DentaltownUK August 2017 - 80

a day in the life:
student profile
Name: Yihan Miao
Age: 21
A dental student at King's College London
who enjoys dancing in his spare time,
and is focused, artistic and determined

Now entering my final year at King's
College London, we work at two dental
hospitals every week and once a fortnight at
community practice. Clinic times are usually
9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. I've lived at several locations
since starting in London four years ago, both
near the university and farther away. Each
has its merits and downsides, but because
of the nature of London and its congestion
during peak times, I've found living close to
university a much more relaxed experience.
Starting from as early as second year at
King's, we see patients and start practical
work on them, applying what we learned
through early demonstrations. As the years
progress, the emphasis becomes more practical
and less lecture-based. Each day is usually
dedicated to a particular speciality or field,
such as integrated clinical care, oral surgery,
or paediatrics/orthodontics.
It's important to achieve a balanced and
healthy lifestyle in a challenging profession
where it's easy to burn out. I enjoy several
sports, particularly tennis, and took up
dancing two years ago. Activities outside
dentistry have helped me to not only take
my mind off work, but also to develop and
improve other qualities and key skills such
as communication and teamwork (through
Shri Dance, the dance crew that Yihan is
a member of, performing at the King's
College London Charity Diwali Show

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AUGUST 2017 // dentaltownuk.com

playing in a football team) and to train my
mental strength and determination (from
challenging tennis matches and practising
with professionals at the National Tennis
Centre). After participating in two of the
biggest student-organized dance shows in
London-the King's College London Diwali
Show and Barts-and the London Asian
Society over the past two years, I've met new
people, made fantastic friends and opened
up a side of me I never would have realized
I was capable of before. Like Sahil Sharma
said in a previous edition, the rehearsals
can be extremely tough and exhausting,
but would I do it again, given the time and
opportunity? Absolutely.
If you were to ask me 10 years ago or
even possibly during GCSEs, I wouldn't
have been able to tell you that I wanted to
be a dentist. Committing to this profession
does not come overnight. Without wishing
for this to sound like your typical personal
statement-"I wanted to be a dentist because
I ..."-my interest grew in this field as it had
a big impact on my life.
Almost every child at some point fears
going to the dentist, and I was no exception,
from being dragged to have a couple deciduous
teeth taken out in China to being dragged to
have a couple permanent premolars taken out
in the UK. It seemed that my teeth, like me,
just didn't want to cooperate, regardless of
which continent I was on! After the crooked
teeth came the braces, and a few years later,
came the orthognathic surgery: My teeth,
jaw, face, bite, whatever you want to add
have all undergone reconstruction.
As a child, comprehending all this was
hard, but I knew it made a difference. Now
when I'm studying these topics, I can appreciate what my dentists and orthodontists and
surgeons at Manchester Dental Hospital
have done. Yes, sometimes I still have my old
problems with smiling, eating or speaking.
But dentistry is not mathematics; there is no
definitive right or wrong. It's about helping
patients and relieving their symptoms to
something more manageable, and improving
their quality of life, and mine certainly has.

Yihan Miao, right, with fellow dancers on the day
of their performance at the mayor of London's
Diwali Trafalgar Square Showcase

Of course, max-fax is not the only path in
dentistry. The ultimate dentist for me is one
who is well-rounded in providing a wide range
of care for patients across all age groups. At
this early stage of my career, I believe this is
where I want to be. There are no specialities
that stand out for me at this moment, and
some I find are quite challenging, but one
cannot pick and choose the patient who
walks through the doors each day. Even
though specializing has great benefits and
is appealing for some, if I were to go down a
particular path, there would be a lot of other
opportunities lost elsewhere. It's important
to retain a general and broad knowledge.
A conversation with a consultant last week
really stuck in my mind. He said: "If you
want to make tons of money from dentistry
or medicine, you're doing it wrong. There
are a million other ways to make money
elsewhere. If you want a chilled job, you're
in the wrong profession. We are doctors or
dentists because only we have the knowledge
and expertise make a difference to their lives.
That is and should be the only reason why
you are here."
There have been instances over the past
few years during times of extreme stress when
I've been driven to tears by a particularly
difficult patient or patient's relative, despite
doing everything I could to help them. I
reflected and learned from those experiences
but never felt like giving up, because the vast
majority of times when you do your best to
help someone, and they appreciate you for
doing so, it is the best feeling in the world. ■
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DentaltownUK August 2017
