Oral health inequities and dentistry as a public health issu…

Essay Prompt: As a Tier-1 research institution, every day, our faculty, staff, and students work to address unanswered questions, unresolved challenges, and problems that impact a wide variety of populations. In the Honors College, you’ll have opportunities to do this sort of work — and maybe even answer questions and solve problems that matter to you. Tell us about one question, challenge, or problem that you’d like to work to better understand or address during your time. Introduce this issue, and then explain why it matters to you and why it might matter to others. Feel free to be creative – research and inquiry can exist in unlikely places.

A. Purpose of the Essay

This essay must demonstrate that the applicant is:

• Research-minded
• Curious about complex, real-world problems
• Interested in using inquiry and interdisciplinary research to understand and address those problems

The essay should clearly align the applicants interests with a research-focused university environment and an honors program that emphasizes inquiry, ethics, and social impact.

B. Central Issue & Research Framing

Core Issue (must remain central throughout):

Oral health inequities as a public health and access issue, viewed through the lens of dentistry.

Conceptual Research Question (do not quote directly):

Why does oral health remain neglected and inaccessible for many populations despite its strong connection to overall health, and how can research-driven, preventive approaches address this gap?

The essay must frame dentistry as:

• Preventive healthcare
• Interconnected with systemic issues (access, immigration, education, policy)
• A valid subject of public health and social research, not just clinical practice

C. Required Personal Case Study (Anchor Evidence)

Context:

The essay must include a specific, factual anecdote from a pediatric dental internship.

Required details (must be accurate):

• Pediatric dental office internship
• Patient:
• Age: 5
• Recently immigrated from Afghanistan
• Dental condition:
• Multiple cavities
• Tooth infection
• Abscess causing discomfort
• Immediate treatment:
• Laughing gas used
• Planned future treatment:
• Extractions
• Crowns
• Spacers
• General anesthesia at a later visit

Framing rules:

• No names or identifying details
• No emotional exaggeration or pity
• The child is not the problem; the system is
• Use this moment as evidence of a larger pattern, not a standalone story

Purpose of this anecdote:

To show how real clinical encounters raise researchable questions about access, prevention, and health systems.

D. Personal Motivation (How to Explain Why This Matters to Me)

The essay should explain that this experience:

• Changed how the applicant understands dentistry
• Revealed how oral health outcomes depend on:
• Timing
• Access
• Preventive infrastructure
• Sparked curiosity about why care often occurs too late

Important framing guidance:

• Do not frame motivation as this made me want to be a dentist
• Frame it as this made me want to understand the system behind the outcome

E. Broader Significance (Why It Matters to Others)

This section must clearly scale the issue beyond the individual patient.

Include:

• Oral healths connection to:
• Chronic disease
• Nutrition
• Mental health
• School attendance and work productivity
• Disproportionate impact on:
• Immigrant families
• Low-income communities
• Children
• Structural issue:
• Separation of dental care from primary healthcare systems

This section should read like a public health problem statement, not a moral argument.

F. Explicit Connection to a Research-Driven Academic Environment ( I will give university name after selection)

This section is critical.

The essay must show why a research-oriented university and honors program are well-suited to exploring this issue.

Required elements to emphasize:

• Commitment to solving real-world problems through research
• Emphasis on:
• Applied research
• Community-engaged scholarship
• Interdisciplinary inquiry
• Relevance of combining:
• Dentistry
• Public health
• Sociology
• Health policy

Honors program framing:

The honors environment should be described as:

• A space to ask complex, ethical questions
• A place where research is connected to social impact
• An environment that encourages inquiry across disciplines rather than narrow specialization

Avoid:

• Overpraising prestige
• Listing specific faculty or labs unless required
• Claiming guaranteed solutions

Correct framing:

The applicant seeks the institution not for ready-made answers, but for the tools to investigate the problem responsibly through research.

G. Structure Checklist (Must Follow)

Paragraph 1 Introduce oral health as a neglected but essential health issue

Paragraph 2 Internship case study as the moment that raised the question

Paragraph 3 Expansion to systemic and public health implications

Paragraph 4 Why a research-driven honors environment is the right place to explore this issue

H. Tone, Style, and Constraints

• Length: ~500 or less
• Tone: Analytical, reflective, grounded
• Language level: First-year undergraduate honors (not graduate-level, not casual)

Avoid:

• Buzzwords
• Overly complex sentences
• I will fix or I will solve claims

Preferred verbs:

• Explore
• Examine
• Investigate
• Understand
• Question

I. Final Outcome Goal

By the end of the essay, the reader should clearly understand that the applicant:

• Thinks critically about dentistry as a research and equity issue
• Understands oral health as part of broader healthcare systems
• Is motivated by curiosity and social responsibility
• Is well aligned with a research-focused honors programs values