Becoming a Periodontist
My story of becoming a Periodontist started back in 1993. I had graduated from Frankfurt American HS, Germany and accepted to Brigham Young University in Provo Utah. I was not sure what I wanted to do as a life long career but was interested in the medical field. I wasn't sure if I wanted to become a physician or what so I spent most of my free time going to the career center and looking up different professions. I also remember studying in a nearby hospital with my friend and felt it would be cool to become a doctor one day. While I was studying at BYU -Provo my family had moved from Germany to Seoul Korea and during my summer recess I was able to explore Korea. My family ended up staying in Korea for about 6 years which I felt was a terrific experience. If anyone has the opportunity to live in Korea I highly recommend it. The culture and food is just amazing! While I was there I learned a lot of Hangul (korean language), I earned a blackbelt in taekwondo, and earned quite a lot of money for my mission to the Philippines. I felt really accomplished while I was in Korea. I felt I used my time very wisely there. It was there that I also found a love for Oral Surgery.
One morning at the beginning of my summer break I asked my mother if I can go to a dental clinic to volunteer because a friend of mine at BYU told me I should look into dentistry. I ended up walking up to an Oral Surgery Clinic on the Army base and decided to talk with the Oral surgeon there. The Oral Surgeon's name was Dr. Ron Butler. I spent about a month shadowing and observing him extracting wisdom teeth and placing dental implants. I also on an occasion went to the small OR to watch orthographic surgeries. It was a wonderful experience and I felt like I had found my calling. However, during that time I recall asking him if he could have done it all over again would he still become an oral surgeon? He told me that he would have become a periodontist if he could do it all over again because it is less stressful and you still get to do some very exciting surgical procedures.
In the summer of 1994 I had the opportunity to go on a 2 year mission to the Philippines. I learned Tagalog, and quite a bit of Ilokano and was able to be immersed in the culture of my mother. It was a wonderful experience and learned a lot about the struggles of life and gained a lot of gratitude for what I had in my life. There are a lot of people that live in pretty poor circumstances. I also saw a lot of people that had major dental problems while I was there. That when I really decided that I would become a dental surgeon when I get back off of my mission. For those that are wondering what kind of mission I served it was a religious proselyting mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For those that are members of this church I would highly recommend this two year experience of a life time.
After my mission I then went back to Korea and continued to learn the Korean language, practice taekwondo, and earn money for my college. I was able to earn quite a significant amount of money to pay for 2 semesters of my next year. When I went back to Utah however I decided I wanted to transfer to BYU-Hawaii because I wanted to get out of the cold and be around more filipinos and asians. I felt I would be more at home in Hawaii. This idea turned out to be true because I ended up meeting up with some of my best friends from my mission. There at BYU-Hawaii I majored in Biology and completed all my prerequisites for Dental school. I earned a BS degree majoring in Biology and minoring in Biochemistry. I felt this major would be a fun major as well as prepare me for the medical/dental field.
Prior to graduating from BYU-Hawaii I decided to join the United States Air Force Reserves. I figured that I could gain some experience in the medical field if I were to do this. I took the ASVAB and scored high enough to become a medical technician. This training was almost a year endeavor. I spent about 8 weeks at Lackland AF basic training, and 6 months of medical technician tech school. The experience I received from the Air Force was also very good. I became a certified EMT and medical technician during that one year away from traditional college. For anyone wondering about the military let me tell you it was great for me. I was able to get the GI bill and Kicker program which helped me pay for college and gave me a part time job while going to school. You're able to also get on some type of medical insurance plan and after a 6 year commitment you're able to also get the VA home loan. It's a lot of work but will really help a young person gain a nice foundation for life. Fast forward to December 2020 I am now a Major in the United States Hawaii Army National Guard and serve proudly as one of the dentists that help keep our National Guard with the dental readiness.
Graduated from BYU-Hawaii 2002 and was accepted to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Dental School. It was a very difficult program however it prepared me well for my dental career. Dental School is a 4 year program after undergrad where you eat, drink, sleep, and dream dentistry.
After dental school I decided that I would in fact become a periodontist. At the time I was a father of 4 children and didn't really want to move around the country so I applied and was accepted to the periodontics department there at UMKC. I felt it was a dream come true. The periodontics specialty is a very interesting specialty that involves a science and art of surgical and non-surgical techniques of stabilizing and correcting periodontal defects caused by in many cases years of dental negligence. The specialty program in periodontics is usually a 2-3 year program and we learn in depth techniques in periodontal surgery and dental implant surgery. I learned how to effectively manipulate gum tissue and bone in a predictable way lowering the risk for infection and poor results. I'm not saying that I am a perfect periodontist by any means, however I have spent many years learning my specialty and feel more confident at what I am doing. I feel that through my advanced training I am able to give my patient's the best treatment that I can offer. I graduated with a Masters in Oral Biology in 2009 and have not looked back since. A year later I did take the American Board of Periodontology and passed to become a Board Certified Periodontist. I've now been practicing periodontics for over 10 years now and continue to enjoy my specialty as a periodontist. It's been a wonderful career so far.
References:
https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiarng/
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