A day in their scrubs: Bryn Martin
Meet Bryn Martin, fourth-year dental student, who will join the Navy as a commissioned officer with the rank of lieutenant after graduation May 25. She’s doing so through the Health Professions Scholarship Program.
The interview was edited for length, flow and clarity.
Hometown: I live in Allen now, so I commute pretty far. I went to Lovejoy High School in Lucas.
When did you first consider dentistry as a career? I’ve always been interested in health care. My uncle is a dentist, and I ended up shadowing him for a whole summer in Tucson, Arizona, and saw his impact on patients. It was amazing, people coming in crying about their situations. (He was) not just a dentist to them…. (He was) able to help them like a therapist, almost. They walked out so much happier than before.
I had considered dentistry. I did a combined premedicine/predental program at Oklahoma State University. Then, after shadowing him, there was no question.
I liked making a difference in people’s lives every day. He was a solo owner before retiring. I remember one case where he delivered a partial (a removable dental prosthetic) to a patient who hadn’t been smiling anymore because they were missing some front teeth. They didn’t want to go to social events with their friends because they didn’t have teeth; that was hard on them. Then, after my uncle delivered the partial, they were in tears of happiness because they could finally live life.
What else made you decide? Again, my uncle. He had an amazing work/life balance, which was so cool. They get up at 4 a.m. and go hiking in the mountains, almost every single morning…. I don’t know if I’ll go to that extreme; that’s a lot. But he was able to have a family, and his life is just a goal for me.
Why did you choose to enter the military? My grandpa served in the Navy, which got me thinking about it. It’s a job, and they helped me pay for school, which is amazing. But I think it’s cool I can give back to the people who protect our country.
I found out about the Health Professions Scholarship Program during my junior year of college, and did a lot of research. I talked to and shadowed a periodontist who was in the Air Force, and he said it’s an amazing experience.
It’s a scholarship program where they pay for all four years of dental school, and I receive a stipend for living expenses. Once I graduate, I’m required to do four years of service in the military. It’s one year for every year they paid for dental school.
Before my commitment, I’m doing an AEGD, Advanced Education in General Dentistry, a one-year program. It’s at (Marine Corps Base) Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. That first year is a neutral year; the residency doesn’t count toward my payback because I am pursuing more education, and I’m still salaried. From what it seems like, the residency is more like what I am doing now – maybe with more advanced procedures and with mentors helping me, versus they just sending me to work to do fillings. The idea is that I will do more complex procedures, and they will give me more training. We will do rotations through the specialties.
What have you learned at the dental college that’s prepared you for the military? I learned how to talk to patients and how to educate them. That’s been the most impactful, rather than just how to do fillings.
What else are you doing to prepare? I started weightlifting to prepare for the military, and I like it. I lift weights three or four times a week, ideally four.
I also run three or four times a week, and I love that too.
Do you want a career in the military? I’ve considered it. I think what holds me back is that having a family is harder when you are in the military.
I may start a private practice in the Dallas area.
What’s your advice for either your younger self or students entering dental school? When you’re in the moment of “This is hard, and I don’t know if I can do this,” remember everything—good or bad—has been for a purpose. It’s all going to work out someday. D1, my first year of dental school, was hard with exams every week, but seeing where I am now, it all worked out.