Delta Dental Scholars ProgrAM

The Delta Dental Scholars Program awards second-year DMD student(s) three full years of tuition support in exchange for an agreement to commit three years after graduation either to practicing dental medicine in an underserved Massachusetts community or to teaching full-time in an academic setting. The goal of the program is to increase access to high-quality oral healthcare in underserved areas of the state.

Growing up, SHAHZAD MUMTAZ DMD 24 was encouraged by his family to look for ways to give back to the communities that have nurtured him. When he started thinking about life after dental school, he knew he wanted to specialize in pediatric dentistry and stick close to his Massachusetts roots.

“What better way to stay in the Boston community, stay in the area that raised me and molded me into the person I am now and who I’m becoming,” Mumtaz said. “[It’s] the perfect way to give back and utilize the dental knowledge that I gained here at BU to pay it forward and increase access to care, increase care for underserved communities.”

He said he wants to care for underserved communities because it’s a way to use his dental expertise for the greater good. The

Delta Dental scholarship will help him to achieve all his goals.

FIONA KERTHI CGS 17 SAR 19 DMD 24 grew up amid a large immigrant population in Revere, Massachusetts, and witnessed firsthand immigrant families struggling to find quality healthcare. As a first-generation immigrant and dental student, she knew she wanted to help underserved communities, but was overwhelmed by figuring out how to start. When Kerthi learned she had received the Delta Dental scholarship, tears of joy rolled down her face: She finally felt like she was on the right track.

“No matter what, I was going to work in underserved communities,” Kerthi said. “That’s one of the main reasons why I chose to go into dentistry. The fact that the scholarship sets me up for that goal is substantial because right after graduation I can work directly with these communities, start making connections with like-minded individuals, and bridge the gap in access to care in communities that mirror mine growing up.”

For GRACE HSIEH CHRISTIANSON SAR 19 DMD 24 , her interest in dentistry started at just 10 years old, when her family dentist would allow her to hold the suction tube and explain how to use the other instruments. In high school, she shadowed that same family dentist and solidified her passion for dentistry. As an undergraduate, she pursued as many dental and public health opportunities as possible, from participating in international dental mission trips to volunteering with a nonprofit organization that worked with people without housing. As a Delta Dental scholarship recipient, she is looking forward to continuing working with underserved communities.

“For me, volunteering just gives me more perspectives and also gives me that reminder, this is what I’m working for,” Christianson said. “It’s for these people. And even though days are hard and sometimes patients are hard, it’s seeing the joy in people’s face... it’s knowing that they’re being taken care of.”

As an eight-year-old, TORERA AINA DMD 24 waited with eager anticipation for her dental appointments, hoping one day that she would be the one using the instruments.

“As a Black woman, I know that the medical profession hasn’t always been kind to us,” Aina said. “That has been one of the pivotal reasons I have pursued a degree in a medical profession because I want to be able to reach people who may otherwise avoid a dentist because of fear of insult or fear of judgment, or any other fear.”

When Aina learned she received the Delta Dental scholarship, she felt joy, disbelief, and gratitude. ““It’s important for dentists to look into underserved communities because as dental professionals, we focus on prevention,” Aina said “But if half of our community doesn’t know the knowledge of prevention, if they don’t know why prevention is important, then the field kind of crumbles, in general.”