Interview Assessment #1

Professional: ​Dr. Lakshmi Yaddanapudi

Business Name: ​Flair Dental
Date of Interview: ​October 16, 2019
Time of Interview:​ 4:30 PM

Dr. Yaddanapudi is a family and cosmetic dentist who recently opened a new practice
with Dr. ​Ram Miyapuram, called Flair dental. After going to dentistry school directly out of high
school in India, Dr. Yaddanapudi came to the United States and had the opportunity to open an
office of her own. Being a cosmetic and general dentist, Dr. Yaddanapudi has had much
experience and specialty in the field and had a great extent of knowledge to share with me in our
interview.
Prior to the interview, I was extremely nervous and felt mildly unprepared for a couple of
reasons. To begin with, I was very nervous because it was my first one and had no idea what to
expect. Was it going to be long or short? Were there going to be awkward silences? Would I
know how to connect her answers to my next questions? These were all questions that were
running through my head on my way to her practice. The second reason I was very nervous was
that this interview was scheduled five minutes before it happened. I had called over the phone a
couple of days prior, and when she called me back, she was ready for me to come in. I felt as if I
was a bit unprepared. However, because of all the practice that I had received in class, I did not
feel completely hopeless.
Despite all my fear and anxiety, I feel as if the interview went very well for a first
interview and I learned a lot about the field of dentistry as a whole. Although I would like to
become a pediatric dentist, I learned the most about cosmetic dentistry, which is involved in
pediatrics. Dr. Yaddanapudi was kind enough to explain to me the process of making molds for
things like Invisalign and retainers, and actually showed me some examples of molds that are in
the process of being created. For me, this was the most educational and interesting part of the
interview, just because it was extremely interactive. Additionally, I had never looked into the
field of cosmetic dentistry, so to see it in action and learn how it correlates with every other
branch of dentistry was very interesting to me. I was able to learn so much about a field that I
had looked minimally into, and it broadened my knowledge in the field of dentistry. Besides
cosmetic dentistry, Dr. Yaddanapudi was able to give me some very practical advice that would
be beneficial to my life and to my journey into the field of dentistry. For example, she gave me
advice on how to connect with people in general and in terms of dental patients, and why it is so
needed to be a great dentist. The interview ended with Dr. Yaddanapudi showing me around the
practice and showing all the behind the scenes technology involved with dentistry. As someone
who has always been on the other side of the wall, seeing all the things that are needed to make a
dental practice successful made me have a newfound appreciation towards the career. I had
always viewed every dentist in the highest regards, just because I value what they do so much,
but this experience visually showed me how much they do for their patients.
While the interview was very successful, I do not see Dr. Yaddanapudi becoming my
mentor throughout this year in ISM for a few reasons. To begin with, she did not specialize in
pediatrics, which is a big aspect of dentistry for me. While this small detail may seem minor,
finding a pediatric dentist has been a priority for me before coming into ISM and working with
kids this year is of great importance to me. Additionally, Dr. Yaddanapudi was very reserved and
quiet a lot of the time, which made communication a little bit difficult. I understand that
everyone has different personalities, however, during this interview, I realized I needed someone
more talkative, for me to get the most out of ISM as I possibly could. Despite her timidness, Dr.
Yaddanapudi still gave me a very good interview, and I am very thankful for the opportunity I
had to interview her. I view her as a great dentist that truly cares for her patients and who has a
gift for working with teeth.