ADEA, CAAPID ADMISSION APPLICATION, INDIAN

April 29, 2015

If you were to look into the waiting room of a typical US dentists office, you are
likely to see a number of relaxed looking patients reading magazines. If you look at
those queuing for treatment at a free dental clinic in India, you will see many
swollen face and pain filled eyes but also the smiling faces of treated patients
leaving the clinic. This experience leaves little doubt about the utility of the
dentists work and the good he/she does.

In India, dental hygiene is given a low priority in the lives of many and often ignored
altogether. Total loss of teeth in early middle age is accepted as a normal effect of
aging. I spent a great deal of time during my undergraduate studies working on
various educational projects and screening camps and the most valuable, in my
view, were those that were conducted in rural schools and orphanages in order to
teach those young enough to fully benefit from information about the importance of
basic dental hygiene to dental, oral and general health.

There is a habit in many rural areas in India known as reverse smoking, this
involves smoking from the lit end of the cigarette and is extremely dangerous to
oral health carrying high risk of perforation of the palate and malignancy of the oral
mucosa. One day an elderly man came to our community clinic, when I was
undertaking rural rotations, his main complaint was a small hole in his cheek which
he asked us to repair. The hole was, in fact a complete perforation of the palate and
buccal mucosa. This was the first of many similar cases I saw in my rural rotations.
The provisional diagnosis in this case was Squamous Cell Carcinoma caused by
reverse smoking. I was shocked and surprised but I was to discover that this mans
problem was not particularly unusual.

On one rural rotation I suggested that, instead of giving the approved health talk,
we put on a play to get the message across. I wrote the script, organized the cast
and bus transport. Village leaders and elders were given personal invitations. The
event was very successful and attracted a large audience. The play was about the
dangers of reverse smoking and we established that many of the audience were
completely unaware of the dangers. Many came forward at the end to request
further information or to be examined. I regard this as one of the most useful things
that I have ever done and believe that we started a process in that area that will
result in the saving of many lives.

After graduation, I was very fortunate in being offered a post in the dental wing of
the most prestigious private hospital in my locality, one of the Yashoda group of
hospitals. I worked as a Dental Surgeon under the direction of the Chief
Prosthodontist and Implantologist, Dr. Satyender. I was also mentored by other
excellent experienced dentists and was able to use the most advanced equipment
such as wand-like intra oral cameras and caries detector lights. I am very interested
and excited about such useful and interesting technological developments and look
forward to seeing many more. I worked in an environment that was in great contrast
to the free clinics that I knew as a student, money was often no object to our
patients and expensive crown and implant treatments were common. The
experience of having worked at both ends of the spectrum has been extremely
edifying and has made me determined to give part of my time and skills to those
unable to pay for treatment. Dentistry is a prestigious and well rewarded profession
and I believe that this places an unavoidable responsibility on me to give
something back.

Since arriving in the US, I have been shadowing an excellent and highly
experienced practitioner, Dr. Mirza. I have familiarized myself with the dental
environment in the US and now feel ready to join the program to enable me to
practice here and am very excited at the prospect of doing so.

I am aware of the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in healthcare

provision. I speak some Spanish and intend to extend my current knowledge. I am
interested in other cultures and look forward to being part of an interesting mix of
students in the program and exchanging experiences with them.

I know that the program will attract many well qualified applicants. However I
genuinely believe that I am an excellent candidate. I am passionate about dentistry;
I am very interested in learning about and applying the most modern techniques
and treatments available; I am determined to become an excellent practitioner
offering excellent treatment; I look forward to working in free clinics to provide
treatment to the underserved; I also believe that my experiences in rural India will
enable me to bring some interesting insights to my class.

I am from India, where I completed my Bachelor of Dental Sciences Degree. A

highly-dedicated dentistry professional, I especially look forward to doing research
in the future in the area of oral and maxillofacial surgery. My long term professional
goal is to have my own dental practice where I labor mightily each day to put a
smile on the faces of my patients. This is where I attain my dignity, satisfaction, and
pride. I also look forward to working very hard as a member of my community,
engaging in volunteer activities that raise awareness concerning the importance of

maintaining ones oral health. In particular, I want to devote as much of my energy

as possible to assisting low-income people to get appropriate dental care.

My extensive experience in dentistry began while I was in high school, shadowing

my uncle who is a dentist. While in dental school, I worked under the supervision of
one of my professors as an assistant dentist, completing a 1-year internship. After
my graduation, I worked as a junior dentist in a private clinic in Hyderabad for 15
months. My experience as a volunteer includes working with the mentally disabled
at the Thakur Hari Prasad Institute as well as helping to conduct numerous dental
camps in rural areas while still a student. I have also devoted countless hours to the
Red Cross, both in India and here in the USA. I am currently working as a volunteer
assistant at a blood donation center in St. Peters, Mo.

My experiences have enabled me to learn to adapt myself to a broad variety of

professional contexts and challenges. My pride is centered on my compassion and
the confidence of the patient is what I most prize. I want very much to devote my
life to the cause of promoting oral health awareness and working selflessly for the
betterment of the members of my community. I want to be the kind of dentist who is
very well connected with networks of like-minded professionals devoted to dental
camps, missions, and other volunteer efforts.

As a student of dentistry in India, I cared for those patients who lived in some of the
most poverty stricken rings of misery surrounding Indian cities. Each day was an
intense learning experience that helped me to grow enormously on a human level in
response to the magnitude of the challenges. During my last two years of study, I
had the opportunity to work in rural areas where levels of health awareness are
especially low; I came across many people who did not even know what tooth paste
was and had never seen a dentist even once in their entire lives.

Community service provides my life with its meaning. I thrive as a human being on
the expression of love and compassion. Now, I want very much to prepare myself
for practicing dentistry here in my new community. Since my arrival in the USA a
little over a year ago, I have taken several online courses in preparation for
returning to dental school here in America, as well as preparing for the NBDE. I was
a recognized leader among my peers in dental school in India. This is why I was one
of only a few students to later be appointed as a faculty member, in my case, in the
area of Oral Medicine & Radiology. Both before and after my graduation, I was
heavily engaged in the organization of various programs, all devoted to raising the
awareness of the importance of oral health and hygiene. I look forward to giving my
all to your distinguished program so that I might continue to excel in my chosen
field here in America.

I thank you for considering my application to your program.

DDS APPLICATION INDIAN INTERNATIONAL DENTIST

April 29, 2015

If you were to look into the waiting room of a typical US dentists office, you are
likely to see a number of relaxed looking patients reading magazines. If you look at
those queuing for treatment at a free dental clinic in India, you will see many
swollen face and pain filled eyes but also the smiling faces of treated patients
leaving the clinic. This experience leaves little doubt about the utility of the
dentists work and the good he/she does. In India, dental hygiene is given a low
priority in the lives of many and often ignored altogether. Total loss of teeth in early
middle age is accepted as a normal effect of aging. I spent a great deal of time
during my undergraduate studies working on various educational projects and
screening camps and the most valuable, in my view, were those that were
conducted in rural schools and orphanages in order to teach those young enough to
fully benefit from information about the importance of basic dental hygiene to
dental, oral and general health.

There is a habit in many rural areas in India known as reverse smoking, this
involves smoking from the lit end of the cigarette and is extremely dangerous to
oral health carrying high risk of perforation of the palate and malignancy of the oral
mucosa. One day an elderly man came to our community clinic, when I was
undertaking rural rotations, his main complaint was a small hole in his cheek which
he asked us to repair. The hole was, in fact a complete perforation of the palate and
buccal mucosa. This was the first of many similar cases I saw in my rural rotations.
The provisional diagnosis in this case was Squamous Cell Carcinoma caused by
reverse smoking. I was shocked and surprised but I was to discover that this mans
problem was not particularly unusual.

On one rural rotation I suggested that, instead of giving the approved health talk,
we put on a play to get the message across. I wrote the script, organized the cast
and bus transport. Village leaders and elders were given personal invitations. The
event was very successful and attracted a large audience. The play was about the
dangers of reverse smoking and we established that many of the audience were
completely unaware of the dangers. Many came forward at the end to request
further information or to be examined. I regard this as one of the most useful things

that I have ever done and believe that we started a process in that area that will
result in the saving of many lives.

After graduation, I was very fortunate in being offered a post in the dental wing of
the most prestigious private hospital in my locality, one of the Yashoda group of
hospitals. I worked as a Dental Surgeon under the direction of the Chief
Prosthodontist and Implantologist, Dr. XXXX. I was also mentored by other excellent
experienced dentists and was able to use the most advanced equipment such as
wand-like intra oral cameras and caries detector lights. I am very interested and
excited about such useful and interesting technological developments and look
forward to seeing many more. I worked in an environment that was in great contrast
to the free clinics that I knew as a student, money was often no object to our
patients and expensive crown and implant treatments were common. The
experience of having worked at both ends of the spectrum has been extremely
edifying and has made me determined to give part of my time and skills to those
unable to pay for treatment. Dentistry is a prestigious and well rewarded profession
and I believe that this places an unavoidable responsibility on me to give
something back.

Since arriving in the US, I have been shadowing an excellent and highly
experienced practitioner, Dr. XXXX. I have familiarized myself with the dental
environment in the US and now feel ready to join the program to enable me to
practice here and am very excited at the prospect of doing so.

I am aware of the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in healthcare

provision. I speak some Spanish and intend to extend my current knowledge. I am
interested in other cultures and look forward to being part of an interesting mix of
students in the program and exchanging experiences with them.

I know that the program will attract many well qualified applicants. However I
genuinely believe that I am an excellent candidate. I am passionate about dentistry;
I am very interested in learning about and applying the most modern techniques
and treatments available; I am determined to become an excellent practitioner
offering excellent treatment; I look forward to working in free clinics to provide
treatment to the underserved; I also believe that my experiences in rural India will
enable me to bring some interesting insights to my class.

Thank you for giving my application your attention and consideration.