Last weekend, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Joseph Chen, a dentist who works at Concourse Dental. He is my dentist as well, so I used this as a chance to get to know him better. Here are a couple questions that I thought were most interesting.
Q: Did you always want to become a dentist, if so, what influenced you to make that decision?
A: I didn’t always want to become a dentist. At first I was really into engineering, but I was also very good with science. You know, with like Asian parents, they’re always saying like you should be a doctor and whatnot, so that was also always in the back of my mind. When I was a senior, I volunteered at a dentistry and I got to experience first hand what it was like to be a dentist and help people. That’s what made me want to become a dentist.
Q: What was dental school like?
A: Dental school was hard, the first two years was just a lot of learning. There was a lot of work and a lot of information to memorize. Some people couldn’t take the pressure, you know, they thought that it was too difficult, or it wasn’t like how they imagined. Every year, there’s like one or two people in each class that drop out. But once you make it pass those two years, starting third year, you get to actually start treating patients. It’s fun because you start to see how everything you’ve learned is coming together, but at the same time there is some pressure. It’s a real patient, you know, you can’t mess up.
Q: What ‘s your favorite part of being a dentist?
A: I would say my favorite part is interacting with patients. I like to talk them and get to them before I begin treating them. I feel like if we can build a connection it makes the whole experience more fun and more relaxing.
Q: What is a challenge you, or other doctors face, that most people don’t know about?
A: When I just started working, I was actually holding the instruments too tight, for too long, and it led to inflammatory arthritis in my thumb joint. Like my whole thumb was swollen for a couple weeks and I had to wear a brace to work. I couldn’t even swipe my phone with my thumb.
Thanks for your time Dr. Chen, I really appreciate it!
1/14/2024
