Living and breathing all things dental sealed the deal.
My road to dental school was circuitous.
When I headed off to college, dentistry wan't even on my radar. In fact, I never classified myself as a science person and instead gravitated toward art, languages, and history. Like other students, college served as a time to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life.
During my sophomore year, I shadowed a few dentists, experiences that sparked enough interest to lead me to take the pre-requisite classes. I felt glad I found an interest in a career, however, come graduation day, I still didn't feel that passion I was looking for. After three years of classes with no summers off, I felt was out. I couldn’t imagine diving into four more years of hard work, let alone even study for the DAT. So, I set aside the idea of dental school and instead landed a job in corporate America. At the time, this discouraged me, but ultimately, my experiences after college were what shaped and solidified my professional interests.
Like I mentioned in my DAT post, at my office job, I still though about dental school. Even when removed from an academic setting, I still felt an interest in the field. After eight months of working, I decided to pursue dentistry seriously; I registered for the DAT, gave my two week’s notice, and searched Craigslist for a job in a dental office.
Discovering My Passion
Through Craigslist, I replied to around twenty-five job posts looking to fill front desk and dental assisting roles. If you have job searched before, it will come as no surprise that of those twenty-five, only one office got back in touch with me. After the interview, the doctor hired me on the basis of my enthusiasm alone (certainly not for my experience!)
I was super nervous going to work for, like, the first six months of my employment there. Imposter syndrome definitely affected me, as I had never assisted in my life. I didn’t know the names of instruments or the names of procedures, how to use the dental software, how to take x-rays, how to take impressions--you get the idea. But, jumping head-first into this job every day was the best decision I ever made in terms of my future career.
Working as an assistant shows me what it’s like to work day-in and day-out in dentistry. Living and breathing dentistry has confirmed my passion for the field. Assisting completely dissolved any doubts I had about pursuing dentistry as a career. On graduation, I lacked the passion for a job that I so desperately wanted to discover during college. Assisting full-time after college, though, showed me I love dentistry and want no other job than that of a dentist.
I highly recommend anyone interested in becoming a dentist to work as an assistant to see what dentistry is like. Search your local Craigslist and other job boards--with enough persistence, there is sure to be a doctor looking for someone like you!
