Harting Sales and Service, Inc



Iowa Ag News Headlines
Greenfield Native Aspires to Practice Dentistry in Rural Iowa
Iowa Ag Connection - 03/23/2018

Paige Jones got an early start in dentistry. Not only did she pull all of her own baby teeth, but all of her cousins' baby teeth as well.

"I have a bunch of cousins, and it just became a thing. If one of them had a loose tooth, they would ask me to pull it," says Jones, a native of Greenfield, Iowa, and a second-year student at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. "Looking back, it's kind of funny, but I guess all that tooth pulling sort of led me to where I am now."

Although Jones still has a few more years to go before she graduates, she says she's excited about her future in dentistry, a field she first learned about from her own dentist, Richard Kohler, who has since retired.

"I was never afraid of going to my dentist," Jones says. "It probably helped that he was also my brother's assistant basketball coach. We were both at a local baseball game when I pulled a tooth out and I ran up to him and showed it to him. So, it's kind of funny how that all worked out to lead me to my path to become a dentist."

Although Jones began college as an undeclared major at Northwest Missouri State University, she quickly gravitated toward pre-dentistry, in large part because her first-year roommate was a pre-dentistry major. Jones joined a pre-dentistry club on campus and was hooked.

"We had a local dentist come speak to our group, and he was just super engaged in his work and he absolutely loved it, so I thought, 'Wow, that really sounds like something I would enjoy,'" she says.

Once she decided to pursue dentistry, Jones says, she shadowed several dentists, including Michael Buck, a 2011 UI College of Dentistry graduate practicing in Creston, Iowa. When it came time for graduate school, Jones says, the choice was easy.

"I ultimately chose the University of Iowa because the dentists I met who had attended the school just stood apart," she says. "They all had this aura of excellence about them, and this confidence in everything they did that made a big impression on me. No one ever says they came out of the University of Iowa unprepared."

UI College of Dentistry Dean David Johnsen says the college's top-notch professors and cutting-edge research set the college apart from its competitors. For students, the opportunity to work with researchers and learn about the science behind dental techniques also is a way to stand out in the job market.

"Our students regularly out perform students from other dental colleges on national board exams, and all of them are highly sought after upon graduation, either for jobs in dental practices or for advanced programs such as residencies," Johnsen says.

Well into her second year of dental school, Jones says she's excited about the education she's getting, including the cutting-edge technology she's using in the dental simulation clinic. Jones says she also gets to practice creating partial crowns using computer-aided design software, technology she intends to use in her own practice.

"I'm glad I'm getting hands-on experience with new technology because it means that I'll be able to be the best dentist possible when I graduate," Jones says. "Once I saw the renovated clinics at the UI College of Dentistry and got to know the faculty, I was really convinced that I was getting the best education possible."

After graduation, Jones says she might return to her hometown or another rural area in Iowa. Part of the mission of the UI College of Dentistry is to educate dentists who will serve state residents. About 80 percent of dentists practicing in the state received their education at the UI.

"From a public health standpoint, it would be great to help people in rural areas care for their teeth," Jones says. "And I'm pretty comfortable in rural Iowa, so I think that's a good place for me."


Other Iowa Headlines
Cloverdale TMR Mixers
Meyer Manufacturing
Copyright © 2024 - Farms.com. All Rights Reserved.