“We’ve had people come in saying, ‘am I actually allowed to see the dentist?’ thinking that they’re not going to get what everybody else gets just because of their background. That’s something that I think should never, ever, ever be a barrier to getting care. Being here is just rewarding in so many ways!”

“Growing up, my dentist was always a male, an older male. It was just very hard to connect to that person. I never felt fully comfortable. My advice for anyone else considering something that they don’t see their people in: be the change you want to see. It’s gotta start somewhere; it might as well start with you!”

“Young people in the African American community in the inner city are not exposed to dentistry… there’s no representation of dentistry. If they don’t see it, they don’t think they can be it. Which is a shame because I’d say having three generations of my family in dentistry, I would tend to say dentistry is a good profession!”

“In the American culture, a hug or a pat is fine. But Islamically, if you see a woman with a veil – it’s hands-off – and it’s out of respect that you give that space. I’ve had many a dental office, many a dental office ask for me specifically saying, ‘we need a female dentist,’ whether it’s treating teenage girls, elderly women, or young moms.”

“A lot of the people that are in this field are not Asian Americans. There might be more understanding if the provider and the patient share a similar cultural or ethnic background. I think having more represented dentists that are reflective of the community would best serve the community.”

“It’s really important that someone who looks like me, feels like me, has someone like me in a position of leadership. So they can feel like they can do something like this too. People bring different perspectives. It’s so important as we move this profession forward that we see through all lenses, not just one.”

“I had never seen a successful professional American Indian as a youth. I realized that in order for our youth to imagine themselves being a dentist or a veterinarian or an astronaut, they needed to see American Indians in those roles.”