Introduction

Hello! This is Prianka,  mother of a 5-Year-Old. I live in New York City. I was born in Bangladesh, a small country in South Asia. I consider myself a ‘forever student,’ eager to both build on my academic foundations in Dentistry and stay in tune with the latest advancements in the dental fields.

When I was 16, I started thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up. Education, people and relationships were the most important things to me. My mother advised me to gain a skill that no one could take away from me so that I would always have a job, and that seemed like good advice. I had toyed with the idea of becoming a physician (didn’t want people to die on my watch), a psychologist (seemed as if it would be too depressing), and a makeup artist (still thinking about it as a retirement job!).

I wanted to practice a profession that would allow me to have sufficient time with my family and also make a comfortable living. I realized it would be a good idea to join dentistry. Once I got into dental school, I decided that of all the areas of dentistry, the one that interested me most was Dental hygiene.

Bangladesh is a developing country and people are not very aware of their oral health. When I was completing my bachelor’s in Bangladesh, my personal philosophy in dentistry was working to improve oral health and hygiene by emphasizing preventative care. Even today I continue to have the same philosophy because I believe everybody deserves a healthy smile.

The dental hygiene program at NYCC is vigorous. In my first week of hygiene school, I spent more time staring at my books and all of the assignments I had to complete than actually sitting down and doing them. I was overwhelmed and didn’t even know where to start. With the support and help from my teachers and friends, I eventually learned how to be organized and prioritize my task. Most importantly, I have learnt the skills and knowledge required to be a Registered Dental Hygienist. I’m excited to start my profession as a dental hygienist and also intrigued to see what future holds for me.