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Do, Vy
ENGL 101A 31207
Prof. Howard
Profile Portfolio Draft
05/02/16
Let Your Experience Guide You
Business is known as a crucial key in every industry and it seems that with a business
degree, people can find a job easily. Thats why I declared my major to be business even though I
know absolutely nothing about it. Since I started my part time job at a dental office, the image of
dentists at my workplace has changed my point of view in choosing my major. I now have
reconsidered about changing a different career path. By having an opportunity to work at dental
office, I realized how joyful I was everytimes to help patients be confident in their smiles.
Because of that, I found the field of dentistry to be challenging, yet interesting. Besides verifying
insurance paperwork, answering the phone and scheduling appointments at the front desk, Ive
also interacted with dentists in the treatment rooms. Seeing the way they treat patients so nicely
and how incredibly and amazingly they perform in every oral procedure, I was so inspired. Out
of all dentists in the office, I interviewed Dr. Loc X. Tran to know more about the field of
dentistry.
Dr. Loc X. Tran earned his Bachelors degree in Biological Science from the University
of Maryland, College Park and his professional degree in dentistry at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore. Currently he is one of the three independent dentists at Smiley Dental Care located at
Rockville, Maryland where he has provided comprehensive dental treatments for seventeen
years. Dr. Tran is one of the most enthusiastic, thorough and thoughtful dentists that Ive ever

met. Hes known for taking such a good care of his patients by thoroughly explaining their oral
issues, presenting them with an appropriate treatment and providing them with preventative
homecare. Also he sets examples for everybody in the office of thoughtfully coming to work on
time and leaving after everyone else gets home. Even though hes the doctor, his friendliness and
down-to-earth manner gain trust and respect from both his employees and patients. For instance,
every time the medical supplies are almost running out, hes always the person filling those up
before my co-workers and I have a chance to inform him. Just those actions are enough to make
all the staff respect and adore him. Because of him, our workplace is more friendly and
proactive.
While working at Smiley Dental Care, Ive learned more that dentistry is also one of the
most important aspects of peoples overall health since its not just about cosmetic problems. Its
more about how dentists can help their patients feel less painful and self-confident with their
smiles. Dentists are trained to diagnose, prevent and treat any problems that related to teeth and
oral diseases. The types of care can range from routine checkup and dental cleaning to more
advanced procedures such as root canal therapy or replacing missing teeth. To diagnose an oral
issue, first of all, dentists will take some X-rays to have a better visualization to analyze and treat
the tooth more properly and accurately. Secondly, dentists will try their best to restore the
damaged tooth by different ways such as filling, root canal or crown. Thirdly, if the tooth is
beyond repairable, it will be extracted and replaced with options such as a new denture, an
implant or a bridge. These options depend on patients affordability, lifestyles, references as well
as dentists recommendation.

Every time I assist Dr. Tran in the treatment rooms, we usually have a small conversation
between each procedure; its our ways of catching up with one another while I help wipe down
the dental hand-pieces and prepare the chair for our next patient. I remembered he told me once
that his dream job hadnt had any relationship to health care at all. He initially pursued his major
in Aerospace Engineering at University of Maryland because he was fond of designing and
engineering since he was in middle and high school. My dream job was more about being a
fighter pilot and doing something involving airplane, he said; but his plan didnt work out.
While studying in college, he volunteered at a dental clinic of the University of Maryland Health
Center. Assisting at that dental clinic had attracted all his interest in dentistry, he later expressed.
Also, due to the fact that the United States government was cutting back on defense spending
after the U.S. outlasted the Soviet Union in the Cold War in the 1980s, his advisor persuaded him
to stay away from Aerospace Engineering. Both of those circumstances have shifted his career to
a different path, becoming a dentist.
When I asked if there were any obstacles at the beginning of Dr. Trans career after
graduating from school, his response was a definite yes. I struggled to keep up with time
management and efficiency. It took me twice as long to complete a procedure as I do now. I often
ran behind patients allotted appointment time. That in turn also put me into a lot of emotional
stress. The stress to finish the procedure on time. The stress knowing that there are other patients
waiting when I was running behind on schedule, he answered honestly to my question. The
more I know about his personality, the more I understand why patients admire him so much. He
always thinks of his patients first, smiles with them even when he knows how uneasy and
difficult those patients sometimes are. Also, time management struggles led him to work as an

independent dentist nowadays. Thanks to that, he acknowledged that he liked the freedom of
determining his own working schedule and how many patients he wanted to treat in a given day.
I remembered one time, he asked everyone in the office, Has anyone ever skipped class
before? Some said yes, but most of us said no as he continued on telling his story. Then he
jokingly shared with us that while he was a college student, he had skipped many classes.
Because of being a truant in the past, now he feels the need of compensating his fault by working
so hard and often through his lunchtime. After hearing the story, every individual in the room
burst into laughter for almost 5 minutes. I didnt know that we needed to redeem ourselves for
skipping school until he said that.
Working flexibility combining with the joy of working with my hands to restore
patients smile brought me to the dental profession. With Dr. Trans statement, I realize that he
is certainly in the career that hes ever wished for. Also Ive learned that dreams can change
which depend on our life circumstances. There will always be something such as volunteering
opportunities and interacting with new people can affect our career decisions. In this case, Dr.
Tran found another career path that he had never thought of until he experienced at the dental
clinic and the economy during his college years. Therefore, explore your ability, open up to new
opportunities and let yourselves search for what youve been looking for.

Work Cited

Tran, Loc X. Personal interview. 27 Feb. 2016.