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dental care—but also being able toafford it.Brian Roy (’13) participated in rotationsat three public health clinics during hisfourth year of dental school, anddescribes treating an 11 year-old girlwho presented with significant decay onher maxillary left first molar, which hadbecome symptomatic to the point ofdisturbing the girl’s sleep.UDM Dental student Michael Liu (‘14), and Dr. Heidi Hudson of Covenant Community Care,review their patient’s scansChanging attitudes (and lives)For many dental students, especiallythose who come from relativelycomfortable, middle-class backgrounds,caring for patients who are oftenstruggling with multiple, complexissues—including extreme poverty,homelessness, legal problems, and evenaddiction—can initially be somewhatdistressing. However, initialawkwardness frequently turns tounderstanding, and even empathy, asstudents begin to see their patients notjust as “cases” to be solved, but asindividuals—each with his or her ownlife story, including their own uniqueopportunities and challenges.In many cases, these interactions forcestudents to challenge their own attitudesand assumptions about the “poor” andthe “underserved.”Lisa Sontag (’13) describes a patient shetreated while participating in a CBDEprogram rotation at the Cherry Streetclinic in Grand Rapids. Whenever theman arrived, he was always wellgroomed,and very well dressed, so shejust assumed he was a middle-classprofessional. But, after making smalltalk with the man, she eventuallydiscovered he had been unemployed—and desperately searching for work—forseveral years.While participating in a rotation inDetroit, Sontag says she alsoencountered a man who showed up foran appointment over an hour late—bundled up, head-to-toe in a snowsuit.“He cheerfully responded to ourquestioning glances by saying ‘It’s coldoutside! I had to walk!’… as it turns outthe man had walked three miles inbone-chilling cold in order to make hisappointment,” says Sontag. “Thecommon assumption is that people whoattend community dental clinics don’ttake responsibility for their health, orfeel they are ‘entitled’ to care. However,my program experiences showed thisoften is not the case.”For other students, participating in theCBDE program illuminates thetremendous challenges many patientsface with regard to not only accessing“The tooth was restorable, but itrequired endodontic treatment,” saysRoy. “The patient was enrolled inMedicaid, which covers endodontictreatment for children—but there are noproviders in the Grand Rapids area thataccept Medicaid payment for rootcanals. I suggested to her father that wecould perform a root canal, and that itwould cost around $800…but he toldme that he simply could not afford it,and asked me to extract the tooth. Thatcase made me really sad, and I felt veryguilty extracting a restorable molar onsuch a young patient,” he says.New experiences leadto new career pathsFor some students, having suchexperiences leads not only to greaterawareness and better understanding,but also a greater willingness toconsider practicing in underserved areas,after graduation.Kyle Blau (’13) says that as he began hisfourth year of dental school and beganto consider his post-graduationemployment options, his primary focuswas on finding a job that would allowhim to follow his passion of practicingdentistry while still being able to “paythe bills.” However, following a CBDErotation in Kalamazoo, and two inDetroit, he began to think differently.“After finding out that almost all publichealth dentistry jobs offer some form ofloan repayment assistance, it becamemore obvious to me that this might besomething worth looking into,” says22 LEADING EDGE SUMMER 2013