#UofTGrad22: How life informs dentistry
DDS grads find their endeavours away from the chair enrich their work in dentistry
By Diane Peters
During one of the first junior hockey games Braedan Prete refereed, while he was a high school student, he got a puck to the face that partially took out a central and lateral incisor.
“At the time, I didn’t know much about dentistry. But I was exposed pretty quick and it solidified my plans to go into the profession,” recalls Prete, who played hockey from childhood and switched to refereeing, doing it as a part-time gig for about seven years.
Fast forward to the Thunder Bay native and Lakehead University chemistry graduate arriving in Toronto for his DDS at U of T. Prete tried out for the hockey team and was the only DDS1 students to make it.
Now graduating with the class of 2022, Prete is just one of this spring’s grads who show that dentistry is best mastered by those with a well-rounded life. Being busy away from clinic and studies can make dental school feel less stressful, while a rich personal life builds better dental professionals.
“It was cool to build relationships with upper years when I was in first year,” recalls Prete, who found new friends and a sense of community on the team and via his class, too. “In a way, 124 Edward Street reminded me of home. It’s so tight knit. It gave me a way to live in the big city.”
Prete served as captain of the U of T Dental Hockey Club in his final year — a tenure punctuated by a win over Western for the Ontario Dental Cup.
Through his four years, Prete found his experience on the ice aided his approach to dentistry. “Reffing is high pressure. There’s a lot of decision making. In dentistry you have to explain things to the patient just like in refereeing you have to explain your decision to the coach.”
For former Saskatchewan Roughriders cheerleader Erin Husack, years of dancing, cheerleading playing sports and working part-time jobs while landing solid grades in high school and at the University of Regina made managing the demands of dental school straightforward.
“Simple time management was never an issue for me,” admits Husack. “I had more free time than ever coming to dental school, which is backwards for some.”
From age four to 16, Husack danced several times a week, doing ballet, jazz, contemporary and tap. “I was busy busy,” she recalls. Once in high school, she transitioned to cheerleading for the school and for an all-star cheer team.
While at the University of Regina, she joined the cheerleading team, and was part of the winning squad at nationals in her first year. Then, she got a chance to try out for the beloved Roughriders.
This volunteer gig (cheerleaders get paid now) came with perks, including trips to the Grey Cup, but the schedule was sometimes gruelling.
“The season runs from June to November. It was crazy,” Husack recalls of those fall months when she’d be back in school and juggling her commitments. She cheered for the Roughriders for two years.
Once she got to dental school, Husack joined intramural teams for the likes of flag football and ultimate frisbee, and took dance, yoga, spin and boxing classes.
“I think it keeps my brain sharp, helps me sleep better,” she says. “I think being active is a key to life in dentistry. I’m really trying to prevent future musculoskeletal issues. I don’t want to be the dentist who has to quit early because I have too much pain.”
For many of this year’s grads, a rich personal and family life have made the journey to becoming a dentist a quest on its own. Alaa Zourob already qualified as a dentist in her native United Arab Emirates, graduating in 2015 from the University of Sharjah and then completing an internship before she emigrated to Canada to join her family.
She started taking National Dental Examining Board of Canada exams to qualify to practise in Canada, but changed her tact. “I didn’t have any experience. And I wanted to make sure I understood the Canadian system and patients and the legal and ethical system,” she says. “I was a bit shy. I didn’t know how to approach patients.”
In 2020, she landed a spot in the coveted International Dentist Advanced Placement Program (IDAPP) at U of T. Once in clinic, she discovered her journey as a newcomer was an asset.
“I’m definitely more adaptable,” says Zourob, thanks to her experiences as a newcomer. And while she came from a fairly homogenous culture, her Canadian classmates and patients have roots in all corners of the world. “Here you get exposed to more cultures. I’m very interested in hearing about people’s backgrounds.”
Zourob married her fiancé, dentist Fersan Marei, in summer 2020; during her final year of dental school, she began pondering when to grow her family. “There will never be a perfect time,” she realized.
With a daughter due in August, Zourob is now working two days a week at a private school that coaches students through dental exams. Her unique experience has huge value to her students. “I feel like, who can understand them more than me?” she says.
She expects to take a few months off this fall with her newborn, returning to online coaching her students as soon as possible, and working as an associate when it makes sense.
Meanwhile, Prete is returning to school, embarking on his MSc in periodontics at U of T. “The periodontium is the foundation for the rest of dentistry,” he says. He will keep playing hockey, and is especially thrilled that the Ontario Dental Cup will be played in Toronto next year. Prete plans to return to the North to practise, doing his part to alleviate the shortage of dentists in the region.
As for Husack, she’ll be heading to Edmonton in July to start a year-long general practise residency with the University of Alberta. She may apply for a speciality program, such as surgery, after that.
“I’ve heard about the long hours in residency, which scares me. But at the same time, I like to be busy,” she says. “I hope I don’t lose the energy at some point.”
View of gallery of Convocation 2022 here.
Top photo: The graduating class of 2022 (Jeff Comber)