Encouraged to shadow his local dentist during his college years, David Yarmark fell in love with the craft. Currently a dental resident at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Yarmark encourages other dental school graduates to consider residency programs.

“I was always interested in healthcare and getting to work with tools and my hands,” he said. “What drew me to dentistry was getting to do procedures and mini surgeries throughout the day.”

Since then, Yarmark has been focused on learning as much as possible before going out on his own.

Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 2020, Yarmark still felt like he had much to learn about the field.

“I chose to go into residency because I wanted to get more reps under my belt before opening my own practice,” he said. “I’m only halfway through the program, but we have already done so much more than I did in dental school.”

Yarkmark is currently a dental resident at the Albert Einstein Medical Center seeing many medically complex patients daily.

“It prepares you for anything you could see in a practice.”

Yarmark encourages all dental students to consider residency programs after graduating.

“It should be required. It’s only a year and you learn more than just facts and skills,” he said. “You learn time and patient management, networking, and get to work on more complicated cases. These are things that you don’t get the chance to do in school.”

David Yarmark, Dental Resident at the Albert Einstein Medical Center

Through both school and residency, Yarmark has learned the importance of speaking up and asking questions of teachers and attendings.

“At school, I would try to absorb as much clinical information as possible,” he said. “I talked with my professors about their real-world experiences in dentistry. Now, in residency, I have access to new mentors and am always learning something new.”

David Yarmark, Dental Resident at the Albert Einstein Medical Center

Yarmark recognizes that dental school and dental residency are quite different from owning a private practice. “I’m always asking my mentors how they would deal with a case in their practice.”

With his residency program nearly complete, Yarmark is looking to either join a small group practice or open his own practice in the Philadelphia area. There is no doubt that he will be ready to take on the challenge.

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