An Ode to Our Dental Educators

You taught me how to wash my hands
All while making lesson plans
Disinfect, polish, and most certainly scale
As I ran into your office, emitting a wail
You held me together when I wanted to quit
And gave me confidence when for the boards I did sit
You instilled professionalism and follow through
And a never-ending spirit of 'Can Do!'
Even when the calculus I did leave
You turned it into a learning opportunity in which I could believe
The path you forged was certainly not straight
But you strengthened our profession so I would not have to wait
Thank you, educators, for giving us a piece of your heart
I am better, I am stronger, and I am successful because of my start

The first week in May marks teacher appreciation week. And while we can all agree our educators deserve the most appreciation, the truth is so many of us think primarily of the primary and secondary school teachers in our lives and forget to offer up the much-deserved appreciation to our higher-ed educators.

One of my hygiene school professors recently retired. I graduated over 25 years ago and remember thinking how experienced she was then. Clearly, my perspective on age has changed, but what hasn’t changed are the lessons she taught me. I can still very clearly hear her voice when talking about crevicular fluid flow and how the terminal shank is always parallel to the long axis of the tooth. But back then, I was far more concerned about finding a board patient than I was about taking time to recognize those instructors that were pouring into me.

I would like to rectify that now with a BIG ‘thank you’ for all of our dental educators out there. We know yours is a selfless endeavor and so many of you chose this path for the absolute love of teaching, mentoring, and advancing the next generation of dental professionals. And given each student’s stressed-out, survival-mode mentality, you’ve grown some thick skin. In return, you deserve all the love that you have so generously poured into your students.

Are You an Educator? Let Us Give You a Break!

DentalPost is offering a free 45-minute webinar tailored to dental students: How to Land the Perfect Job. In this presentation, we will help reinforce all you are teaching them about resume writing, interview tips, cleaning up social media (am I right?), and salary negotiation. Not only will we highlight what a great education they are receiving, but we will offer some third-party reinforcement that only an outsider can give.

So add us to the lesson plan. Take a minute to drink some coffee, and let us do the talking.

And above all, know we appreciate you.