"I knew what I wanted to be since kindergarten, it has always been my gut feeling to be a dentist. In high school I took allied health classes including anatomy so I could get ahead in the field," said Ramirez, 20, a graduate of Murrieta Mesa High School.
A future in motion. Ramirez completed clinical hours at a Solana Beach pediatric and orthodontics practice, an internship placement he achieved through Mesa College, and was immediately hired there as a dental assistant upon completing his dental assistant degree in spring 2024.
"Everything I know in dentistry is because of this program. I work with little ones everyday, Mesa really taught me how to adapt my communication and patient care towards kids," he said.
Although confident of his career early on, Ramirez was not always sure how to make it happen until he learned about the affordable dental assisting program at Mesa College. He enrolled in spring 2022 and was granted a San Diego Promise scholarship.
"I didn’t know how to navigate college outside of high school. The Promise provided a lot of guidance; I was able to meet with my counselor before the semester started. We went over my goals and what I wanted to do. Because of her support, I was able to take my general education classes and prerequisites immediately and later got accepted into Mesa’s allied health program."
He added, "Mesa is amazing, they have many programs to support students with finances and food. They helped me get into college, covered my tuition, books, and paid for my state and national exam fees." Ramirez received reimbursement for the Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) credentialing exam from the San Diego Community College District.
While a dental assistant student, Ramirez volunteered in the Mesa College Health and Wellness Community Clinic, which supplies the public with pro bono physical therapy rehabilitation and dental services with particular outreach to those uninsured or underinsured. Students engage in patient treatment under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist or dentist.
"It was nice to give back to my community, especially to be there for families who could not otherwise afford a cleaning or X-rays," stated Ramirez. "I know we helped them but the community helped us to get our certifications. And beyond my certifications I felt a sense of joy and learned immensely." At Mesa, dental assistant students manage dental equipment; operate intraoral cameras, X-rays, and dental software to conduct diagnostics and administer patient care as well as have opportunities for clinical rotations at dental facilities.
In addition to being studious, Ramirez wants to eliminate barriers for the next cohort. "X-rays are the hardest things to do. Myself and another student, Marisabella, were encouraged to voice our opinion about expanding the lab time allotted to perform dental radiographs and it was very nice that our district listened to the student body." Together with Karen Wait, Program Director of Dental Assisting, they advocated for increased lab hours from one to three hours during a SDCCD Board of Trustees meeting. The time change was approved to begin fall 2025.
Currently Ramirez is preparing to take the RDA exam and is working toward a psychology associate degree at Mesa College. A degree he says will deepen his understanding when younger patients are at risk of neglect or who face neurodevelopmental disorders. Following Mesa College, he will apply to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and thereafter to UCLA School of Dentistry to become a licensed dentist.