Personal Statement | Touchapol Detchanun

The reason why I want to learn in the faculty of dentistry, especially at MIDS, is because
my aunt is a dentist, and she graduated from Mahidol University. When I was young and had a
problem with my teeth, my aunt was always the one who cured me, because my mom told me
that I never let any dentist take care of it except my aunt. I was scared of dentists, only trusted
my aunt so I let her do it, but still, I asked her all the steps for my comfort. She started to slowly
explain the tools and what she was doing as she treated me, however in an exciting way. My aunt
inspired me to become a dentist like her, who can change the perception of people who were
scared of dentists. She taught me that becoming a dentist is like having a new mission every day
and it was very diverse and challenging because we need to interact with people of all ages,
cultures, and personalities. After that, I started to become interested in the field of dentistry and
when I was young I liked to see my aunt working at the hospital, and since it was never boring;
my aunt makes me see that a dentist's typical day is more interesting than it looks.
During covid-19 break, I gained the experience that intensified my passion for dentistry. I
had the opportunity to do community service at a district school, where the kids are studying for
free. I became an English teacher for the kids. ​They were very happy and excited as it was a rare
opportunity for them to learn. I am very proud of myself as I was the one who gave them an
opportunity. This makes me certain that if I become a dentist then I would often experience this
feeling because I can teach and provide the patients good oral health and self-confidence about
their smile, so their daily life would be much better. Furthermore, I see that in the district I went
to, dental care is very hard to access. Therefore, I want to become a valuable dentist to society
and be able to improve the quality of life of many people. At the same time, I also have fun with
the work I do, because it is what I was interested in. Moreover, I love the feeling of the person
who smiled with true happiness and I am the one who gave them that smile.
My life goal appeared after I had been involved with various fields of subjects during
high school. The core subjects and many electives I attended throughout high school effectively
help me see my future. The main elective I focused on throughout high school is computer
science, which is about programming and robotic AI. Moreover, I have done an internship with
MUICT; with them, I have created a demo website for the hospital. The reason I studied in this
field is I think that in the future it will be a desired skill in society and I believe that it can adapt
to many other fields. For 2-3 years, I have experience in this field, I will not throw away those
skills I have learned because in the future I will adapt those skills to my interests and it would be
an exciting future for me. After university, I believe that I will go on studying technological
development in the dental field because nowadays dentists utilize new and advanced technology,
for example, Invisalign, which is the new way to brace. Therefore, when I am confident in my
skill; I want to develop dental technology to make people’s lives and dentistry better developed.
In conclusion, I believe that the dental field is just not about curing mouth and teeth, but
it is the other way to make people feel confident with themselves, feel comfortable with their
life, and be able to spend time with others without pain. I believe that if you are happy with what
you do, you will make the best out of it. Also, I want to use the knowledge and experience I
gained from the university to create an effective clinic that suits every person and developed a
technology that can help improve people’s daily life. I see a dentist as a career that is rapidly
changing, so it would be very challenging for me however I also see it as interesting because I
would have a new opportunity every day and many goals that I would be able to achieve. It
makes me recognize that becoming a dentist is like enjoying the challenge of a lifetime of
learning. I hope that my strong ambition will help me to get the opportunity to study at MIDS
and build me to be a valuable asset to society in the future.