It's a Give and Take, Heavy on the Giving

I do not remember the sounds or exactly what they did. What I remember the most is how it made me feel. As a child, it was fun going in– the private plane ride where you can go up and down at any moment–the bursts of giggles and smiling faces that filled the space and most of all the high fives, toys and praises at the end of our little charade. I grew to learn that it was not all games, they helped me keep healthy too, and I knew from then on, exactly what I wanted to do.

I am a dentist. It might be surprising for some and for others who think that I look too young. “Are you a dentist, dentist?” I’ve been asked in the past. I have grown to smile and nod and to appreciate my youthful appearance. I love what I do and if I could go back in time, I would do it all over again but I am GLAD I DON’T HAVE TO!

What makes dentistry fun and interesting is that I get to build relationships with other individuals who may not have had a great dental experience in the past. My job is to get people out of pain as a dental specialist. Giving them a good night's rest after they have been up with pain for days is nothing short of a blessing to them. If you have ever had a toothache, then you can imagine how relieved they felt. I sing while I work out of habit and my patients are known to fall asleep. I tried to stop one time and one of them woke up and encouraged me to continue. “Your voice is so soothing,” he said. Everyone at the office contributes by ensuring that a patient has the best experience and this is what motivates me to wake up and do my best when it comes to my profession.

Being a dentist has given me the amazing opportunity to give back. I am from an island where I looked forward to my dental visits when dentists and other volunteers visited on mission trips. They inspired me at the age of three to join the profession and I certainly achieved that goal.

Even throughout my years as a dental student, I looked forward to opportunities to participate in oral screening events in the community. I have traveled to Africa where I worked alongside dentists and medical professionals providing care to patients for a few weeks. I assisted in surgeries and watched as a tumor was removed from someone’s eye. The experience was overwhelming. The people–those I worked with and those in the community–had a beautiful spirit as they were amazing and welcoming human beings. The saddest part of my trip was losing a patient to an infectious disease. I remembered her hospital bed being empty when I walked into her room and even though this was years ago, I still can't describe how I felt. I had an experience of a lifetime and I was grateful for the chance to serve and learn.

While in residency and even after graduation, I have had the pleasure of volunteering with a nonprofit organization called Great Shape Inc! Its mission is to provide free dental care to both children and adults.

In areas where the answer to dental pain is an extraction, I along with a team of individuals were grateful to give some people the opportunity to save a tooth especially if it was a front tooth. You can see how someone’s overall mood changes and how their whole face lights up when you hand them a mirror and they can smile again. The tears have flowed from their eyes and even mine. Sometimes I have been told that thank you isn’t enough to convey how they feel. Our English vocabulary and words in general have their limits. However, even without a laundry list of words and descriptions, the way I’ve made them feel and the way they have made me feel in return is enough gratitude. It actually goes both ways. They have given me so much more than I have given them.

One of the things that bothered me the most was my inability to do more. We worked long hours and we could only provide one service as so many were in need. It broke my heart to say no because I knew how it felt to be on the other side. I am forever grateful for the many volunteers (some with no experience in dentistry) who traveled with us outside the United States to provide a great service.

My impact on the world may be minor compared to others but I believe we all have to start somewhere. Mother Teresa said it best “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” I hope to inspire other children and other people to give back in any shape or form. Nothing is too little.