EIOH Resident Feature: Dr. Paola Moreno
Meet Dr. Paola Moreno, an AEGD resident from Columbia. She is currently a Fellow at UR Medicine's Complex Care Center, where Eastman Institute for Oral Health providers treat adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Q. Where are you from?
A. I am from Colombia.
Q. When do you know you wanted to be a dentist?
A. Since I was a child, I always had in my mind that I wanted to serve the community. After taking a basic science course to decide between studying medicine or dentistry, I realized that through dentistry I could serve others, help people improve and maintain their oral health and their quality of life.
Q. Why do you want to be a Pediatric Dentist?
A. Serving children has always been one of my greatest passions. During my years in dental school I realized that teaching children from an early age to take care of their oral health would have an impact for the rest of their lives, which would be passed down from generation to generation. In Colombia there is a public policy called from zero to always that created a very big impact in terms of where I wanted to develop as a professional.
Q. Why did you choose EIOH?
A. Eastman is an institution with a comprehensive vision of the patient, with a faculty group with extensive experience in Dentistry and different specialties. The diversity that I can find at Eastman is unique.
Q. Best part of the program so far?
A. Right now I am doing a 1-year fellowship with patients with special needs. What I have managed to learn during this time is invaluable. In addition, it has allowed me to continue with the work that I had been doing in my country, serving the community with disabilities. It's hard to describe what it feels like, it's wonderful.
Q. What do you do when you’re having a bad day?
A. When I am having a bad day, I take a deep breath and remind myself that I still have a complete next day to make things better!
Q. Three words to describe yourself.
A. Kind, hard worker, enthusiastic about everything I do.
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