Dentistry Unlocked

 You’re not supposed to feel ready. That feeling? The tight chest, the second-guessing, the voice in your head whispering, “Who do you think you are?”—that’s normal. That’s fear doing its job. But here's the truth: fear doesn’t mean stop. It means  go anyway . Putting yourself out there is uncomfortable. You’ll feel exposed, uncertain, maybe even a little ridiculous. Do it scared. Because waiting to feel “ready” is just fear disguised as logic. Ready never comes. Courage doesn’t show up first—it shows up  after  you’ve acted. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Cliché? Maybe. Still true. If you want something different, you have to take the risk. Even scared. Even uncertain. Even if your hands shake a little while you press “send.”  Because every opportunity you skip because of doubt is a door you closed on yourself. Meanwhile, people with half your talent are out there winning because they  tried . That’s the game. It rewards action, not perfection....

Usually, when I’m in a state of limbo, I find myself restless — constantly worrying about what’s next. Like after uni, before I wrote the MDCN exam — the nothingness was draining. The days felt painfully repetitive, every one blending into the next. But this time, "fortunately" (read:  unfortunately ), I already know what’s next:  NYSC  — the one-year mandatory service that every graduate has to complete.  “Serve your country,” they said. As if the country has ever returned the favor. I’ve always thought NYSC was kind of… pointless. A full year that delays real life. It doesn’t feel like a launchpad — it feels like a setback. And nearly everyone I talk to agrees. It’s one big collective sigh, like “let’s just get it over with.” From the registration process, to camp, to the monthly clearances, to the consistently questionable pay — everything about it feels like stress on top of stress. And then there’s the unpredictability: not knowing where they’ll post you, not kn...

So you might’ve noticed I haven’t really said much about the personalities of the seniors I worked with. That’s intentional. I don’t usually talk about things that are out of my control — and the hierarchy in the hospital? Very much one of those things. Even though there’s clearly something broken about the system, there’s not much a house officer like me can do to change it. Everyone sees it, but no one says anything. Or they do — and it goes nowhere. I never realized just how deeply hierarchy shapes the workplace until I got here. And the worst part? Even if you don’t notice it at first, they’ll make sure you do. As house officers, we were at the very bottom of the ladder. Honestly, if there’s a space below the ladder, that’s where we were. We did the jobs no one else wanted — or worse, the jobs someone else was supposed to do but decided they couldn’t be bothered. And sure, I get it — we’re there to learn, and that includes learning through work. But let’s be honest: most of it w...

If you’ve spoken to me at any point over the last few months, chances are you’ve heard me say — half-jokingly — that I think my frontal lobe has finally developed. And while I usually say it with a laugh, there’s actually some truth in it. I really  do  believe it. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but something in me changed. I just feel... different. Different in the way I think. Different in the way I move through life. I used to be the kind of person who did whatever I was told — no questions asked. I never challenged anything, never doubted anyone’s judgment. I just assumed everyone knew better than me. I thought that’s how life worked. But over the past year — maybe it was the stress, the tough calls, the unexpected situations I somehow survived — something shifted.  My perspective evolved. I started asking questions without worrying how I’d be perceived. I stopped being afraid to speak up. I began trusting my own instincts more than blind authority. I ...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an orthodontist. I knew I wanted to study something in the medical field, but medicine felt like a bit  too  much. Dentistry, on the other hand, felt like the perfect middle ground — still rooted in medicine, but more focused. (Which is funny, because let’s be real:  dentistry is basically medicine . Everything is connected, and we still studied all the medical courses in uni.)  But orthodontics? That’s always been  it  for me. That was the dream. Maybe it started when I got braces myself — I found the entire process fascinating. But ever since, I had tunnel vision. The only reason I even chose to study dentistry in the first place was because it’s a prerequisite to becoming an orthodontist. So, tell me why, just  two weeks  into my orthodontic posting, I was spiraling into a full-blown  existential crisis . I was googling “non-clinical dental careers” like my life de...

I was pretty indifferent to Cons before this rotation. I was used to doing fillings, root canals, crown preps — it wasn’t anything new or exciting to me. But what I wasn’t ready for was the sheer number of patients we had to see. For the first few weeks, all we were allowed to do as house officers was clerking . Once we submitted and got our endo blocks approved (basically extracted natural teeth that we’d practiced root canals on), we could start working on actual patients. We started small — doing GICs on pediatric patients , then regular fillings, and finally root canals, from anterior teeth to molars. Sadly, we weren’t allowed to do crown preps — which, surprisingly, I loved doing in uni. Now, the biggest issue in this unit? No space, and way too many patients. There were only three dental chairs , and yet we were seeing an average of 30 patients a day . Sounds like good clinical exposure, right? In theory. But throw in the usual problems — chairs not working, supplies runnin...

There I was in the clinic, like any ordinary day. A patient walks in, and on examination, his cheekbone looks a little off — slightly depressed. The doctor glances at him and immediately knows what’s going on. He turns to me and asks, “Have you ever seen a zygomatic lift in action?” Of course, my answer is no. Without wasting time, the patient is prepped. Everything gets anesthetized. An incision is made near his ear. The doctor pulls out a Rowe’s zygomatic elevator — something I’ve only ever seen in slides during practical — and begins. What followed was equal parts fascinating and horrifying: The  incision  behind the ear (clean) The  instrument’s path  through tissue (squelchy) The patient’s  guttural shout  as bone snapped back into place (unforgettable) It’s one of those moments that completely sweeps the rug out from under you. One minute you’re standing there, alone with your thoughts, and the next you’re watching a full-blown procedure happen ri...

In university, we were taught about tumors—benign and malignant. The malignant ones always carried more fear, more weight. But what I’ve come to realize is this: just because a tumor is “benign” doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Not even close. A patient once walked into our clinic, but it wasn’t her face or voice that caught my attention first—it was the smell . I was asked to clerk her. During history taking, I found out some frustrating details. She had already gone to another clinic, had an x-ray taken, and the lesion was clearly visible . But instead of getting the proper diagnosis and referral, they simply extracted her tooth and sent her on her way. Meanwhile, the ameloblastoma kept growing. Slowly, quietly, aggressively. Had it been caught earlier, the extent of the damage—and the amount of bone that had to be cut out—could’ve been drastically reduced. Her main complaint was that her teeth were shifting. Understandable, because as the tumor grows, it displaces teeth within the bo...

You never truly realize how many road traffic accidents (RTAs) happen until you work in a hospital. When I was on call, I’d say over 90% of the cases I was called to review were RTA victims. The rest were either assault or armed robbery cases. It made me look at life differently. Every day you get into a car and come out in one piece? You're one of the lucky ones. Really. Most patients came in with facial lacerations that needed suturing, and many had obvious or suspected fractures—so we’d send them for a CT scan. It quickly became routine. But some cases… stick with you. One patient in particular I’ll never forget. I was called in to review her, and as soon as I got to the hospital, I made my way to the trauma center. I had no idea what I was walking into. The woman was in visible distress—disoriented, crying, pleading with anyone nearby to help her. And when I got closer and we made eye contact, she started begging me directly. Her voice, her expression—completely broken. T...

So the 12 weeks honestly went by in a blur. I must have extracted enough teeth to fund the Tooth Fairy's early retirement. Somewhere along the way, I got over my fear of giving nerve blocks—turns out, nothing builds confidence like using actual patients as test subjects (with supervision, of course). It was also oddly satisfying to finally put all those things I learned in school into real-life action. At first, I shadowed another house officer. He walked me through the basics—what to do when you’re on call, how to document, how to not look completely lost when trauma hits. He even took me to the trauma building where we met a patient who needed our attention. A child had been brought in with a laceration on his forehead after an accident. I assisted with suturing. Just a regular day. When a patient comes into emergency with a maxillofacial injury, it’s the house officer who’s first on call—regardless of the time. So yes, even if it's 3 a.m. and you're deep into your thi...

My first three days in the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit felt like someone pressed fast-forward on life. Day one? Chill. I did nothing for most of the day—just observed, got a feel for the place. Then a child walked in, and I thought, why not? Let me try my hand at an extraction. I’d never worked on a child before, but I figured I had to start somewhere. First mistake? Letting her see the needle. From that moment on, it was over. She wouldn’t calm down. She cried nonstop. I tried; I really did. But then one of the doctors swooped in, took over like it was nothing, and just handled it. Clean, calm, efficient. I stood there in awe. These doctors? Different breed. Second day? Tell me whyyyy I was following a doctor to the SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) to assist in a case I’ll never forget. A newborn, barely a few days old, brought in by panicked parents. The issue? Ignorance. Pure, painful ignorance. They noticed the baby had a uvula—something completely normal—but thought it was abnorma...

So, within just a few days, I got the hang of everything. I was honestly surprised at how quickly it all started to click.  There I was—freshly minted, still half-expecting someone to tap my shoulder and say,  "Just kidding, you're not really a doctor yet."  But within days, something clicked. The motions became fluid: taking histories, probing cavities, explaining treatment plans. This was my first real experience working as a professional, and once I created my own flow, things began to make sense. For most of my time in this rotation, there were only two other house officers working alongside me. They were both helpful and easy to talk to — whenever I had questions or needed a second opinion, they were there. That made a huge difference. One of the things I was most nervous about before starting was whether I’d fit in or feel lost in the mix, but having people around who were kind and supportive really helped me settle in.  I slowly got used to the environment of...

My first day in the Diagnosis unit wasn’t bad at all — actually, it was a lot calmer than I expected. I arrived unexpectedly early, before any of the other dentists, trying to make a good first impression. That’s also when I realized something surprising — it’s mainly the house officers who run the clinic . The consultant only comes in twice a week. On the other days, it was just us — the house officers — handling the flow.  That first day, I didn’t do much hands-on work. I shadowed one of the dentists and watched closely, mentally noting everything — how they asked questions, how they examined patients, how the process moved from one step to the next. It followed a structure I was familiar with: start with a proper history — why are they here? what kind of pain are they having? — then move into the physical exam, starting extraoral and moving intraoral. After charting findings, we’d take radiographs when needed, then refer the patient to the appropriate unit for treatme...

For four months, I sat at home doing nothing. I had passed the MDCN exam in November, but until the official induction happened, there was no next step. No license, no job, no real direction — just waiting. I tried to stay positive, but it was frustrating. I had just finished dental school, and instead of moving forward, I felt stuck. The four months of waiting should have prepared me. Four months of watching my 'MDCN Pass' notification collect digital dust in my inbox while my life stood still. Four months of watching my non-medical friends start jobs while I refreshed my email, hoping for news about my housemanship placement.  The induction finally came at the end of January, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. I could finally apply for my provisional license. I thought things would pick up from there, but instead, I found myself in another waiting game — this time, for where I’d actually be posted for housemanship. In Nigeria, you don’t get to choose just any hospital....

Thinking about becoming a dentist? You’re not alone. It’s a profession that promises solid income, job security, and the chance to make a real impact on people’s lives. But before you commit to years of education and a lifetime of looking into mouths, let’s get real about what this path actually looks like. The Appeal Is Obvious Money : Dentistry can be very lucrative. According to recent stats, the average U.S. dentist earns well into six figures. Stability : People always need dental care, recession or not. Flexibility : Many dentists own their practices or work part-time with good pay, giving them more control over their schedules than many other healthcare professionals. Helping People : You can relieve pain, restore confidence, and genuinely improve lives. Sounds great, right? But here’s what doesn’t always make it into the brochure. The Not-So-Glamorous Side The Cost of Education: It's High, But Not Hopeless Dental school is a major financial investment no matter where you st...