DDSRank Announces 2017 Dental Scholarship Winner
Elianne Vazquez, winner of The 2017 DDSRank Dental Scholarship
Top dental SEO company DDSRank is pleased to announce Elianne Vazquez as the winner of The 2017 DDSRank Dental Scholarship. The scholarship program, which was started to help students dedicated to a career in dentistry afford an education, is being awarded for the third time.
Though many excellent entries were received, Vazquez, a first-year student at UCLA School of Dentistry, was superlative among this year’s applicants.
Elianne Vazquez earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Florida, graduating Cum Laude with a major in Food Science and Human Nutrition.
A first-generation college graduate, Elianne credits her parents, themselves Cuban immigrants, for her inspiration: “My family inspires my desire to work hard, work purposefully, and serve others in the process. I am committed to making significant contributions to the dental and health care fields throughout my career as a dentist – in sports dentistry, community health programs, and media marketing and communication. I am highly interested in topics regarding health and wellness, and seek to educate those around me in an effort to improve their quality of life.”
In her application essay, Vazquez noted, “Dentistry is beginning to witness a shift from a dentist-centric model to one that is built and operated around patients. Because people are connected to the Internet, they are gaining more power in the decision-making process of their dental care. They are using technology to make smarter consumer choices as patients and have a greater understanding of which dentists provide an ideal patient experience and reap excellent oral health outcomes.”
However, she also notes that dental professionals must work to correct inaccurate information found on the Internet, now more than ever. “Just as I feel called to educate others as a future dentist, I felt compelled to address the misinformation presented [by various online sources] through social media platforms and encourage proper dental hygiene techniques.”
“The determination Vazquez has to make a positive impact through her chosen field of dentistry is inspiring,” said Steve Brown, DDSRank’s CEO.
This year’s scholarship contestants were required to respond to the question, “How do you think use of the Internet will reshape – or is already reshaping – the field of dentistry?”
In her essay, Vazquez pointed out, “Tools like social media platforms, websites, blogs, and search engine optimization are game changers in the world of relevance and patient referrals – the lifeline of a dental practice.”
She also talked about the emergence of “teledentistry, which combines telecommunications and dentistry to give patients a virtual dental home instead of a physical one. This exchange of clinical data and images over remote distances has provided increased and easier access to dental care to patients in nursing homes, those who live in rural areas without a dentist, or those facing obstacles like cost, time, fear of the dentist or unawareness about dental health. The benefits of teledentistry are not limited to patients. For dentists, it means being able to provide reimbursable services and screenings in low-cost environments.”
“Elianne clearly understands the important and ever-changing role that the Internet plays in regards to the future of dentistry.” said Brown. “We are delighted to name her as The DDSRank Dental Scholarship’s 2017 winner.”
DDSrank’s purpose is to help dental professionals succeed in building their practices using SEO and dental marketing. The establishment of their dental scholarship program was a natural extension of that mission – by helping an aspiring dentist afford the education needed to build their own practice. For more information on the award, visit their scholarship page.