Aarush Arora | Pre-Dental Student & Community Leader

Honestly? Up until a few years ago, I had no idea I ever wanted to even be a dentist. But, long before ever considering dentistry, I was already deeply immersed in community outreach. Through founding and leading my non-profit basketball training organization Folsom Ballers, and supporting underprivileged families through organizations like Powerhouse Ministries, I truly began to understand what service really is. As my exposure to the healthcare world increased, it was clear that these experiences did more than just strengthen my leadership capabilities- they shaped how I view healthcare. Throughout time, community outreach became the foundation that assisted in my journey toward dentistry.

Leading an organization like Folsom Ballers was more than just holding practices and events. I held the responsibility of mentoring young athletes, coordinating schedules and making sure everyone felt supported and valued. Working with the youth was inspiring as it showed how true growth occurs when they are encouraged and motivated to do their best. Athletes not only wanted guidance for basketball tips, but also for leadership and confidence skills. Through such experiences, it was clear leadership isn’t just about asserting dominance, but also by creating an environment where others have trust in you and feel empowered to grow. 

These lessons garnered through my experiences are translated into dentistry as well. In a dental clinic, a collaborative type environment is dependent on trust, communication, and strong leadership. Just like how young athletes relied on my mentorship to overcome their fear and grow confidence, patients entering a dental clinic depend on their dentist when visiting the office. The skills from leading Folsom Ballers taught me how to remain calm, communicate effectively, and be an effective leader which are skills important for a patient-centred clinic.

Furthermore, my involvement with Powerhouse Ministries, an organization aimed to provide for underserved families, further showed me the connection between community outreach and my path of dentistry. Working with such families showed the reality several individuals face like financial issues, limited healthcare, and lack of education. These experiences improved my perspective of mentorship and motivated me to approach dentistry not just as a profession, but so I can help fix the issues of equality and access to healthcare. 

Dental care access is definitely a challenge, especially for low-income individuals such as members of Powerhouse ministries. According to the CDC, over 35% of adults were uninsured with dental care, which leads to poor oral health, and can further lead to physical and mental health issues (Nasseh, Vujicic & O’Dell, 2013). Ignoring the disparities leads to more implications, and seeing these families struggle through my community outreach really made this issue feel real. It further motivated me to pursue dentistry to help fix issues like these.

By participating in community outreach, I also learned how prevention and education of healthcare is as important as treatment. During volunteer events, I would notice bad habits like poor hygiene and lack of care which could affect people long-term. Individuals weren’t just neglecting their health decisions, but they didn’t have the guidance. By offering guidance to such people, it could help their health outcome dramatically. Dentistry offers a similar opportunity at a larger scale as dentists can educate and teach patients about hygiene, nutrition, and more to stop diseases before they escalate. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, periodontal disease is one of the largest threats to oral disease, and is one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States, even though it is preventable (Benjamin, 2013). This reinforces the fact that early prevention and health education is crucial. Serious health conditions can be avoided if guidance is given to everyone. Learning about this strengthened my motivation to pursue dentistry so I can not only work on treatment, but educate all types of patients on long-term wellness and care.

As a motivated Pre-Dental student at the University of the Pacific, my rigorous coursework in biology and chemistry has assisted in my pursuit of dental school. Although community outreach has given me a purpose for my pursuit, the coursework has educated me on scientific knowledge needed to understand the intricacies of health-care and dentistry. However, leadership and service provides an outlet to put this technical knowledge to use as I can combine it with my awareness and care for the community.

As my preparation for dental school continues, I will carry the lessons learned through community service and outreach to lead with empathy, intention, and improvement of access to healthcare. My pursuit of dentistry wasn’t shaped from just academics, but by my experiences in helping create a more inclusive and educated community. Dentistry isn’t just a profession, it’s a unique opportunity to combine scientific knowledge with empathy to make everlasting effects on communities. 

(785 Words)

Works Cited

Benjamin, Regina M. “Oral Health: The Silent Epidemic – PMC.” PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2821841/. Accessed 22 February 2026.

MacDougall, Hannah. “Dental Disparities among Low-Income American Adults: A Social Work Perspective.” PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4985883/. Accessed 22 February 2026.