Dr. Tera Poole was the first black valedictorian in the history of her dental school — which just happens to be the world’s first school of dentistry. On top of doing clinicals in San Francisco and working toward her goal of becoming an orthodontist, she’s also created her own fitness program, “Not Born Fit,” that strives to create a community for those who don’t identify as fitness addicts. Both in and outside of her work, she’s dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives. Whether it be through restoring confidence in a high school student who’s been bullied or helping an overworked person who’s looking to take better care of themselves establish a fun and sustainable gym routine, Tera cares.

Check out our interview with Doctor Tera below!

Blavity: When did you know you wanted to go to dental school?

Tera Poole: My father is a general dentist, so growing up I was always around the office; however, I saw it as “my dad’s” job and didn’t really see myself in that position until after I went to an architecture camp and realized how important it was to me to not only be in the healthcare setting where I can help people, but also how important it was to me to have a job that allows me to interact on the daily with people, especially children and teenagers. I disliked being in the studio designing by myself day after day.

B: What was the hardest struggle you overcame to get where you are career-wise?

TP: It depends on what arena you look at. Personally and with the schooling — four years of undergrad, four years of dental school and three years of residency — that’s tough. For me, what I’m witnessing moreso now is the need to overcome the sense of isolation within the field. Undergrad was fine, dental school was alright, but as you continue going up the tiers, the number of minorities decreases. Maryland has awesome diversity recruitment and I found a core of students to serve as my backbone, but on the inside, each person deals with their own struggles of isolation, “what do I do now, where do I need to be.”

San Francisco is amazing, school is great, but in my school of orthodontics, I’m the first African-American female.

You have to prove yourself day in and day out. You have to pave the way for others. It can be exhausting, but I think that’s a big struggle within dentistry itself as a minority — trying to fit in within the field. But everyone is working on it, especially for students. If you don’t know what an orthodontist is… if you can’t see it, you can’t be it.

B: Did you have a role model or mentor growing up who inspired you?

TP: I think within general dentistry and life goals, my dad is a big influence. I’m a huge daddy’s girl. Whether it just be advice on life, I always went to my dad. He didn’t push me to be a dentist at all even though he is, he just always wanted me to be one step above him. That in itself gave me the willpower, motivation and grit to want to do something.  I was inspired seeing him in his own habitat. Him not pushing me probably helped me want to be one.

It felt inspiring to see him in that light and to see what he was doing at the office. I began to see him not just as my father. I did chores around the office, but as I got older and I went to the office, it switched and I didn’t only see him as my dad, I saw him as a dental professional, how he interacts with people and who he is.

Also Dr. Morgan, who I ended up inviting to my wedding, served as my mentor. I didn’t have a specific orthodontist that made me interested in the field, but my dad and Dr. Morgan kept me going.

B: How did you feel when you found out you were the first black valedictorian at the world’s first dental school?

TP: I set small goals and had my dad and Dr. Morgan in my corner. I wanted to be top 10, but then I worked with an oral surgeon and I saw on her wall that she was third in her class and she went to Maryland. We found out our rank at the end of every year. I started seventh, became fifth and stayed around five between my second and third year. During the last year, I thought I was around there and I thought I was five going into graduation. I actually didn’t know until I opened the graduation brochure sitting there. I saw I was tied for summa cum laude and we were both number one. I had no idea. I was the class president and gave that speech and had been speaking with the Dean, prepping for graduation, but they hid it from me. I sent the picture to my family and now husband.

I didn’t know I was the first black valedictorian until the next day or the day after, my husband actually brought it up. I was like “I don’t know, I’m just happy to be valedictorian,” but he asked Dr. Morgan, she did her research, and she said “You’re the first.” I honestly didn’t think it would be as big as it was. It highlighted things, and I was able to speak with people who reached out. The opportunities it opened were cool.

B: How was your transition from dental school to your residency?

TP: At the beginning, it was pretty difficult. When you go into residency and your specialty, you haven’t always been exposed to that in dental school. In school, I was doing cavities, cleaning and some root canals here and there. Ortho is such a specialty, so I didn’t have a lot of ortho in dental school. Coming in during my first week, the first time I did braces was on my first patient. In your head you’re freaking out, but you’re acting like it’s gonna be great. The transition was more difficult, as was getting used to patients and the type of treatment I’m doing. These patients come back once a month for two to three years. You become a part of their lives. There are different personality types, you don’t know what they’re going through.

B: What made you decide to create Not Born Fit?

TP: Even throughout dental school, working out and being fit has always been a part of what I do to de-stress. I would go to the gym at least every other day, if not every day. My friends would ask me questions, I’d train them, and part of me was like “Why don’t I just share this.” I wanted to share what I do and what I know. Fitness has really taken off in the past year, with fitness models, Instagram, etc. That’s what inspired me to make that brand, because I feel like, especially with women, we all have something we might be insecure about, and as minorities, it’s a good opportunity for us to get together and vocalize. We don’t talk about things or how we feel all the time, and my goal is to create a community of normal people with day-to-day lives, a mother, a healthcare professional, someone in tech, and more. Everyone is busy, we have our own things going on,  but I wanted to bring people together to reach goals without someone giving them something they don’t understand or don’t want to do.

B: What is your favorite part of your job?

TP: I think after going through residency for a year and a half now, I think my favorite part is becoming so close with my patients. I love being able to establish those personal ties with them. Each has their own personality type, some you just click with. Patients talk about bullying at school and then six months later they are walking around more confident You essentially become best friends with patients, you’d be surprised by them. It’s rewarding to figure out how to break that wall. Now they come in and surprise me and that’s the most rewarding, especially after braces when people don’t want to smile, they’re not happy with their jaws, then they’re cheesing in the clinic, posing for photos. Seeing that gratification is delayed but important.

B: Can you share a story when you really felt like your job changed someone’s life for the better?

TP: I had a patient with autism and had to figure out how to manage that. At first you see the fear of the dentist, the first appointment wasn’t very pleasant, they didn’t want to be there. Going from that to now, they’ll come in and it’s a complete 360, telling me about their day-to-day, life at home, life at school.

Being able to see a person open up and really go from essentially hating things and life being so bad to walking around with a smile and laughing in the chair before giving you a hug on the way out —that’s one that’s really touching to me.

B: What are the largest struggles that come with a career like yours?

TP: If you can get over the amount of schooling and how long you’re not going to be making money… But I think after you come to terms with that, it’s maintaining the motivation and the willpower. It’s delayed gratification. You have to know why you’re doing it to keep doing it or you’ll burn out.

You have to go in and maintain a happy demeanor and be peppy and uppy. You might be having a bad day, but you can’t let that come off to your patients. Remembering why you’re doing it is important for the rest of your time. They’re here to see you — even if they have a bad attitude, you can’t change the atmosphere of the whole office. That’s a big factor in healthcare fields. One bad review on social media and you can be done. Make sure you know your ‘why’ so that you can keep going.

B: How do you find time for balance and self-care when you’ve got such a busy schedule?

TP: I think with dental school it took more planning. I was trying to study, see patients, take finals,  and it took more of an effort to make sure you’re organized and prepared in advance by scheduling out time. No matter where I am at studying at 7, I would go to the gym to clear my head. But you can’t drive yourself crazy. My dad always said study long, study wrong. If I’m studying from 5 p.m. to the next morning, how much will I retain? That’s a lot of how I studied, I’d take breaks, even if it was just a Starbucks run for a pumpkin bread and some coffee before I came back to focus.

With residency now, there’s not as much to do when I’m not in clinics. When I get home, I can do what I want, on weekends I’m free. Ortho doesn’t really have emergencies. If it’s a bracket or wire, I’ll see you the next business day. There’s a little bit more leeway and flexibility with the field. It’s easier to balance everything and take the time out. But for dental students or those not in ortho, I think it goes back to organization. I think that’s really the key, making sure you prioritize what’s really important. I had to skip out on some parties here and there, but it comes down to maintaining what’s important and the end goal.

B: What advice do you have for anyone looking to enter a career like dentistry, where you’re making a difference in people’s lives daily?

TP: First of all, go for it. My biggest advice is try to find people to reach out to. Especially if you don’t have anybody. Even if that’s just a role model on Instagram, reach out to someone who’s been through the path and can help you, essentially. Just keep going. You’ll have days when you don't know if you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep going, you’ll get out of the tunnel some day. Just keep going, and if you can see yourself in that position, you can get there. It might be a different path you have to take, but eventually you will get there.


This post is brought to you in collaboration with American Family Insurance.