When I was seven years old, my mother first took me to the dentist in pain. ¨Will it hurt¨ I asked. As the door to the clinic opened, she told me to sit politely on the chair. I was not even allowed to speak; then, I saw the needle and began to weep. My mother had promised me that it would not hurt, and I felt betrayed, screaming at her: “you promised … you promised.” Then, when my mother began to cry as well, and I became even more traumatized. This experience left an indelible impression on me, at least about not treating children in the dental chair.
I was born in Abha, a southern province of Saudi Arabia, in 1985. I grew up engulfed by well-educated, caring parents, who pushed me towards a front-row seat in life. Because of them, I won second place in our province for show horse jumping at only nine years old. Participating in this sport helped me to appreciate the value of patience at an early age. During the second year of high school, I received first place in public speaking and went on to graduate among the top 20 students, thus enabling my entry into the competitive career of dentistry.
As an active member of the Saudi Science Club, I went on many local and international science trips and helped to organize committees. In 2002, I was nominated as ¨ideal student¨ for the Prince Abdulmajed bin Abdulaziz award, one of 20 students selected from all over the kingdom. I also received a certificate of appreciation for outstanding academic achievement. And I served as a member of the organizing committee for the last symposia held by my dental college and was also nominated to serve as group leader.
I look forward to becoming one of the best pediatric dentists in my country. As a firm believer in the profound importance of the practice of preventive medicine and dentistry, I look forward to a lifetime of cutting-edge research.
In fulfillment of my desire is to help the most vulnerable both within and beyond my community, I have been most involved with children’s oral health needs, working with orphans, even prisoners, administering caries prevention measures, giving educational lectures, crossing borders, and sharing in community programs as far away as Kenya and Tanzania, and using the internet to distribute dental information to people all over the world by constructing an educational website in both English and Arabic. My volunteer work has taught me just how diverse my community is regarding values and traditions, an incredible tapestry that adds to the depth of my service. This work has been gratifying and has strengthened my conviction about what I want to do. Most of all, perhaps, I have become painfully aware of the enormous difference between the vast resources enjoyed by my own country as compared with the profound misery of so many of our neighbors in Africa, a cause in which I hope to remain heavily involved throughout a long and distinguished career.
I have a globalist view of the world, mainly because I have visited so many countries for extended periods. Exposure to other cultures has helped to make me very open-minded, enhancing my multicultural appreciation. I see all of humanity as having the exact basic needs; thus, I feel strongly that I am well qualified to deal with patients from all different backgrounds and communicate with patients of diverse cultures and socioeconomic origins.
Finally, for me, to be a pediatric dentist will be a great responsibility and privilege, and I will always regard prevention as the main focal point of my efforts, so that the pain and fear of children can be avoided, rather than mitigated. I want to sincerely thank you for your time and kind consideration of my application.