced dentistry from 2004 through 2006, managing a clinic single-handedly.
I am confident yet humble, and I always stay focused. I have assisted with orthognathic and other surgeries and find my greatest joy as a team player. I thrive on new developments in dentistry and stay abreast of significant women-owned developments. My heart is set on becoming highly active in prevention in the future, in addition to practicing dentistry, from hygiene to restoration; it is in oral health that I find my greatest joy.
Indian Woman International Dentist CAAPID Editing
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