Pediatric Dentist, Orange County, CA
Describe your career. What do you do for a living?
I am blessed to work as a pediatric dentist! As a pediatric dentist, I provide oral health care for children whose ages range from birth to 18+ yrs old. Being a pediatric dentist is not just about fixing cavities - my work also entails preventing oral disease, managing growth and development, and most importantly creating positive and welcoming experiences for every child that I see!
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I come from a lineage of dentists in my family. My grandmother and grandfather were both dentists in the Philippines (who met while in dental school) and my father is also a dentist. Naturally, I grew up always saying that I wanted to be a dentist out of familiarity. It wasn’t until college that I began to understand the different aspects of being a dentist and realized it was actually a great fit for me. I love how dentistry combines both science and art in its practice. It wasn’t until I started getting involved in community service through dentistry that I realized the aspect I love most about dentistry is that it also allows me to serve and help others. Throughout college and dental school, I was involved with various programs that provided dental care to underserved communities both locally and abroad. These experiences are what greatly inspired me to pursue a career in pediatric dentistry!
Pictures from a dental mission trip I helped to organize and run in Cambodia in 2017
What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?
The path to becoming a pediatric dentist was long and challenging! The educational requirements include a 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of dental school, then a 2-year residency to specialize in pediatrics. I attended UC Davis for my undergraduate school where I majored in Psychology while still completing dental school prerequisite courses (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.). I then went on to the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC where I received my DDS degree and also stayed for my pediatric dentistry residency program. Unfortunately, all these years of schooling are required but they were also the most fun and rewarding years of my life! I’ve made lifelong friends who I bonded with over the process and would not have changed a thing about my experience.
Fun fact: My Father also graduated from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, so he was able to hood me as a legacy graduate on my graduation day!
Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)
As I just mentioned, the path to becoming a pediatric dentist was definitely challenging. The process of applying to dental school and residency is very nerve racking because of how competitive admission into these schools are. Throughout the process, you are constantly asking yourself - am I good enough? Once you overcome the challenge of even being accepted into a school, the program itself is very demanding. Being a student was my main identity throughout my 20’s and I often had to prioritize the demands of school over my personal life.
Walk us through your typical work day—when do you start, end, and do all day? (Where do you work from?)
I am fortunate to work at a wonderful pediatric dental clinic located in Orange County, California. Our clinic provides comprehensive oral health care to children with varying special health care needs and socioeconomic backgrounds. In a typical 8-hour work day, I provide dental exams, cleanings, and dental treatment (fillings, sealants, etc) to 20-30 patients. In order to stay on top of everything and give each of my patients the time and attention that they all deserve, it requires lots of efficiency and multitasking! My clinic is also a rotation site for the USC pediatric dental residents who are in training, so some days I work as an attending for the residents who rotate through our clinic and teach them about pediatric dentistry.
What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?
As a dentist, you are constantly working with your hands. Are you comfortable working with your hands? Dentistry requires working with measurements in millimeters - are you a detail-oriented person? I also believe that in order to have a fulfilling career as a dentist, you truly need to enjoy working with and serving others. Does being around other people everyday fulfill you or drain you? Do you consider yourself an empathetic person? And of course as a pediatric dentist, you need to ask yourself do you enjoy being around kids? Do you consider yourself a patient person?
What do you enjoy most about your career? (What do you enjoy least?)
As a pediatric dentist, I absolutely love that I get to work with kids everyday. Children are so fun, curious, and honest, and make everyday unlike the next. It’s the best feeling when I can change the impression of a child who was scared to go to the dentist into an enjoyable experience. As a dentist, you have the ability to improve one’s confidence, to help relieve pain, and to help improve one’s overall health. However, being a healthcare provider can at times be very stressful. I don’t take lightly that I am providing care to someone’s child and I never want to cause harm to my patients - this is sometimes a heavy burden to carry.
What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?
Being a dentist is not my only identity, and I greatly prioritize having work-life balance. Spending quality time with family and friends helps me to relieve the stresses of work. Whenever I am stressed at work or am going through a difficult situation, I try to talk about it with my colleagues - I often find that we are all going through the same emotions and find comfort in the fact that I am not alone.
Do you have any mentors or key pieces of career advice that helped you get to where you are today?
I am grateful to have had amazing mentors in every step of my journey towards becoming a pediatric dentist, and a short response would not do justice to the impact each of them have made on me. My career advice that helped me along my journey is to learn to accept help from others, always give your best effort in everything that you commit to, and to treat everyone you cross with kindness and respect.
What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path)
Up until earlier this year, I had been working at 3-4 different dental offices and trying to figure out what my career path looked like for the future. I am excited to focus my efforts in one office and commit my best self to my patients and the pediatric dental residents that I work with!