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Dental Tribune U.S. Edition No.5, 2016

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | May 2016 a7 INDUSTRY NEWS By Komet Staff Komet USA recently an- nounced the top three en- trants in its “Women in Den- tistry” dental student essay contest. Komet received entries from throughout the country. All entrants will receive recogni- tion and the company plans to con- tinue working with dental students on this topic and others as it pro- gresses in its own work in the field of dental rotary instruments. The third-place essay en- trant, Caroline Zeller (Uni- versity of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry), will receive a three-month (up to $250) supply of dental burs and a specially engraved custom bur block. The second-place essay entrant, Erica Boyd (University of Nebraska College of Dentistry), will receive a six-month (up to $500) supply of dental burs and a specially en- Congratulations: Komet USA dental student essay winners graved custom bur block. The first-place entrant is Rebecca Tom (University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry). Tom will receive a one year (up to $1,000) supply of dental burs and a specially engraved custom bur block. Below is Tom’s entry to the essay contest. Other entries will be pub- lished over time on the Komet USA Facebook site in recognition of how all of the essays contribute a unique vision regarding the influence of women in the field of dentistry. CDA BOOTH No. 2534 Contest focused on women who inspired and guided career choice By Rebecca Tom University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry Growing up, everyone would al- ways tell me how much I looked like and acted like my mother. I hated it. I wantedtobemyownindividualwith- out growing up in my mom’s shadow. Now, don’t get me wrong; my mom is a wonderful person! However, living in a community where my mom is a relativelywell-knowndentistwhohas looked into the mouths of my class- mates, classmates’ parents, teachers, and school administrators, everyone would look at me, the only daughter of Burbank’s friendly local female dentist, and automatically think that I was going to do everything she does. Maybe I sound like I went through a crazy rebellious adolescent phase, but I don’t think I did. In fact, it was because I looked up to my mom so much that I wanted to make a good name for myself on my own accord. I wanted to meet the expectations and high achievements my mother made without needing to copy her. Howev- er, the circumstances that usually oc- cur in our lives often tend to be very different than we anticipate. My mother attended UCLA for her undergraduate education, so I obvi- ously had to go to Los Angeles’s rival school, USC. I remember in my se- nior year of high school when I was applying for college, even then I felt the pressure of needing to have my future completely planned out. It seemed as if the first question out of any adult’s mouth would be, “What are you doing after high school? What are you going to study? Are you going to be a dentist like your mom?” It was extremely hard for me to believe that at the young age of 17 I should already know the trajectory of my life, and I also wanted to avoid taking the easy road of saying “yes, I’ll be a dentist like my mom” by default. By the time I was in my freshman year of college, I quickly learned that undergrad was a lot harder than I originally anticipated. Unprepared for the giant competitive lecture- based courses, I was nearly failing one of my classes, so I did what any newcollegestudent would do: Icalled my mom. I remember being so ner- vous that she would be disappointed with me, and I didn’t want to let her down. I had no reason to be anxious about that phone call. My mom completely empathized with me, remembering how hard undergrad classes were, especially when first transitioning into them. She encouraged and re- assured me, reminding me that she was supporting me the whole way, even and especially when things got tough. Needless to say, I did survive that semester, and I know I couldn’t have done it without the support of my mom. A few months later, I was at home for summer vacation when my mom came home with a huge smile on her face. “Rebecca,” she told me, “I got this cool letter in the mail, sent to me by one of my patients! For the longest time, this woman was unhappy with the way her teeth looked. She would keep her mouth closed while smil- ing, and she would cover her mouth when she talked, but she was scared of getting any treatments done to fix it. Then, when she was planning on flying to go to a large reunion, she fi- nally decided to give it a shot and get veneers. Today in the mail, I got these pictures of her with a huge smile on her face with all her friends. She said that they all kept mentioning how beautiful she looked, and it was the happiest she had felt in a long time.” That story resonated with me, and I honestly believe it contributed to my view of dentistry, even through today. Dentistry is a healing profes- sion, in more ways than simply treat- ing physical disease; dentists are able From daughter to DDS to change the way that people view and express themselves and facili- tate those relationships that are so important for the way that we live as social creatures. However, the incred- ible thing about our role as dentists also lies in the opportunity to use our own abilities and strengths to pro- vide care to our patients. I began seeing how the unique per- sonality traits I’ve seen of my mom as her daughter contributed to the way she acts as a dentist. Similar to the way that she was understanding with me as I struggled in my fresh- man year of college, she nurtures and sympathizes with her patients and truly listens to their concerns. It is with that heart that she is able to de- velop deep relationships with her pa- tients and help them out of her own compassion, and that is something I find deeply inspiring about my mom. It was then that I realized that be- ing in my mom’s shadow meant a lot more than just following the same career path as her. It was about how the things that I appreciated and admired the most about my mom — the same qualities that she exem- plifies daily as a dentist caring for patients — are incorporated in ev- erything she does. I slowly realized my heart was changing. I shouldn’t be looking at the prospect of also be- coming a dentist to mean I was giv- ing up and just following my mom’s footsteps; rather, I could carve my own path alongside her with her now transitioning into a profession- al mentor to look up towards every step of the way. Even in dental school now, I know it isn’t easy. But in those times when I am frustrated with my outline form not being perfect or the amalgam setting too quickly in my typodont, I can stop and remember how I was inspired by my mom’s love for her patients to bring me to dental school and how this training will pre- pare me to do the same—and I am so excited for that. First-place essay Ad

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