Contributor: Jezel Oyog
At the moment of decision-making on what course I should take, I came to a picture of what the world really needs. Nurses? Not really. When I looked around, nurses are everywhere. How about engineers? I supposed not. Buildings and infrastructures are sprouting these days that is why, I believe that the world has plenty of engineers.
I am not saying though that we no longer need nurses because I am aware that in this sick world inhabited by millions of ill people, the word ‘care’ is always in demand. Moreover, I am not saying also that additional engineers are no longer needed because I know that in this fast-changing world with modern-conscious society, the word ‘innovation’ is invading. What I am trying to say is that there are already plenty of people who are having these professions, and there are other professions which remain small in their respective flock.
I tried to look around. I tried to think of professions that seem to be very few. I taught of DENTISTS. Yes, DENTISTRY. I noticed that we seldom see dentists in the community. I noticed that there are only few of them. DENTISTRY. A profession that only “one-in-a-hundred” would choose, yet, “hundreds-in-one” when it comes to demand. Yes, there are hundreds of patients to one dentist.
That is why, I thought that the world needs dentists and so I opted to take up the course. I believe that someday, I’ll be an answer to that need of the world.
According to some researches, the demands for public dental care have increased annually. The three factors responsible for this situation are greater affluence, better education, and increased population growth. [The response to the demand for increased dental care has been an increase in the number of patients handled by dentists.] In any case, the nation’s need for dental care will not only be maintained but will probably be increased, thus suggesting an “attractive future for most prospective members of the dental profession”. It has been said that the approximate ratio of a dentist per number of patients is “1:150,000”.
Many fellow students asked whether it is really our dream to become dentists someday or we are just awed by someone’s authority to choose dentistry as our career. Of course, one would never choose something he never dreamed to be. And dreams would never turn into reality without the desire to fulfill it.
When we came to the portals of this university, we opened the windows of our minds to the relevance of the new course offered – the “Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM)”. The question, “Why study dentistry?” have once penetrated into our cerebrum and have stayed there for several moments. Yet, our doubts and confusions ended when we came to know the real meaning of DENTISTRY.
Dentistry is a profession dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases and disorders, “with primary emphasis on the health of teeth and gums”. In a sense, dentistry is a “medical subspecialty”. People with bad-looking teeth could mean many things. For me, it is suggestive of psychological problems like fear, anxiety, and indifference. It could be an indication of gross poverty and misery. Lack of dental services with affordable cost or lack of giving importance to good oral health could both lead to “lack of self-esteem”. Good oral health is critical to human psychological and physical well-being since the state of the teeth affects speech and expression, also, systematic diseases frequently manifest themselves in the oral cavity.
Another reason which encourages us to become dentists is the promising tomorrow that it gives, if given the chance to be one.
There are many active local dentists in the country. Most of them are in private practice with the remainder working as salaried professionals. Those in private practice, 80 percent are general practitioners who are contributing to the improvement of their communities’ health standards and are rewarded by having favorable working conditions and ample financial remuneration. Many dentists hold positions as commissioned officers in the armed forces. Others are employed by the Veterans Administration and in public health dentistry at the national and local level. There are also several full and part time teachers, administrators, and investigators in universities and in dental research laboratories.
As one of the seven pioneering DDM students in this university, I hope that our infant department (Department of Dental Medicine under the College of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Health Sciences) be nurtured so that it will grow productively through the continuous cultivation of the university administrators and as well, of our mentors.
To my fellow DDM students, heavy loads are now put on our shoulders and never let these loads of challenges push us down. No matter how heavy it may be, let us carry it up to the finish line. Let us make this university harvest seven healthy fruits out of seven young seedlings.
If science can prove its Law on Conservation of Mass, wherein the mass of reactants is also the mass of the products, we can also prove it in real life. We, as the seven reactants in this experimental quest for knowledge, are challenged to grow tall and strong to reach the heights of competitive standards, so that six years from now, NORSU will be proud to reap seven dentists at its garden of excellent cultivation.
Yes, the world needs dentists and we will be the answer to that. To be a “nurse of the mouth” and an “engineer of the teeth” is something great.
*The contributor, Jezel Oyog, is a first year Doctor of Dental Medicine student of the university.
At the moment of decision-making on what course I should take, I came to a picture of what the world really needs. Nurses? Not really. When I looked around, nurses are everywhere. How about engineers? I supposed not. Buildings and infrastructures are sprouting these days that is why, I believe that the world has plenty of engineers.
I am not saying though that we no longer need nurses because I am aware that in this sick world inhabited by millions of ill people, the word ‘care’ is always in demand. Moreover, I am not saying also that additional engineers are no longer needed because I know that in this fast-changing world with modern-conscious society, the word ‘innovation’ is invading. What I am trying to say is that there are already plenty of people who are having these professions, and there are other professions which remain small in their respective flock.
I tried to look around. I tried to think of professions that seem to be very few. I taught of DENTISTS. Yes, DENTISTRY. I noticed that we seldom see dentists in the community. I noticed that there are only few of them. DENTISTRY. A profession that only “one-in-a-hundred” would choose, yet, “hundreds-in-one” when it comes to demand. Yes, there are hundreds of patients to one dentist.
That is why, I thought that the world needs dentists and so I opted to take up the course. I believe that someday, I’ll be an answer to that need of the world.
According to some researches, the demands for public dental care have increased annually. The three factors responsible for this situation are greater affluence, better education, and increased population growth. [The response to the demand for increased dental care has been an increase in the number of patients handled by dentists.] In any case, the nation’s need for dental care will not only be maintained but will probably be increased, thus suggesting an “attractive future for most prospective members of the dental profession”. It has been said that the approximate ratio of a dentist per number of patients is “1:150,000”.
Many fellow students asked whether it is really our dream to become dentists someday or we are just awed by someone’s authority to choose dentistry as our career. Of course, one would never choose something he never dreamed to be. And dreams would never turn into reality without the desire to fulfill it.
When we came to the portals of this university, we opened the windows of our minds to the relevance of the new course offered – the “Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM)”. The question, “Why study dentistry?” have once penetrated into our cerebrum and have stayed there for several moments. Yet, our doubts and confusions ended when we came to know the real meaning of DENTISTRY.
Dentistry is a profession dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases and disorders, “with primary emphasis on the health of teeth and gums”. In a sense, dentistry is a “medical subspecialty”. People with bad-looking teeth could mean many things. For me, it is suggestive of psychological problems like fear, anxiety, and indifference. It could be an indication of gross poverty and misery. Lack of dental services with affordable cost or lack of giving importance to good oral health could both lead to “lack of self-esteem”. Good oral health is critical to human psychological and physical well-being since the state of the teeth affects speech and expression, also, systematic diseases frequently manifest themselves in the oral cavity.
Another reason which encourages us to become dentists is the promising tomorrow that it gives, if given the chance to be one.
There are many active local dentists in the country. Most of them are in private practice with the remainder working as salaried professionals. Those in private practice, 80 percent are general practitioners who are contributing to the improvement of their communities’ health standards and are rewarded by having favorable working conditions and ample financial remuneration. Many dentists hold positions as commissioned officers in the armed forces. Others are employed by the Veterans Administration and in public health dentistry at the national and local level. There are also several full and part time teachers, administrators, and investigators in universities and in dental research laboratories.
As one of the seven pioneering DDM students in this university, I hope that our infant department (Department of Dental Medicine under the College of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Health Sciences) be nurtured so that it will grow productively through the continuous cultivation of the university administrators and as well, of our mentors.
To my fellow DDM students, heavy loads are now put on our shoulders and never let these loads of challenges push us down. No matter how heavy it may be, let us carry it up to the finish line. Let us make this university harvest seven healthy fruits out of seven young seedlings.
If science can prove its Law on Conservation of Mass, wherein the mass of reactants is also the mass of the products, we can also prove it in real life. We, as the seven reactants in this experimental quest for knowledge, are challenged to grow tall and strong to reach the heights of competitive standards, so that six years from now, NORSU will be proud to reap seven dentists at its garden of excellent cultivation.
Yes, the world needs dentists and we will be the answer to that. To be a “nurse of the mouth” and an “engineer of the teeth” is something great.
*The contributor, Jezel Oyog, is a first year Doctor of Dental Medicine student of the university.
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