Tooth Fairy to Dental Assistant by Maria

Tooth Fairy to Dental Assistant by Maria - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

Ever since, Maria Gutierrez, myself was a child, at the age of 6 I had big dreams that I knew were achievable to do when I would become an adult. I have always wanted to be in the dentistry field, which I am now, I am going to school to become a dental assistant. When I was a child, I started to have an interest in teeth, found them very amazing. Whenever one of my tooth would fall off, I would be very excited to put my tooth under the pillow, because I knew the tooth fairy would come. I thought tooth fairies were incredible because they would collect our teeth and examine the cool structures of them. Most importantly, tooth fairies would make children happy, children waiting with excitement until bed time, when the tooth fairy would arrive. Whenever, I would have a dentist appointment I enjoyed going, the dental staffs were king, caring, and cared about your health. As I got older I realized tooth fairies were not real but my passion for teeth grew more, then I knew I would love to become a dental assistant. Now, that I am grown up, more than ever, I would love to become a dental assistant.
In addition, one of the main reasons are, you inform patients on proper dental hygiene, and improve the health of their oral care. What amazes me from the dentist assistant program so far, is that dentist can notice early signs of diseases you have before you actually know just by examining your mouth. A dental assistant notices these different signs in a patient mouth and alerts the dentist and a dentist examines the patients furthermore, to have a clarity of which disease. For example, diabetes, a dentist can find signs like dry mouth, red, or inflamed gums. When a dentist notices this signs, they should refer you to a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Also, they look for early signs of mouth cancer, because oral cancer is very common in the United States. A few signs are areas of red or white lesions in your mouth or lips, or lost a tooth with no obvious dental cause. We can also see if a patient is bulimic, by tooth sensitivity, tooth decay, halitosis and tooth discoloration. Another reason, for becoming a dental assistant is the environment, you make patients feel welcome, with a positive attitude, and create a safety system.
As you can see, I’ve always wanted to be involved in a path that dealt with teeth. My 6-year-old self-imagining in becoming a tooth fairy because they cared for teeth, and children, now in the process of becoming a dental assistant for the same reason; caring for patient’s health. Never give up in your goals, if you have plans in life, strive to achieve them. Thank you for having this opportunity to win this scholarship, in which it would help me pay my tuition at Pima Medical Institute.