Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam has 10 million inhabitants, but only one dental school, which churns out fewer than 100 dentists a year to service them all. For dental grad Phuong-Oanh Tran and her family, that meant no dental care whatsoever; Tran’s family was poor and could not afford the high cost.

“There are no programs for poor people the way there are here; so many of my family have never been to a dentist,” she said.

So when she relocated to Oregon with her family under United States Army sponsorship, Tran knew she wanted to go into dentistry — she just wasn’t sure where.

She graduated with a bachelor’s in Computer Science and General Science from Portland
State University — after earning a degree in accounting while in Vietnam — and began to look at dental programs across the country.

“I came to Kornberg for my tour, and afterward, I cancelled all my other interviews,” she said. “I loved the staff who showed me around, and the faculty was so helpful. But the best part was the patients — so diverse. I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Tran says that she was worried the first time she began seeing patients in the clinic. How would they respond to her strong accent, she wondered. Would they trust her?

“I was able to convince them that I am good at what I do and how I care, and now I love my patients, and they love me,” she says. “My goal is for patients to leave the clinic happy with their dental services, and knowing that Temple trains ethical, moral, and dexterous future dentists.”

Tran says she’s grateful to all of Kornberg’s professors and staff who helped her during her time at Temple. She credits June Sisson, associate professor of restorative dentistry, for helping her in the clinic that first day, and Susan Chialastri, associate professor of periodontology, and clinical instructor Joseph Greenberg for helping Tran rehab her smile.

Tran hopes to one day open her own practice in her hometown in Oregon; but eventually, she wants to open another dental school in Ho Chi Minh City.

“I’m going to model it after Temple’s dental school,” she said. With a smile.