I have never blogged before, and I don’t consider myself super interesting. However, I am passionate about my profession. I love it. Maybe too much. So, I am going to try the blogging scene just to see if I can actually be a blogger. We will see how it goes. Hopefully it will go better than my second child’s baby book that I have yet to fill out and she is 10 months old =) Please don’t ever tell her this, but my husband and I have talked about making some things up to put in the book soon.
Middle Science Fair Dentistry Project
I thought that for my first blog post it might be fitting to reminisce about my decision to become a dentist. I have wanted to be a dentist since I was in the 4th grade or so. Yes, I am “one of those.” Don’t ask me how I have always known that I wanted to be a dentist. Who knows how at such a young age someone can decide what their dream in life is (and then actually do it). So, for everyone to have a good laugh, I am also uploading a picture from the Lewisburg Tribune newspaper from when I was in middle school participating in the Middle Tennessee Science Fair. What was the title of my science fair project? Get ready for this. Drumroll. “What Substance is Most Effective for Cleaning Teeth?”
Best Teeth Cleaning Substances
Sally Hill, my best friend in middle school, was my partner in this science project. At the time, we both thought that we wanted to be dentists when we “grew up.” Sally is now a school-based therapist–and an excellent one at that! I honestly don’t remember too much about our science project. I just remember that we collected some teeth from local dental offices (pretty sure that would be a no-no now) and then soaked those teeth in various things such as coke, lemon juice, etc and brushed them with various things like toothpaste, baking soda etc. Don’t worry. Our mothers made sure that we wore gloves. I don’t remember the outcome of the science project, and I’m pretty sure we didn’t win. It is funny to look back at this now. I spent my summer brushing extracted teeth for a science project in middle school. That might just be the epitome of a dork!
However, I can truly say that I love my profession. Now that I have been practicing dentistry for several years, I have been able to create relationships with my patients that I hope will last a lifetime. There are many things that I love about my career–drastically changing someone’s appearance/smile, being able to relieve someone’s pain, etc. However, without a doubt, my favorite thing about my profession is the relationships that I have formed with my patients. I have been able to see patients have children, listen and empathize with patients as they talk about their chemo treatments/surgeries/health problems/etc., watch kids grow up, laugh with patients, and pray for patients. What other job gives you an opportunity to see the same people every 6 months or even more often? Not many. What other job allows you to laugh and joke with people and just talk with every day life without it feeling like a “job”? Few. I can honestly say that I am excited to go to work when I get up every morning. I love what I do, and that is a blessing in itself.
Now, enjoy my dorky science fair picture!
Science Fair Project Tennessee