It wasn’t until the age of 16 that Ziwei Chen, DMD23, had her first dental exam. Chen was born and raised in a rural fishing village in China. She grew up thinking that the single dental clinic in her village was only for extracting teeth. When Chen and her family arrived in the U.S., she learned during a visit to the pediatrician that she had ten cavities in her mouth.
“My family could not afford to treat even one of them. My mother worked as a cashier until midnight every day to support her three children. We could not afford to seek dental care until I became fluent enough in English to apply for Medicaid for my family,” Chen said. “Prior to my immigration to the United States at the age of twelve, I never knew that floss existed.”
By the time she was able to get a check-up all her posterior teeth had severe caries due to prolonged poor oral hygiene and lack of regular dental care.
“My pediatric dentist went beyond providing basic treatment to include oral health education at our visit. She taught my entire family about the caries disease process, oral hygiene, and the importance of having a dental home. It was the first time I learned that I want to become that someone for another child, another family, and another community.”
As a first-generation college student, Chen attended Johns Hopkins University earning a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology. When she began her predoctoral training at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), Chen knew she wanted to explore new research opportunities and get involved in community health service projects.
Chen helped organize HSDM’s first annual Give Veteran’s A Smile event, opening the door to veterans for free dental care and consultations. She also led Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) in 2021, during a time heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event incorporated virtual consultations and oral health instruction videos to increase the accessibility to dental care during the pandemic.
“From the digital tools we utilized at this event, we were able to publish a research article on teledentistry, and our oral health instruction videos have totaled more than 43,000 views.” Chen and her classmates had the instructional videos captioned in multiple languages to make them accessible to non-English speakers. Beyond providing one day of free dental care, Chen sees an opportunity to increase access to oral health information. “We can empower our patients with resources, that they can access anytime and anywhere, to start on the journey of life-long oral health.”
After graduation, Chen will be pursuing a residency in pediatric dentistry at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. – the same hospital where she and her siblings received dental care growing up.
“Children's National Hospital is a safety-net hospital, where children and families go to seek care at their most vulnerable times,” said Chen. “I am from one of those families. My siblings and I were once those children. Therefore, I hope to give back to the same hospital that cared for my family, with gratitude and service.”
Chen credits HSDM’s supportive community for helping her accomplish her goals and giving her a sense of trust and belonging while navigating her predoctoral program. As she looks back on her time at HSDM, Chen realizes that she’s still the same person she was four years ago.
“I am still together with my identity, my values, and my passion. I stayed true to who I was, where I came from, whom I vowed to serve, and why I wanted to become a dentist — to become that someone who breaks barriers, alleviates oral disease burden, and prevents caries at the earliest time possible for children, families, and communities in need.”
