The Diastema News

Volume 6, Issue 1 bridging the information gap Fall 2007

Inside This Issue

Annual Session 1
Message from ASDA 2
Message from ASB 2
Faculty Interview 3
Venice Clinic 4
VDSA Health Fair 4
Mobile Clinic 5
AUM Exchange 5
All School Picnic 6
ASDA B-Ball 6
Curriculum Reform 7
Survivor Series 7

Congratulations
Vivien Lao
ASDA Community
Service Chair 2006-2007

Her extraordinary
efforts earned first place
recognition in the 2007
Crest Healthy Smiles
ASDA Community
Dentistry Program.
Thank you for all of your
hard work!!
Editor in Chief
Kristen Lowe
Section Editors
Sherry Darabi
Tamar Sardarian
Photo Editors
Melissa Bailey
Deema Saad
Layout Editors
Thuy Tran Hoang
Grant Stucki
Submissions
If you would like to
submit an article for
The Diastema News or
have a suggestion for
us, please email the
editor at:
Diastema.News@gmail.com
Editorial Disclaimer: The
opinions contained herein do
not necessarily reflect those of
UCLA or of the UCLA School of
Dentistry in particular.
Gil Ivry, Melissa Bailey, Jon Savage, Alaina Fenton, Grant Stucki, and Jelson Yalung look sharp at ASDA’s Annual Session.
Bruins Represent in Florida
Alaina Fenton and Gil Ivry, 2010
ASDA’s Annual Session was held in Ft. Lauderdale from August 29th – September 2nd. UCLA sent a
total of 10 delegates to this year’s session: Melissa Bailey (Legislative Liaison), Alaina Fenton (School
Improvement/Student Morale Committee Chair), Gil Ivry (Legislative Committee Chair & 2nd year
ASDA Rep), Jon Savage (Treasurer), Grant Stucki (Vice President), Eddie Surger (President), Jelson
Yalung (Vice President), Chris Claus (4th year CDA Rep), Jared Lee (District 11 Trustee – national posi-
tion) and Will Traynor (Immediate-Past President).
This annual session was our first exposure to ASDA at the national level, and the experience defi-
nitely lived up to all of the hype. Our days were packed with meetings, legislative sessions, breakout
sessions and election of the new national executive cabinet. Topics that were given extra attention
this year included Dental Licensure Reform and Ethics. As a national student run organization, ASDA is
efficient and influential in its policy making; we even have vot-
ing seats in the ADA House of Delegates.
We had a chance to interact with dental students from all over
the country, from complaining about the hard classes to com-
paring graduation requirements. There was a strong sense of
camaraderie and great excitement about our passion for den-
tistry. We met all the ASDA delegates from our District 11. Dis-
trict 11 also includes USC, UCSF, UOP and Loma Linda and we
voted for our new district trustee, Jimmy Cheung from Loma
Linda. Additionally, during the awards ceremony we received
recognition from Crest for winning 1st place in the 2007 Crest
Healthy Smiles ASDA Community Dentistry Award Program.
see Florida - page 8
Presidents’ Page
Opportunity and Balance
Edward Surger, ASDA President
Welcome to the first quarter issue
of ASDA’s Diastema News for the
2007-08 school year. I’d like to start
off by thanking the people who have
helped make the continuation of
UCLA ASDA and subsequently, this
newsletter, a success. I’d like to extend
a big thank you to our Editor-In Chief, Kristen Lowe, for
taking an early initiative to organize and publish an out-
standing first edition of this newsletter of the school year.
I’d also like to send a thank you to all the committee chairs
and subcommittee chairs for their creative efforts in plan-
ing and organizing the many diverse ASDA events taking
place this year. Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank
Dean Park, Dr. Bibb, Dr. Mito, Ms. Eveyln Marques and Ms.
Melina Duenas for their continued support of UCLA ASDA.
Without their help, all of the events and trips that we or-
ganize would not happen.
When I decided to take on my position in ASDA, I
wanted to foster two simple yet powerful themes for
students: opportunity and balance.
Welcome Back Students!
Rick Rauth, ASB President
As November comes to a close, I am reminded by
familiar sights and sounds that school is back in full
swing. The 1st years are packed into the “Fishbowl”
frantically studying the intricacies of the axilla while the
2nd years attempt to split their hours between the lab and
the classroom. The 3 rd Year students have made the
migration from the classroom to clinic, and 4th Years are
scrambling to finish requirements and manage an
unwieldy block schedule. Ah yes, the familiar sights and
sounds of the UCLA School of Dentistry.
It’s been a busy and tiring fall for The Associated
Student Body. The cabinet has been working with the
Student Apollonian Group (SAG) and the Apollonian
Society to provide effective ways to enhance your
experience here. After meeting with the presidents of
the Alumni Association and Apollonian Society, we are
proud to announce that SAG president, Greg Werner, has
allocated funds to purchase new computers for the
student lounge and a plasma TV to be installed outside
13-041. We anticipate that these purchases will be
usable by the end of winter quarter. We are confident
that these improvements will be appreciated by all
students and provide many years of service to the school.
Socially, the ASB has got you covered. Chair Israel
Trujillo has arranged several events for the student body
to make certain that there is adequate “stress relief” for
everyone. The Dodger game this summer was a hit, and
Diastema News 2
This year, our ASDA cabinet has reorganized our com-
mittees so that more students will have more opportuni-
ties to get involved with leadership at our school. With
this year’s introduction of three new committees and over
twenty subcommittee chairs, there have never been so
many opportunities to get involved in one of the many
ASDA committees.
Despite the doubts we consistently have throughout
dental school, those of us who desire and persevere to
achieve the D.D.S. will reach that goal. I like to think of
every experience in dental school as being on a learning
curve: everyone will start at a different point on the curve,
but we will all eventually reach the end. It is completely
normal for us to have doubts in our abilities to reach our
goals as we drill into our first tooth in operative or spend
10 hours setting our first 6 denture teeth. Despite the chal-
lenges you may face, you always have the choice to take a
step back and begin to take control of your experience in
dental school, and it is never too late or too early to start.
How is it possible to stay uplifted, balance the challenges
of first and second year and yet still be able to stay in-
volved extracurricularly? Where does one find the time?
see Eddie - page 8
the camping trip to Big Bear Lake was
well received. Additionally, both the
annual All School Picnic and the
Table Day were resounding
successes! First year attendance at both events was
spectacular, and who knew it was possible to consume a
cherry pie in 30 seconds flat? Kudos to you, Carl Jones,
’10. Mark your calendars for President’s Weekend in
February as ASB is planning our annual ski trip to
Mammoth, which I can personally guarantee will be a
blast. Pray for snow!
Remember, this is our school; let’s take pride in that
fact. Clinic Pride Days are scheduled quarterly this year
with the first one held in mid-November. Lunch,
individual raffle prizes, and class prizes for attendance
were awarded. Spring Cleaning last year was hugely
successful, and it was even rumored that Dr. Beumer was
seen with a tear in his eye as he gazed upon his beloved
and newly sparkling removable clinic. Let’s not
disappoint this year.
In closing, I want to remind you that the ASB was
elected by you to represent you, the student. If there is
something you need or a suggestion that you’d like to
make, please contact me or any member of the cabinet. .
.our cubes are always open. On behalf of ASB, I would
like to wish everyone good luck in the coming year, Go
Bruins!
“Life teaches you to be goal-oriented, but
so much enjoyment is in the process. So
even if your final product is not so great
but if you enjoy what you do, you can get
a lot of pleasure out of it.”
The Diastema News’ Nancy Chen interviews
Dr. Fariba Younai
Dental Schools: Teheran University, SUNY at Stony Brook
Residency: Long Island Medical Center
What did you see yourself doing
while growing up?
I always saw myself being in the
medical field. There was something
very fascinating to me about the art
of healing. In Iran, we have in our
history, people who have the title of
“hakim,” scientists who were
mathematicians, astronomers,
chemists, and philosophers, who
ultimately used all their knowledge
as physicians. I have always been
inspired by that.
Fondest memory of dental school:
Friendships – there were four of us
who came from different careers
before dental school who became
very close friends – the late nights in
the lab, working and having fun. We
talked about life, family, and future all
those long hours. I don’t think you
will ever be in another situation
where you’ll have the opportunity to
make deep friendships like that.
As a woman in the dental
profession, what are the rewards?
Women have the natural ability to be
very compassionate. If women
realize what they’re born with and
learn how to access it, many would
have the ability to become great
healers; healer in a sense that they
can make a difference in somebody’s
life, reduce pain, and give comfort.
As a woman in the dental
profession, what are the
challenges?
Family – no question. If you want to
maintain a professional life and at the
same time, have a family and raise
children who are sane, it’s a very
difficult task in the developed world.
The industrialized world is not made
for women who want to have a
career and be good mothers. During
the time my two children were very
young, I only worked part time. As
they became old enough to be in a
school environment, I went back to
work full time. Even then, I worked
within ten minutes walking distance
from my children’s day care and then
their school so I used to go check on
them, be with them, sometimes have
lunch with them, then go back to
work.
What have you discovered about
yourself in the last five
years of teaching?
That I can still push my
limits. You get to a place in life
where you feel comfortable
with what you do and who
you are. And you think that
this is it, you can’t grow
anymore. But then you face
a new challenge and realize
that you can still push your
Faculty Interview
limits and do so much more and be
better at what you do.
What have you discovered about
your students in the last five years
of teaching?
In order to become a responsible
practitioner, someone who can run
an office and make decisions about
their patients, one has to grow up
very fast. The transition from first
year to fourth year is very quick.
Some students naturally jump into it
and go through the growth. Some
students struggle with it. It’s not
about learning the techniques or
mastering the subject – it’s about
maturing as human beings. They may
technically become very competent
but may not until the end of their
training fully realize what they are
capable of achieving. I hope we can
open our students’ eyes, those of us
on the teaching side, to make the
environment so that students don’t
have to go through such a struggle.
Students should seek out mentors,
faculty who can sit, talk, help them
along with their vision. It’s always
good to talk about things with
someone who’s gone through a little
more in life.
Tell me about your HIV work:
I started working with HIV in 1985,
which is very early in the epidemic.
HIV was happening around me when
I was in New York. Being in oral
medicine, I saw patients with very
advanced disease. We didn’t know
what was going on in patients’
mouths – a lot of it didn’t even have
see Younai - page 8
Diastema News 3
Community Service

Venice Revival
Chioma Onwuka, 2010
October 13, 2007 marked the first Saturday Venice
Clinic of the academic school year. During this session,
nearly a dozen children received care provided by dental
student volunteers. For many first and second year
participants, this event provided their first exposure to
the Wilson-Jennings-Bloomfield UCLA Venice Dental
Center, which is a community- based clinic dedicated to
treating the underserved. New volunteers were given a
tour of the facilities as well as a demonstration on how
to deliver oral health instruction and apply dental sealants.
Many student volunteers were given the opportunity to
go a step further; Eric Pleitez, a second year student and
first time participant, provided a prophylaxis treatment
to a fourteen year old boy.
Patients for Saturday Venice Clinic sessions are
recruited by UCLA dental student groups such as Asian
Dental Care (ADC), South Central Care (SCC), and Latino
American Dental Services (LADS) during school visits and
Rachel Hurwitz and Diana Croft hard at work.
community health fairs. As a whole, Saturday Venice
Clinic provides many UCLA dental student volunteers the
opportunity to serve a unique patient population. As
noted by Vivian Luong, a second year ADC student
representative, participants have the opportunity to
promote the oral hygiene of young children and
teenagers, which may lead to behavioral changes and
reduce the likelihood of oral health problems in the
future. Additionally, dental student volunteers are often
exposed to patient populations severely in need of health
care, which further instills a desire for volunteers to
continue treating the underserved in the future.

VDSA’s Little Saigon Health Fair

Thuy Tran Hoang, 2009
“This was our first time providing outreach to the
For the first time since the club’s inception in spring Vietnamese community; I think we were pretty
2005, the UCLA Vietnamese Dental Student Association successful,” VDSA President Alfonse Doan said. “I think
(VDSA) participated in the Little Saigon Health Fair, the dental students learned a lot about the Vietnamese
providing sealants and fluoride and raising dental care community, such as their health care needs and the
awareness among the Vietnamese community. barriers they face accessing dental care. We wouldn’t
The Little Saigon Health Fair was sponsored by Nguoi have a chance to interact with this type of patient
Viet Daily News (“Vietnamese People”), the first daily population in the dental school setting.”
newspaper published in Over 100 people, mostly adults,
Vietnamese in the United attended the health fair. A rich array
States. Nguoi Viet Daily News of health education services was
provided the facilities and provided. For example, UCLA medical
location for the event, which students screened for hypertension
was predominately attended and checked cholesterol levels while
by members of the Nhan Hoa Clinic screened for blood
Vietnamese community. glucose. The Orange County Health
The event was hosted by Care Agency provided nutrition
the United Students for counseling and The Advance Beauty
Community Health, a College gave free message therapy.
collaboration between UCI Free mammogram services were
and UCLA undergraduates. Yen Yo Liao and Melanie Ngov ‘09 get involved. provided by the Susan G. Komen
Over 25 UCLA students came out for the event. Students Breast Cancer Foundation.
screened approximately 35 patients, checking for oral “The Vietnamese community represents a unique
cancer and clinically detectable decay. Other services underserved population from both a cultural and
provided included sealants, fluoride varnishes and oral conomic stand point,” third year dental student Adam
hygiene instructions Shaffer said. “Despite being from a different cultural
Diastema News 4 see Health Fair - page 8
 UCLA-USC Mobile Clinic
Thuy Tran Hoang, 2009
On October 12, 2007, third and fourth year dental
students participated in the joint UCLA-USC Santa Clarita
Mobile Dental Clinic. This Mobile Clinic was held at the
Church of the Latter Day
Saints—Los Hermanos, which
generously opened their doors
to over 100 patients. UCLA
students provided cleanings and
restorative treatments to over
fifteen pediatric patients.
“All your good patients had
good dentists when they were
little; all your bad patients had
bad dentists,” said Dr. Marjorie
Domingo. “Without your help,
these families would not have been able to afford the care
they received today.”
For over 40 years, the UCLA/USC Mobile Clinic travels
all over Southern California, providing comprehensive
pediatric dental care over the course of one week. On
the first day, attending residents conduct exams, plan
Asahi-UCLA-Meikai Exchange Program
Robert Sharobiem, 2009
This past summer, ten dental students and two
professors from Japan’s Meikai and Asahi Universities
came to visit the UCLA School of Dentistry as part of our
exchange program between the schools. The guests had
a spectacular time as we hosted them to many of
California’s greatest attractions, such as Disneyland and
the Aquarium of the Pacific. We also took them to some
lesser known local events, such as the annual Crawfish
Festival in Long Beach. It was an upbeat end to a long
day, but let’s just say that the Japanese students did not
really understand why people eat those things.
However, there was much more to the exchange than
just tourism, as we would often go to the local bar and
discuss our cultures. The guests enlightened us to many
of the Japanese traditions and ways of life, and they also
taught us a lot about the dental profession in Japan. It
was very surprising for UCLA students to find out that
amalgam has not been used in Japan for over ten years.
Community Service
treatments, and take radiographs. Over the next six days,
USC students on rotation carry out the treatment plan
with UCLA students participating on Saturday.
“The philosophy of Mobile Clinic is to provide complete
dental care to pediatric patients in
low income areas who otherwise
would not be able to afford it,” said
UCLA Mobile Clinic co-coordinator
Sydon Arroyo. Reflecting upon his
experience, Arroyo responded,
“Mobile Clinic replenished my
passion for dentistry. It reminded
me of why I am in dental school;
and it is to help people.”
For the dental students, Mobile
Clinic provides an opportunity to
increase their speed. Due to the high volume of patients,
one dental student may see up to six patients per day.
However, one of the most rewarding experiences Mobile
Clinic offers is a chance to interact with a pediatric
population. -“You always hear about children fearing the
dentist, etc., so I was pretty worried about working on
see Mobile Clinic - page 8
In fact, one of the students described it as “poison.” This
gives hope to all of those out there who hate carving
amalgam or are constantly breaking marginal ridges. Also,
the Japanese dental program is six years long, and
students do not work on a patient until after graduation.
They also have a series of cumulative exams that they
take at the end of each year. It is also sad to say that
Japanese dentists work twice as hard and work more
hours a day to get paid much less than the average
American dentist. This has a lot to do with the cost of
living, as well as the health care system.
The entire experience was phenomenal, and the UCLA
students really bonded with our guests. Many of us even
cried during their departure because they became as
close as brothers and sisters during their stay. We all look
forward to the trip to Japan this coming spring, and I
encourage everyone to try to expand their encounters
with different cultures as much as possible because the
friendship and knowledge are invaluable.
Diastema News 5
 Campus Life
ASB All School Picnic
Chanel McCreedy, 2010

The forecast forewarned a cloudy day with a slight the crowd continued to cheer on their vigorous eating!
chance of rain, but fortunately for those who attended And the winner was…an alumnus! Dr. Raul Castellanos,
the UCLA School of UCLA SOD class of
Dentistry All School 1978. Nader Nasseri,
Picnic, the sun did class of 2011, won
shine. Upholding second place and the
tradition, the pie-eating one and only Carl
contest remained the Jones, class of 2010,
highlight of the day. The took third.
contestants eagerly The highly
crowded the table. anticipated water
Spectators anticipated balloon contest
the second years to followed. The students
sweep the house since began picking their
four out of the ten partners, practicing
contestants were from their tosses and
the class of 2010. The strategizing a game
competitors tucked their napkins into their shirts, placed plan. There were at least twenty teams that were willing
their hands behind their backs and gazed down at the to risk getting soaked in order to win! As the tossing
obstacle before them, probably mapping out the fastest began, contestants were eliminated left and right. The
route to victory. On the call of “On your marks…” Mickel final tosses were between Tal Masserman and David
Gerges from the class of 2011 jumped off the line too Avenetti vs. Greg Smith and Mark Terry’- all from the
quickly and took a premature bite of his pie! “Ohhhh!” class of 2010. Some speculate that it may have been the
yelled the crowd of onlookers as the first year looked up long arms of Terry that clenched the winning, long
from his plate unsure of what to do with the huge bite of distance toss for him and Smith. Cheers for another
pie! Once the contest officially started, the heads dove successful All School Barbeque. Again, a big thank you
right in and pie chunks flew everywhere. The contestants’ to all those who participated in the competitions, the
faces were immediately covered in apple pie chunks, and cooking and the planning!

Bruin B-Ballers Compete

Jonathan Savage, 2009
It is not quite the Five sharp shooters qualified for the final round, and
national mayhem of UCLA’s Mike Schoff (’10) won the 3 point challenge.
the NCAA After lunch, the two #1 seeds
basketball’s March in the bracket continued their
Madness, but the consistent play and advanced to
ASDA Annual UCLA the Finals. USC was represented
USC Basketball by Nathan Coughlin, Kevin
Tournament sure gets Kliman, and James Habashy, and
the LA dental ballers UCLA’s Matt Harvey, Mike Schoff,
excited to compete and Sahand Zarrabian (’10)
for the cross town earned the other #1 seed. Even
bragging rights. This though the UCLA team was
Bruins in the Final Four. last May 12 th, many anchored by the 3 point contest
dental students in the winner, Schoff, USC played tough
LA area went to bed extra early the night before to defense earning them a repeat
prepare for the ASDA basketball tournament at the UCLA title. To the surprise of most
Men’s Gym. players, this championship game
All 17 teams played three games in the morning, and was decided by defense and
each’s record and point-spread were used to rank each quickness, unlike last year’s game
team for the Sweet16 team tournament after lunch. which was won down in the key Mike Schoff ‘10 gets off
During lunch, 20 athletes participated in a 3 point contest. by the big man. the ground.

Diastema News 6
SOD Curriculum Reform
Hien Tran, 2010
Campus Life

Beginning fall of 2008, the UCLA School of Dentistry is
planning to implement a new curriculum for the graduating
class of 2012 according to Dr. Karen Lefever, a member of the
curriculum reform steering committee. Didactic and clinical
aspects will be changed with an emphasis on the integration
and application of basic and clinical sciences with dentistry.
“Most educational institutions…periodically evaluate their
courses and then their curriculum because if you don’t, it
becomes stagnant,” said Dr. Lefever. “The curriculum has
evolved in ways we didn’t intend. It has become too impacted.”
According to Dr. Lefever, the revamped curriculum will be
structured around six blocks: caries, periodontics, oral and
systemic diseases, restoration of form, function, and esthetics,
growth and development, and dental practice. There will be
fewer “little classes scattered throughout the week” and more
blocks representing one of the six content areas. The goal of
this streamlining is to provide students with more reflective
time and greater opportunity to perform research, Dr. Lefever
said.
The school also intends to change the manner in which
classes are taught. “We are working with faculty to develop
more interactive lectures so that you are working on cases
that exemplify the principles the faculty member is talking
about,” said Dr. Lefever. “There will be less time spent
reading powerpoint presentations.”
More material will be distributed online via Angel for
students to access. Dr. Lefever stated that for some classes,
instruction may be divided into two halves with the first
half consisting of a lecture by the basic science faculty
and the second half being a presentation by clinical faculty
to establish the dental relevance.
Members of the steering committee overseeing the
development of these curriculum changes are Dr. Lefever,
Dr. John Yamamoto, Dr. Robert Lindemann, and Dr. John
Yagiela. This committee meets every Friday and
periodically with the chairs of the committees
representing the six blocks. Student input is welcomed,
especially from the Classes of 2008 and 2009. The final
structuring of courses for the first two years of instruction
for the class of 2012 is expected to be complete by January
of 2008. The curriculum for the 3 rd and 4 th years of
schooling will be finalized subsequently.

Survivor Series: Second Year

Chanel McCreedy, 2010

The smell of free pizza and the hope of priceless

wisdom drew dozens of second year dental students
into the “Surviving Second Year” informational.
This was the last informational in the ADEA/ASDA
sponsored Survivor Series that also included
“Surviving First Year,” “Surviving Boards,” and
“Surviving Clinic.” Second year students were
provided with survey results from current third
year students regarding the average overall
difficulty, class time, study time and laboratory time
for each course offered during the notoriously
difficult second year. The survey results serve as a
tool to better understand how to allocate their
study time. “The survey explained which classes we
can expect to be challenging and which ones will
require more study time or more lab time,” said Gil
Ivry. The survey also listed the fifteen winter
quarter courses awaiting the second years. ADEA Reps Anne Reeves ‘09 and Verna Schuetter ‘10 with third year panelists.
A question and answer session moderated by Anne Reeves everyone will pass dentures.” When asked what she
took place between the second year students and a panel of learned, Kristen Moore shared that, “Despite how
third year students, which included Jung Kim, Justin Pfaffinger, impossible and difficult this year seems, each of us has
Jane Refela, and Mark Skinner. The class of 2010 had numerous the ability to make it through and to come out better for
questions, and upperclassmen encouraged them to learn in it in the end.” May these words comfort the class of 2010
“real time” by staying on top of each week’s new material. and provide hope in the midst of frustration for all future
When asked the most helpful and/or important piece of second years.
information he learned, Kyle Pettersen responded, “In the end,
Diastema News 7

Happy campers enjoying the great outdoors - ASB Camping Trip.
Florida - continued from page 1
Our chapter was recognized for our outstanding work in
providing Crest oral hygiene products at our many com-
munity service events, including the Thanksgiving Fair,
Project Santa Claus and the Dental Carnival.
At the annual session, we quickly embraced the “Work
Hard, Play Harder” mentality. We went out to dinner with
our chapter and district, played night football in the warm
waters of the Atlantic Ocean and relaxed by the pool. On
our last evening there, we attended the Western themed
Presidential Dinner. Yee-ha! After a frantic, last-minute
shopping trip (during which we purchased, among other
things, belt buckles with built-in beer bottle openers), we
country-line-danced the night away and joyfully con-
cluded another successful ASDA annual session.
Younai - continued from page 3
names yet. It took me to the community, to homeless
women, to runaway kids, to working with kids who were
prostitutes on the streets. It exposed me to an aspect of
life I am not sure I was fully prepared for, and I learned.
It’s impossible to be in the field of HIV and not become a
patient advocate. My entire professional career, I’ve done
volunteer work: working in committees, getting money
for care, making sure patients are getting both oral and
medical care, treatment for substance abuse, housing,
and transportation.
Health Fair - continued from page 4
background, I really felt like I connected with some of
the patients and that I was able to make a difference.”
A lot of the patients were recent immigrants, many of
whom showed a desire to improve their oral care but
were limited by language and finance. Health fairs such
as this are excellent ways to provide preventive dentistry
by emphasizing good brushing and flossing techniques
and encouraging patients to visit their local dentists.
Mobile Clinic - continued from page 5
kids, but I saw no evidence of phobia this weekend,” said
third year Jennifer Chiang. “If anything, it was the
opposite- every kid was hopping with excitement about
getting the sugar buggies cleaned off from their teeth.”
Eddie - continued from page 2
As first and second years, we become so stressed with
keeping up with lab projects and seemingly endless pages
and powerpoint slides of information that we begin lose
sight of the reason we entered this profession in the first
place and the opportunities that are present to grow
within our profession. Now is the time to start thinking
and experimenting with where you envision your dental
career heading.
Sure, some of you may be thinking: “What’s the big
deal? I just want to graduate, work for someone a few
years, buy some practice, and live the rest of my working
life focused on my dental practice.” With that kind of men-
tality, you are limiting your exposure to many aspects of
our profession that can steer your life to an exciting and
self-fulfilling level in leadership, legislation, community
service, teaching, and research. Those of you who sim-
ply skimmed over the end of the last sentence, I encour-
age you to envision yourself taking on each one of those
responsibilities. When you become involved with orga-
nized dentistry, you begin to feel like you’re living a greater
purpose than as just a sole struggling dental student or
soon-to-be dentist. You actually create opportunities for
yourself to make connections with other individuals who
share your passions. You begin to experience the excite-
ment of helping others who are less fortunate, taking part
in a legislative campaign in which you help fight for rights
of our entire profession, enriching the lives of your fel-
low students and staff, or switching roles by actually teach-
ing others a topic in dentistry. All of those are possibili-
ties for you IN dental school; you just need to have a de-
sire to experience them.
Those of you who have never had a chance to experi-
ence leadership and wish to experience it, now is your
chance. How? Find a desire to do so. The committee
chairs that were selected for this year all share a desire
and commitment in the committees they are now chair-
ing. Not sure how to find the desire to do so? Seek out
current or previous committee chairs and allow them to
try to inspire you.
The leaders of UCLA ASDA have worked hard to create
opportunities for students to get involved this year, now
it is up to you to
use them to bal-
ance and shape
your dental
school experi-
ence. I truly
wish you all to
look back at
these four years
as a time of smil-
ing versus cry-
ing, as a time of positive self-growth versus weakness,
and as a time of accomplishment versus regret. Have a
wonderful holiday season!
Diastema News 8