Becoming an Adult

I'm 18 years old and I still feel like I'm a child. I'm scared to accept the fact that I need to grow up and get out of my comfort zone. Many of my friends say I'm more focused on my future than they are. Yet, I feel like adults still see me as the little girl pretending to be an adult. When will I feel like I'm an adult. When I talked to dentist about volunteering in his office I felt like he saw me as a little girl. First of all, when I'm asked what I'm going to school from they assume I want to be a hygienist or dental assistant and when I tell them I'm actually going to be a dentist I know exactly what they are thinking. Yeah right, she's a girl and she's young. She doesn't really know what she wants and doesn't understand how hard it is to become a dentist. True I am young, but I know what I want. If I don't make it, at least I tried.

Over winter break I'm going to be volunteering at a different dentist office. I'm nervous and excited. This is going to look great to dental schools in the future but I'm nervous because I have no experience. What is a freshman who is just taking prereqs know about dentistry. True, I haven't taken the classes yet, but being exposed to the environment is important. The dentist I am observing understands this and is really great about it.

Before I called and asked for this opportunity I thought to myself, I am only 18 what am I doing trying to act like an adult. I'm not ready to be an adult. But that's just it, I am ready. I just feel like others think I'm not ready because of my age.

Compared to most other freshman at college, I have my life put together. I am trying to get opportunities that I know I will need for the future now. I'm basically just trying to get my foot in the door (the hardest part). Through this volunteering opportunity I could possible get the chance to go to Guatemala and help the less fortunate, especially the children. That will be an experience of a lifetime. How did I get this opportunity? Delta. Yes, Delta my local community college is how I got this opportunity that will set me apart of many other dental student!

Now I just have to get it in my head that I am an adult and that this is normal to be doing things that I feel I shouldn't. All I'm trying to do is achieve my dream and if that means feeling uncomfortable because I feel I'm too young to be doing something then so be it. Before when I interned at an office near my school it was because of a class I was taking in High School. I was still nervous the first day but other high school student I knew had done this. After a week or so of being there I felt like that was where I was supposed to be. I hope I get the same feeling at this new office and they don't look at me as if I'm just that young girl with too big of dream. My doctor once told me “Everyone says 'do you really want to go to school for 10 years? That's so long' 10 years is 10 years, either you can be doing something you love in 10 years or you could be going from job to job trying to find something to settle with. Don't settle.”

Education

            Is a more expensive education really better? My parents sent me to Frankenmuth to get the best education I could and it has given me everything I need this far to get into any college I want. Do I take the same approach to get into dental school or do I take the cheapest route? At my work a dentist always comes in to buy equipment for his side business, his hobby. One day I asked where he went to school. He gave me an answer I didn’t expect. He went to Saginaw Valley State University and got accepted into dental school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Did he get U of M accept him because his dad is also a dentist or do they really not care about where you went to school before.

            He said that when he applied to both U of M and the University of Detroit Mercy, U of M didn’t care that he got completed his pre-dentistry at SVSU. On the other hand, Mercy didn’t accept him because SVSU didn’t have enough pull behinds its name. It all made sense. When I toured Detroit Mercy last summer they only wanted to know who was from Frankenmuth. Mercy just pulls from the schools with a good reputation.

            Now I have to decide if I really want to pay more money for the same degree. If I go to SVSU I know that I only have one school in Michigan to apply to because Mercy likes status. Or do I take the safe more expensive route and go to Mercy and know that I have a chance to get into either U of M or Mercy. If only there was a book that told me the answers to these questions.

            I was talking to a friend about my situation and he asked “how do you even know you like dentistry enough to put this kind of time and money into it?” It was a very good question, but I didn’t have to think twice about the answer. I love dentistry! I interned and I know what really goes on in all different situations and I want to be apart of it. I know things get messy when people sue, but that’s just one downside to a whole lot of happiness. Now, all I need is the answer to what path I’m going to take to achieve this dream. 

I'm Not an Exception

I fell in love with the dentist office at a young age and always thought I would become a dentist no matter what. Then my senior year of high school I fell in love with a junior and all the colleges I had applied too didn’t seem so interesting anymore. I didn’t want to go to my dream college or even work towards my dream job. That’s when I applied to delta and decided to stay home for him. I wanted to be there to support him in all of his sporting events. He did sports year around. It just made the most sense to stay home, but not just for a year for my whole education. He told me that it was either be a dentist or be with him. Stupidly I chose him over my dream. I did what everyone tells you not to do, but I didn’t care because we were going to be different.

    That’s when I changed my career path to become a hygienist. I thought it was a smart move. I wasn’t giving up my whole dream just compromising. That is what you’re supposed to do in a relationship right? He wouldn’t let me leave home, but then when it came time for him to apply to schools and it was suddenly okay for us to be far away. I always supported him 100% so when he told me I encouraged him to do so. I just wanted him to be happy.

    I started to resent him because I could never do anything I wanted, but he did whatever he wanted. I should’ve listened to my family when they said never give up on your dreams for a boy who will more than likely only be in your life for a few years. Not that being a hygienist is bad

or low paying job, I just wouldn’t have been completely happy with my life. Your job takes up more of your life than some would like to admit.

    It’s not that I wanted to give up on being a dentist he just made it seem like I would never make it so why try and put our relationship on the line. Dating isn’t easy when you know you will be in college anywhere from 8-10 years.

Now that we aren’t together anymore I hate him for making me give up my dreams. He should’ve supported me like I always supported him. Lucky delta was the right choice to make financially, and that I can easily go back to my dream career. I learned to never think I will be an exception to rules or norms because that rarely happens.

 

One more thing to do

Internships are fun when you are doing what you love. They also look great on resumes. Getting the opportunity I did, through my school, I am one step ahead from other dental students my age. I recently called down to the University of Michigan to ask what would be the best college to go to so I could be one step closer to being expected into their dental school. They told me that as long as I meet the requirements, 3.6 GPA, pass the DAT, and did something to make me stand out I should be fine.

As I have already talked about dental school is not easy to get in, so why was she acting so calm and “it’s easy” sounding? By make yourself stand she most likely meant volunterring and internships. The internship I previously had was through my school, they set it up for me. I would go to the office for an hour a day. My main “job” was just to observe every part of the dental field.

My boss was really nice and really wanted me to get the full experience. She had people that sell dental instruments in so I could have a meeting with them. She really tried to show me that there is more than dentist, hygienist, and dental assistants in the dental field. Before that internship, I never really thought of working in the labs that make the crowns, bridges, or other dental equipment. Now that I know every part of the dental field I could really pick what I wanted to do.

                             

My school encouraged doing internships, not only because it looks good, but because they want you to know if you want to put your time and engery into that field. There were several students that thought they wanted to be one thing and started an internship in that field and a week later dropped it. Aren’t they glad they interned before they went to college.

I’m not going to lie the first time I saw certain operations I was a little queasy but after watching it over and over I got used to it. Internships offer so much and help you get ahead. I would strongly advise to look for one, I know I am right now.

Volunteering looks good no matter what you are volunteering for. Admissions love to see a long list of things you did for other without getting paid. They don’t just want someone smart, that want someone with a good personality and who wants to help others. The more involved you are with your community the more likely you will get ahead in life.

The Good

The best experiences at the dentist office are when patients are getting their braces off. It will be the patients first time in a few years so get to feel and see their teeth with no metal on them. It is a good chance for the dental assistant and orthodontist to be proud of their work.

            Some of the common reactions dental assistants get are “I didn’t know my teeth were this big, they feel like horse teeth.” and “my teeth feel very slimy”. It funny that they feel this way, but it makes since because there normal for the past few years was rough, small teeth. When brackets are put on your tongue can only feel small parts of your teeth. That’s what leads to the “horse” teeth feeling.

            The dentist office many have brought you some bad memories but if you ever had braces at least you got that one great memory of finally getting them off. What if you didn’t have braces? Some patients never have braces or anything major done to their teeth or mouth. However, this is rare. Patients will sometime get the feeling of excitement when getting a crown but others may not. Crowns are put on when your tooth has a crack in it, when you tooth is so rotten it has to be replaced and many other reasons. A crown is basically a new tooth with part of the old tooth underneath. That’s what it connects to. If you have been waiting for a crown with a tooth that is basically non-exiting you would be excited.

            My main point here is that dentist office aren’t always bad, and they don’t just exist to clean your teeth, but to also make you confident. When you have a great smile your confident levels go up. It’s one less thing to worry about.

            The best thing about interning at the dentist office was getting this feeling of excitement almost everyday. For the patients is comes every few years. Since I was there everyday it happened often. Every person would react differently. Some couldn’t hold in there excitement or reaction and others just said they were excited but didn’t show it. I personally liked it when they did show their excitement because it got me excited. Even though I wasn’t the person who worked on them I still knew their story. I can’t imagine how great it feels to be the one that puts in the hard work and get the reward for doing it.

Chasing My Dreams

Be coming a dentist is no easy task. All you have to do is sit in class and listen to boring lectures and take tests, right? Not even close. To obtain most degrees from a college you can get it with C grade. As many say “Cs get degrees”. To get into any dental school you have to have a GPA of a 3.5 or even higher in some cases. Getting a good GPA is important but that’s not all.

Michigan only has two dental schools and they are very competitive and expensive. First you can basically go to any college in Michigan since most college has a pre-dentistry program. In that college is were you need to get your 3.5 or higher GPA. In your last two years or so you take a test, DAT, which then determines if your hard work has really paid off. The DAT is like the ACT. For colleges to accept you, you must have at least a 20. The DAT is composed of four different sections: Survey of the natural sciences, perceptual ability test, reading comprehension test, and quantitative Research.

                           

The two dental schools in Michigan are University of Detroit Mercy and University of Michigan. Many people think that going to U of M’s dental school means you’re smarter but, Detroit Mercy is harder to get into and they have a higher success rate. I am hoping to attend Detroit Mercy next year for pre-dentistry as I denied their acceptance last year.

The difficultly of getting into dental school is a problem but the cost is an even bigger one. One year of dental school cost $77,000 mostly because they are a private school. I have so much on the line. If I don’t get the grades I need, thousands of dollars lost. If I don’t get an acceptable score on the DAT, thousands of dollars lost. If unexpected events in my life occur, thousands of dollars lost. Not only will I lose the dream of becoming a dentist. I will walk away with no degree.

The future is scary but I’m ready to face the challenge and chase my dreams.

Surround Yourself with Good People

The people you surround yourself with make your life either good or bad. At the dentist office you aren’t just with co-workers, you’re with patients. The great thing about that is if one patient is quiet, that’s okay. The next patient could be one that makes you laugh.

I love when little kids came in for the first time! We would clean their parent’s teeth first and let them watch. By doing that they are less likely to be scared of the instruments going into their mouths. When it comes to the polishing part of the cleaning we would put the instrument on their fingernails to show that it doesn’t hurt even though it makes a scary noise. When we would describe the feeling we would tell them that it kind of tickles and they might want to laugh.

This one little girl was concerned that we were gluing her teeth with the polish. The mom and hygienist couldn’t understand why she kept saying glue and scream when the instrument got close to her mouth. I understood what the little girl was concerned about. The hygienist had previously described the polish as glue. She did that because the polish is put on so your teeth stay smooth.  When your teeth are smooth it prevents bacteria from sticking to your teeth.

                           

Those were the appointments I lived for. It’s crazy what little kids pick up. They are so smart. On the other hand, the elderly spend a lot of time at the dentist because as we age our teeth start to fail out and have problems. The ones that come in very few months or so I got close with. I started to learn about their family and what was going on in their life. They started to get to know me as well. It was especially neat when their other family member would come in because you not only felt like part of the family at the dentist office but also a part of your patients family.

Obviously I love the dentist office so when my internship ended I was sad to leave the family. I hope to one day go back and be a dentist at the office and rejoin my family and add others to it as well. I learn that who you surround yourself with determines how you view life. Feeling like you’re apart of something that special is truly amazing.