Robert Tang Research Paper

It rains quite a lot in Vietnam during the summer, something I gladly found out when visiting my parents’ native country for the first time. I had decided participate in a summer service trip to Vietnam to help out in the poorer regions that my parents had told me so much about. On my first day of the trip we visited a small village outside the city of Hue. The other volunteers and I were beginning to bring food and water supplies into the village when I met Minh, a six-year-old boy who tugged on my shirt to show me his Goku action figure. Being the huge Dragon Ball Z fan that I am, we quickly became friends. But I could hardly keep myself from looking at him: he was born with a cleft lip. And due to his financial circumstances (which was prevalent in much of the country as well), he was never able to get the professional care that he needed.

I was excited to see Minh again eight weeks later near the end of my service trip. You can imagine my surprise when I saw his cleft lip had been repaired. Minh had some trouble with speaking but I could tell he was significantly happier and more energetic. After talking to his parents, who also appeared happier, I found
Robert Tang’s private dental practice. My first shadowing session I was lucky enough to witness Dr. Tang prepare a tooth for a crown as he cut and molded the tooth into the perfect shape. Though I was only an observer, I was able to interact with a diverse population of patients and gain an understanding of the types of patients a dentist may face and the type of atmosphere present in a private practice. Dr. Tang also took the time to familiarize me with some of the benefits and struggles that he has faced in opening his own practice as opposed to other options. But he continues to be an inspiration to me as his commitment to his patients and his drive to be on top of new and innovative dental procedures is something worth striving