When I was a kid I lost my maxillary central incisors and that strongly impressed me as I can vividly recall feeling self-consciousness. I remember this period of inner turmoil, various dental procedures I had to come through which restored my self-confidence. I had experience later in my life which brought me face-to-face with people in a foreign land who struggled with dental health issues. These memories ultimately awaked within me a desire to become a dentist. While my self-consciousness helped me to appreciate the value of dental health, a series of treatments in the following years brought me to the place where my self-confidence was restored. Now I want to help others to gain their confidence. My story with dental problems began when I was seven years old child. I was involved in a car accident that put me on the path to serve others in the capacity of a dentist. As a result of the vehicle mishap, I grew increasingly self-conscious about my teeth. My sense of embarrassment have been lasting for years since the color of my natural teeth was noticeably different from the color of the teeth attached to the retainer in my mouth. When I was 14 my parents trying to boost my confidence, made an immense monetary sacrifice to replace my temporary retainer with a permanent bridge. However, after all the effort being made I had to adopt a closed-mouth smile to hide my multi-colored denture.
Even after getting a permanent bridge I could not overcome the feeling of self-consciousness therefore I decided to work hard over the next two years to get implants. When I was in high school I had surgery for the loss of bone between my lateral incisors. After a six-month recovery I finally got the most rewarding gift: my implants. I felt like a new person, I felt reborn. This year I decided to replace my crowns and the faces of my implants to remove the slight metallic shade in them and to reshape my lateral incisors which inclined forward like the roof of a house. As part of this process, I needed to get two to three mm in overjet, which required the removal of my mandibular central incisor. Together with the removal of my long-lasting crooked tooth, I needed lower braces to straighten them, close the gap and give the required overjet to fix my upper teeth. In the course of time when the effects of the braces were noticeable, the replacement of my crowns was finally possible. A metal-free material was the perfect choice to create a natural tooth image, enhancing the beauty of my smile and setting me free from my feeling of self-consciousness. This is the experience that motivates me now to pursue a career in dentistry.
Finally, my dream to become a dentist has roots on what I experienced more recently. As I was in military service for eight years, my commander offered me a deployment of an aviator in Kosovo as a volunteering opportunity. During this tour I was able to meet many locals, interact with different service members and work with the public health personnel. Later when I spoke to my dentist about healthcare provided to locals and soldiers in Kosovo, their poor dental hygiene, limited amount of resources and large amounts of sugar consumed by people there, it struck me that I want to be involved in dental healthcare environment. When I returned home, I was determined to go back to school to take a full-time course and get started in the pre-dental path. I became a participant of the school's research program and learnt about the importance of plants in the medical field as well as different techniques of working with DNA. During this time I shadowed dentists and the oral surgeon at the Fort Bragg clinic. This practice taught me a lot about molars extraction, tools implementation and other things including doctor-patient relationship.
Now when I look back remembering how I lost my maxillary central incisors being a seven-year old child I understand that all the various treatments I have endured and the dental problems I have encountered in a foreign community were like a circle of events which helped me to realize that my calling in life is that of a dentist. So I am on the path now pursuing the dentist career.
