Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work? If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert? 
• My mentor is Chris Chen, DDS. Dr. Chris Chen works for the Puente Hills Dental Group in Hacienda Heights, CA. He is one of two dentists apart of the group that perform regular exams and cleanings, orthodontics, root canals, etc. that are apart of general dentistry. Dr. Chris Chen has obtained degrees in biology and chemistry from University of California Irvine and doctorate degree at Columbia University School of Dental Medicine. He has been working under the title of doctor of dental surgery since 2005.
2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?
• When and where were you born?
• Can you tell me where your family comes from?
• What role did your parents play in your education?
• What were you like growing up, what were your focuses/aspirations/goals/dreams/morals/etc.?
• When did you know that the path to dentistry was the right path for you? 

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year? What has made it a positive experience for you? 
• What has worked well concerning my senior project has been me finding a good mentor. I feel I was very lucky to get a mentor that is willing to help me with my project and even with anything else that I may need.It has made it a positive experience being able to go in to an environment where I feel comfortable and encouraged to learn more about my senior topic (Dentistry). 
2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project? How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you? How might the senior team help? 
• I am finding it a bit difficult to really find a certain part of dentistry I would like to focus on. I want to be able to learn about and present something that other people would be interested in learning. I think I will be really doing more research to find a specific part of dentistry that really interests me and I would be able to teach people. Also, I'm having trouble thinking about things I would be doing for my Independent Components. Most of the difficulties I'm having I should probably figure out myself, so I'm not yet too sure what the senior team could do to help. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview? Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?
• The most important thing I learned from interviewing my mentor Dr. Chris Chen was that although Dentists generally have a bad aura, they are apart helping so many people change or improve their lives. What comes along with being a Dentist and being able to change someones life, is the chance to be able to be apart of their life in a more personal way. Through Dentistry you are able to make a difference in people's attitude about themselves or their appearance, but also allowed the chance to have them be apart of your life in return. One thing I would probably do differently would be to have my interviewee in a more controlled setting. When we performed the interview, I feel like it should have been in an office and maybe not out in front of other people. I think that difference would have made the interview a lot more personal. 
2. Did I get additional resources and contacts? What is the most useful? Why? 
• When I asked my mentor who he would recommend I speak to or what he would recommend I read, he didn't really have a specific answer. However, he did suggest that I speak to the two other dentists in the office that I mentor at to be able to get different views and ideas. One of the dentists is a pediatric dentist, which means she is a dentist with a specialization. I feel the pediatric dentist would be someone who I would be able to get great information from. 
3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?
• My interviewee is qualified to help me because he is a Doctor of Dental Surgery, and a dentist of the Puente Hills Dental group. As previously stated, he is also my mentor. 

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

Things I hope to accomplish through my senior project topic:

1. I would like to have a basic understanding of what the occupation of Dentistry is like (day to day routine, procedures, patient interactions, etc.).
2. I want to learn how to make a patient feel most comfortable and at ease when going to the dentist and how to communicate with patients who may be overly anxious or difficult. 
3. Hopefully, I will be able to gain knowledge (more than I already know) about proper oral hygiene. 

Blog 3 - First Interview Preperation

1) Who do you plan to interview? Why?

• For my first interview I plan to interview my mentor Dr. Chris Chen. I chose to interview him first because he is my mentor and I plan to ask him these questions in order to get some general answers about my topic. I knew Dr. Chris Chen before asking him to be my mentor because he has been my family's dentist for the past several years. I feel very comfortable in interviewing him and knowing he will provide me with honest and helpful answers.  

2) Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask. What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

• "In your personal opinion, what do you find to be the pros and cons about being a dentist?"
• "Through your many years of being a dentist, what is your method for calming down a scared or anxious patient and putting them at ease for an appointment, procedure, etc.?"