Evbu

Celebrating Black History Month with Evbu

Dentistry

1. Rumor has it that wearing a mask due to COVID-19 precautions is increasing the number of cavities people have, can you confirm or deny this?

Evbu: I haven’t heard this, but it doesn’t make sense. Cavities are formed from different factors such as bacteria in your mouth, constantly snacking especially on sugary items or not brushing your teeth. I have heard that people are grinding their teeth more since they’re wearing masks and have nothing to do with their teeth!

1B. How has COVID-19 impacted operations in the dental field? 

Evbu: I think that answer depends on where you are. I can’t speak too much on how it’s affecting dentists, but I can speak on how it affects dental students. Nowadays our school’s clinics are reduced by about 30% and there are still patients nervous to come into the clinic. The amount of *PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) we use has increased; we wear face shields, shoe covers and surgical caps for most procedures. We look like we’re dressed to do open heart surgery every time we prep a tooth LOL!

COVID has also changed my clinic experience significantly. I started my third year in the Fall, which is the time when students start seeing patients regularly for a various number of procedures such as crown preps, dentures and of course fillings. We lost at least three months of school, which is a crucial amount of time usually used to gain experience with working with patients. Due to this, a lot more recent graduates are looking into residency programs in order to get more experience before stepping into the workforce.

2. Using only one meme, describe the reaction you get when you tell non-POCs you are a dental student.

Evbu: Most times the feedback is normal but sometimes it’s an almost smug “Aw, good for you, honey. I can’t wait to tell my friends I have a black dentist.” …as if it’s a charity.  

3. Talk about a time when you felt overlooked or undervalued because of your racial identity.

Evbu: While this isn’t an exact example of being overlooked, I feel it is important to state. My class of 100 people has one other full Black student. The number of times I’ve been called the other girl’s name is unbelievable. We look nothing alike, not our skin tone, body shape or even our hair. People don’t realize how unbelievably disrespectful it is to mix up the only two Black girls but they are able to differentiate every white classmate from one another. It shows that you don’t value me enough as a person to be able to look at my face and recognize me from the one other person who is the same race as me.

4. There’s a time capsule you and your cohort bury after graduating dental school. A group of young, Black aspiring dentists open it. A message from you is in the capsule, what did you say?

Evbu: Congratulations on making it to dental school. You are so incredible, and you DESERVE to be here. Don’t let any insecurities or fear stop you from being the best student you can be. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, you’re here to learn so do that. Don’t be afraid to mess up, this is new to everyone. No one’s going to be great at everything, it takes time. Congrats again!

5. One thing you LOVE and one thing you LOATHE about your field.

Evbu: LOVE - I love the feeling of finishing a patients’ treatment. Whether it was fixing a cavity on one tooth or delivering a new set of crowns; the fact that I was able to better this person’s oral health in some way is such a rewarding feeling. 

LOATHE - The dentists who are willing to do a full veneer case on a 20-year-old who doesn’t need it. This is a trend I’ve been seeing more and more on social media and I think most people are going out of the country to get them done. I don’t think people understand when you take away tooth structure it is gone forever, and veneers have to be replaced about every ten years. There are people who do need veneers, but I’ve been seeing so many young people lately with perfectly fine teeth getting this procedure done on their teeth. I’ve even seen some people getting crowns instead of veneers on their teeth and that is far more damaging on your teeth. Getting a full mouth of crowns as a 20-year-old could lead to dentures by the time you’re 40 due to how much tooth structure is going to be left and how often they’ll need to be replaced. 

Considering veneers? Watch this.

6. Tell us your favorite Black History fact

Evbu: Since vaccinations are such a hot topic at this point, I have a very cool fact about vaccinations. Inoculation, extracting the material from an infected person and scratching it into the skin of an uninfected person, was brought to the western world by a slave in 1706. Onesimius, an African born slave, taught the method to Cotton Mather which helped develop modern vaccines. 

Evbu Sharon Osakue is a third year dental student at Marquette School of Dentistry. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Evbu graduated from Mercer University (Macon, GA) where she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Evbu is of Nigerian descent. In her spare time she loves to read and find new shows on Netflix.

IG: @evbusharon

Twitter: @SimplyyEv