But this comes with a twist....... despite the many long a challenging years of adding and trying to perfect my application to dental school, I have accepted an offer to take a seat in the University of Minnesota's Dental Therapy program! I will finally be going to graduate school and I'll be staying in Minnesota.
What does this mean you might ask? What the heck is a dental therapist? Should you still be happy for me? Am I still excited? All very good questions, and many which I hope to explain further.
First why don't I try and briefly set the stage for what I am about to embark on. If you have never heard of Dental Therapy it is with good reason, because technically Minnesota is the only state to which the dental therapist can practice in the general public. Alaska is the only other state to currently register dental therapists, but their scope of practice is very limited, essentially only being able to treat eskimos. Anyway, back to the program I will be a part of. Dental Therapy is a new program implemented to extend dental services to rural and underserved areas. By becoming a dental therapist I will essentially be a midlevel provider of dentistry. I will not be receiving a doctorate and becoming a full fledged dentist, but I will be able to cover many of the same practices as a dentist and still be able to host my own patients. The program itself is very interesting as I will be taking part in the University of Minnesota's first ever dual program where I will be receiving my undergraduate in dental hygiene while also completing my masters degree in dental therapy, which all in all will allow me to better service patients which I am very happy about.
So thence I am immensely excited, and therefore you should be very happy and excited for me. While I may have been trying to get into dental school over these years I am not giving up on my dreams. It took a lot of soul searching to decide to accept this program, which I am hoping to write much more about later, but I am currently just over the moon with excitement to begin school.
I'd like to quickly share why I am posting to everyone about this news here for everyone to read. When I first started this blog I secretly had the ambition of sharing more detailed information on what the road to dental school looked like, and then carry it on further into what it looked like to actually go through the schooling. Now I will be able to achieve that goal! I am hoping to extend this run of blog postings further in the upcoming weeks with further details about how I got to this point, why I made the decision I did, and what I hope the future holds! But as for now, I felt it was time to let the world know of my decision and hopefully spread the word to those who care.
To those who have mentored me, encouraged me, challenged me, and prayed heavily for me over the past 3 - 4 years about school and difficult life choices, I want you to know that I have not forgotten your commitment to supporting me through it all and I want this posting to be a tribute to you. I would not be here without everyones support and I am so incredibly blessed and excited to announce that I made into the schooling I have so longingly desired.
Here is to this new chapter of life! I've waited long enough for this!
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