I just moved to the USA in December and had to start living ten thousand kilometers away from my family. But I had my husband next to me, my biggest supporter, and that made my transition much easier than it could possibly have been. Still, without a Green Card or work permit I could not do almost anything besides sitting at home and studying day and night for the INBDE. I was not allowed to drive. I could not work: only home chores and studying. Only someone who has gone through the same obstacles would understand how difficult it is to adapt to completely new conditions and build your life from scratch.
In your motherland you can be a highly respected doctor, with many friends and parents next to you. You passed your driving test long ago and have already forgotten what that process felt like. You already raised yourself from working as a dental assistant to a dentist, but in a new country you are nobody again. It was a very tough time. I missed my family a lot, but I remembered the goal I had moved for: challenging myself and enhancing my skills to the ideal American level. Because America is definitely the international dental standard. I did not choose this field just to become an average dentist. I want to become a really good one, so I believe everything I have sacrificed is worth it.
Since those first months, the picture has changed, not all at once, but steadily. I became the first immigrant in my family to enter the United States. I began shadowing Dr. Shidmand, a dentist I had reached out to long before my plane landed. In his clinic I learned how clinical care, communication, and documentation work in an American practice. I observed and assisted with X-rays, fillings, implants, orthodontics, and clinical discussions. I also volunteered at a hospital in Tarzana, where I could observe American healthcare on a larger scale.
By April I had passed the INBDE and TOEFL on my first attempt, not because the exams were easy, but because the discipline I had built in Russia held up under comprehensive testing. The INBDE reaches from basic science to advanced clinical work. It asks not only how to treat a patient, but why a treatment is indicated, what the evidence supports, what the alternatives are, and what could go wrong. Passing made the future a little more solid, one step closer.
I launched TeethTeacher.com to share oral health education with readers who want clarity before pain becomes the only reason to seek care. Hundreds of thousands of impressions later, that project confirms something I already knew: people want to understand their mouths before they are in crisis.
There was a moment that confirmed why I was doing all of this. My retainer broke. Dr. Shidmand scanned my teeth and, two weeks later, handed me four sets of retainers when I had no income to pay for them. "You will get into dental school," he said. "You will become a dentist. And I know you will help someone else the same way." His confidence became my responsibility.
I am not where I want to be yet. But I am no longer only studying in an apartment, waiting for permission to begin. I have credentials, clinical observation, mentorship, and a clear picture of the dentist I want to become. The sacrifice still costs something every day. I believe it is worth it.
