Born in South Korea in 1975. There,

¶ … born in South Korea in 1975. There, I finished elementary, middle and high school, and then came to the United States to study biology in 1994. South Korea requires service in the armed forced for all young men; I returned there to complete my military obligation before returning to the United States to finish my undergraduate degree. While military service interrupted my studies in some respects, it had the unexpected benefit of helping me to clarify my career goals.

While serving in the South Korean Army, I worked in the dispensary. I found myself becoming extremely interested in curing and taking care of people. Despite the fact that the work was arduous and the hours long, it was fulfilling and I thought my efforts were fruitful for those I served, as well.

When I returned to school to complete my degree in biology, I began to investigate what form of medical service would best suit my talents as well as provide a valuable service that people need. As I did my research, I began to realize that my background in biology was only one factor that should have a bearing on my decision. When I was seven years old, I began to study piano. I studied hard, but more than that, my teachers found that my dexterity was excellent, and that it was easy for me, even at an early age, to complete difficult passages that required sophisticated use of my hands.

A realized then that my career goals should depend on and make use of all by abilities, both academic and other. Needless to say, there were many medical specialties that I could have investigated. But I had to put one other factor into the equation: my enjoyment of helping people. So that told me that being a medical researcher would probably not be the best use of all my skills nor allow me to provide the greatest service.

My manual dexterity would suggest being a surgeon would be satisfying to me; while there is certainly patient contact in being a surgeon, there is not the interaction involved in, for example, being a family physician. And I really did feel fulfilled when helping people at the dispensary; I enjoyed it, and I'm quite sure they benefited as well.

Then I had to put one more piece of the equation to work; my love of beauty and harmony.

Adding those two factors to the equation led me inevitably to thoughts of dentistry. No longer is dentistry simply removing decay and placing fillings into teeth. As I investigated my choice, I found that, these days, cosmetic dentistry is growing, and orthodontic treatment is available to almost everyone. Expanding preventive care has also made simply filling cavities almost a thing of the past.

Dentistry has also begun to be more important to a patient's entire life than ever before. Today, even a general dentist who adds some cosmetic services to his practice can make an enormous difference for his patients.

While it is true that having strong, effective, long-lasting natural teeth contributes to overall health, it is also true that having attractive teeth contributes to better self-esteem, and to the self-confidence people need to get along in an increasingly demanding and sophisticated culture.

The conclusion? A dentist today, especially a general dentist, is much like the family physician in the old days. The general dentist is responsible for -- and can get enormous satisfaction from -- taking care of the whole patient in a very significant way. The dentist can contribute enormously both to the patient's oral health, which enhances the patient's entire physical health picture, and to the patient's psychological health. These days, too, with the development of such procedures as swab techniques to quickly and painlessly discover the beginnings of oral cancer at its most treatable stage, the dentist can be in the front lines against oral cancer, a disfiguring disease at best, and a deadly one at worst.