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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Caroline Hegemann Artistry is an indisputable component of dentistry, which is enticing for some while challenging for others. In this year’s publication of The Crown, we decided to highlight some of the art and artists in our community, whether directly related to dentistry or not. CDM is a place teeming with multi-talented individuals. Here we have showcased how some of these talents manifest outside of the classroom and the clinic. I would like to recognize the hard-working members of the ASDA Editorial Committee for making this publication possible. Thank you to Sophia Hernandez, Marcela Sordo, and Katherine Dumoulin, our Editorial Chairs, for choosing the direction of this publication and ensuring its flawless execution. Although she may not have a spotlight article herself, Soph’s creative genius is evident in her creation of this publication’s cover and overall layout. We are grateful for the contributions you have made to each of the last three Columbia Crown editions. Additionally, thank you to our D1 committee members, Jack Eppolito and David Pellei, for joining our team and for your work brainstorming, interviewing, and writing articles. Finally, we are so appreciative to the students and faculty who not only brighten our community with their artistic skills but who also agreed to share their stories and creations with us. We hope you enjoy!

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Caroline Hegemann

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ORAL TRADITION: POETRY IN DENTISTRY Roxana Martínez Bermejo

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DANCE AND DENTISTRY Katherine Dumoulin

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CONTENT-MENT CREATION Marcela Sordo

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ART IN ALL FORMS Marcela Sordo

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BLOWN AWAY David Pellei

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ART AS A CHANNEL IN DENTISTRY Katherine Dumoulin

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COOKING UP LIKES Jack Eppolito

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS Alina Naqvi, Bree Zhang, Ann Hoang

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ORAL TRADITION:

POETRY AND DENTISTRY INTERTWINE

Roxana Martínez Bermejo This is the story of how art inspired me to become a dentist. I grew up watching my brother paint, going to museums, and listening to my grandfather recite his poems. That is why, when the moment came, I chose to study Art History. Havana University opened just 17 spots that year, and I was honored by their invitation to join their prestigious program. Art History was the door to my dreams. The pathway for me to learn and combine creative writing, theory, and my passion for art. I didn't grow up wanting to be a dentist. I was that prototypical kid afraid of the metallic instruments displayed on the table. However, when I turned 18, personal circumstances forced me to become a regular visitor at the dental clinic and the operating room. After several surgeries trying to correct my premature bone loss, what used to be fear to dentists was transformed into admiration and acknowledgment. At that point in my life, I started to learn how dentists work and how important it is to have an oral education from an early age. The interest these professionals had to find solutions was more than extraordinary: an inspiration. This was when my curiosity for this field started to grow. In school, I even began looking for painters that had depicted dental scenes. The history of dentistry unraveled right before my eyes, from canvasses of Thomas Webster, Francisco de Zurbaran, Salvador Dali, and other names. I became fascinated, and eventually, the question arose: "If I could start my career over, what would I do differently?"

The short answer was to become a dentist to inspire and deliver a message of hope that transcends through a smile.

As unpredictable as life is, I was blessed with an opportunity to start over. The next chapter started in 2016: the year when I was invited as a professor of Art History to participate in a conference in New York. It was also the year I won an international poetry prize that provided me the money to travel to the USA. Once here, I decided to take the risk and stay. I was alone in this country, having nothing but my perseverance and will to succeed in making a difference. During all these years of hard work, trying to become a better version of myself has been a focal part of my life. This, of course, includes reminding myself every day to honor my roots and the difficult road that brought me to this University. Columbia is surrounded by history, a history that includes Nobel prize awardees and American Presidents, a history that also personally touches me: its Alma Mater inspired the Alma Mater of The Havana University. On top of that, Luis de Soto y Sagarra, the founder of the Art History education in Cuba, was a Columbia Alumnus. It feels surreal that I am climbing the same steps as the father of the program that signed my first diploma. This reminds me never to forget who I am and how harmoniously my two academic interests resonate in my heart. Dentistry, like art, is about empathy. I have learned that you need to understand others' perspectives and circumstances to gain the confidence of a person who might not be comfortable with opening their mouth to a stranger.

I have understood this the hard way, being the patient in the chair. Fortunately, I have also had the opportunity, both while shadowing and now as a dental student, of being on the other side. I now recognize the pain and the cure. My background in humanities prepared me to be more resilient, to adapt to a new culture, and hopefully never forget that not all paths are straight and illuminated. As of today, I continue to write poetry and artrelated materials. In 2021, a book called "Insular Night," a review of the creative trajectory of artist Pedro Avila, was released under my signature. Before this, I already had some published articles, poems, and a poetry book called "Bitácora del Sujeto Ausente." Also, I have had the privilege of working as a curator of different exhibitions of Caribbean art. I am the co-founder and member of the board of The Juan Ramon Jimenez Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting Spanish literature around the world. As a future dentist, promoting and making my language visible is a priority for me because I understand how important this tool is to satisfy the needs of my community. Last summer, I had the opportunity to teach a Spanish course to my classmates, medical students, and residents as part of the "Dígame" curriculum created by Dr. Ana Esteban Gonzalez. Alongside Dr. Esteban Gonzalez, I am currently working on a research project that interconnects Spanish literature and dentistry. Seven years ago, if somebody had told me I would be able to interconnect my passions, I would have laughed. Today, I couldn't be more thankful for having arrived at this point through the hard, "nontraditional" road I have taken. I remain moved only by the dream of turning a person's smile into my finished canvas.

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DANCE AND DENTISTRY

Katherine Dumoulin

Dentistry is an art... but what about art outside of dentistry? We all know a common reason for choosing dentistry is the creative, artistic aspect of the work we do in and out of the mouth. Another common reason for pursuing or practicing dentistry is to have a better work-life balance. For some, a career in dentistry allows the opportunity to continue doing art outside of work. Robinson Lopez, a D2 from a traditional Cuban family, grew up spending holidays and events doing traditional latin style dances like salsa, merengue, and bachata. “Dance is part of my culture and community. My family, especially my parents, love to dance but they aren’t ‘dancers,’ it’s always for the social connection and building community.”

While always dancing at family functions, Robinson never formally danced or choreographed until college. Going to school far from home to Brown University, it was difficult for him initially to find community. “Coming from Miami,” Robinson detailed, “I was surrounded by people who spoke my language and shared my culture; at Brown, I had to find my pocket of people and dance really helped.” For Robinson, dance has greatly influenced how he dresses, carries and presents himself, but also how he will serve his future patients.

‘Many dance spaces, especially in NYC, can be very intimidating and intense in an already vulnerable situation,” with expectations of quickly learning and performing a new choreography in front of strangers. Learning the importance of community, connection, and affirmation through these dance experiences, Robinson plans to integrate those values to his future practice. “Dental offices are also very vulnerable spaces,” said Robinson, “and I want to connect with patients to make sure they feel welcomed, safe, comfortable and affirmed.” In addition to impacting his style and values, dance has also helped lead Robinson to choosing dentistry. “I didn’t know [right away] that I wanted to be a dentist,” Robinson said, reflecting on his path to dental school.

“I am the type of person where I don’t want my career to be the sole focus of my life. I want space for other things to feel happiness, joy and community in my life and dance was a huge part of realizing that.”

For Robinson, dance represents a form of expression, connection, and also selfcare. Though not in dentistry for the art form it is itself, Robinson realized dentistry allows the pursuit of other passions and interests, whether that be art or something else that brings you joy. “If you don’t prioritize things that bring you joy, you won’t be as productive in the harder parts of life,” Robinson argued, “and a career in dentistry allocates for that time.”

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CONTENT-MENT CREATION

Marcela Sordo Whether you are scrolling on Instagram or Tiktok, you might just come across one of Kimia Tavakoly’s videos on @somethingtoothy. Kimia started her accounts as a way to track her progress through dental school. “ I want to see where I started and how far I have come” she states.

Aside from documenting her different dental school memories, Kimia initially viewed her content creation as a “fun side hobby.” With all this in mind, Kimia created her main platform on Instagram before starting dental school. Initially, Kimia found it hard to accumulate followers. “In the beginning, it was hard to know what would draw people in” she comments. Through her trial and error, Kimia began to see what followers liked. She has an aesthetic and relatable dental content approach for her audience. Using Instagram Reels to edit, she often documents her day before, during, and after school. With a current 20,800 followers (as of December 2023), @somethingtoothy continues to attract followers every day. When her page initially began to grow, it became clear that Kimia’s account provided so much more than a means of capturing her dental progress. For one thing, these accounts are serving as marketing and advertisement in Kimia’s future career. People can look to her videos as a way to understand more about Kimia as a person alongside her work. Furthermore, Kimia’s page has provided her a means of networking. “Predental students will DM me about the DAT, interview prep, pre-dental classes, and really anything related to dental school. It honestly makes me happiest to answer any of their questions.”

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I was in their place once and it feels extremely rewarding to help them through this process” she shares. Kimia had applied late in her dental school application cycle. She faced people telling her that she wouldn’t get into Columbia for this reason. Her own followers are bound to hear the same discouragement. To this kind of mentality she says, “You need to try your best. I told myself that at the end of the day, everything will be okay. Worst case scenario, apply again and eventually you will reach your goals.” This kind of positive outlook on life and school continues to be carried throughout Kimia’s videos and in everything she sets out to accomplish. In terms of Kimia’s future dental career, she not only will have a head start on marketing her work, but a better understanding of dealing with different kinds of people. “Just through talking with the people that reach out to me, I have learned so much. I have met so many people from different backgrounds with different ideas. People will even share their own dental school tips with me! Dental schools practice certain skills in other ways than we are taught,” she emphasizes. Kimia finds that she has been given the unique opportunity to mass network and develop her communication skills through @somethingtoothy. She will apply these same skills to the future patients she will give care to. Feel free to add to Kimia’s growth! Support her by following @somethingtoothy on Instagram and Tiktok.

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ART IN ALL FORMS Marcela Sordo

Nicole Lin enjoys different activities including ceramics, baking, and guitar. In January of 2023, Nicole discovered her passion for ceramics in a small studio in Koreatown NYC. When practicing ceramics, she finds that both her overall attention to fine detail and hand skills are advancing. Ceramics require patience and careful maneuvering of the clay to ensure a quality piece is developed. Upon finishing her projects, she takes time to evaluate any of the decisions she had made in her artistic process.

Learning from the choices she sees fit and ones she can improve on have only helped her to grow in self-assessment and critique. She sees this as being beneficial towards her future in the dental field. “I think that evaluating my work with ceramics is similar to what I will be doing in the future. Each case I get, I can see what was done well and what can be improved.”

Similar to assessing clay creations, she can use these skills in reviewing patient outcomes to check that all established goals were properly achieved. Back in her apartment Nicole also finds joy in baking and cooking.

During the pandemic quarantine, she started to play with different tastes and designs in her baked goods. From piping macarons to kneading sourdough, she has found that her hand skills are being honed in on in a different way. Like in dentistry, she shares that there is a familiarity that develops with the variety of tools she uses in the kitchen. When asked about how this has helped in dental school Nicole points out,

Aside from these past-times helping Nicole master certain skills and elements applicable to dentistry, they allow for her to decompress while in such a rigorous dental program. Nicole states, “Guitar is an escape from school for me. We all need an outlet from the stress of work and exams, this is what works for me.” Nicole continues to selfteach herself new chords and melodies. Eventually, she plans on exploring music production as another means of unwinding in a creative manner.

“The tools I use in the kitchen remind me of the variety of tools we need to familiarize ourselves with in dental school. For example, using periodontal instruments such as a Gracey curette or a dispensing gun for impression materials is similar to cutting and piping skills used during cooking or baking.”

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David Pellei Medicine? Dentistry? Computer sciences? One might be confused when first asking Dr. Erde what he is up to nowadays. Having an MD, a PhD and being faculty at the College of Dental Medicine, you may be wondering just what can’t Dr. Erde do? Well don’t include glass blowing on that list! Dr. Erde has been blowing glass artwork since college when he was working at a summer camp that had a glass blowing clinic. Spending his days as a lighting director he had free time at night to practice glass blowing. Carrying into graduate school here at Columbia, Dr. Erde continued to blow glass at some of the first public glass studios in NYC! Working with complex patterns and colors to create his projects, he began to include anatomy in his repertoire. Over the years, Dr. Erde has practiced creating many different parts of the body including vertebral columns, hearts, kidneys, brains, and teeth! Displaying many of these at previous years’ CUIMC Fine Art Exhibits, he has presented glass anatomical models combined into an entire body.

Finland, Sweden, Prague and Vienna are just a few of the places he has traveled to practice. He has most recently blown glass in Aruba with his wife Dr. Bernd (who is also an experienced glass blower and works using kilns in a method called “slumping”). Different places have their own style of practice, so getting to travel and visit the variety of schools has given Dr. Erde many experiences and methodologies to draw on when making his art. While sometimes there may be a substantial language barrier abroad, sharing the knowledge of different practices has been a powerful form of communication; fluency in hand motions is essential. Dr. Erde has an upcoming trip planned to a famous glass blowing school in Australia.

Here in NYC, Dr. Erde can often be found practicing at Brooklyn Glass or the Corning Museum of Glass, which he highly recommends for those interested in an incredible museum trip or an authentic glass blowing class. If any students are interested, he would love to talk about glass blowing and how you can get involved!

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ART AS Bree Zhang, president of the class of 2026, brings her passion of oil painting, composing, and playing the guzheng ( ) to expand the ways we envision art in dentistry beyond the brushes, paints and materials we use in clinic every day. For Bree, dentistry is “this glowing, overlapping, breathing ecosystem of all [her] passions: art, music,

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A CHANNEL IN DENTISTRY Katherine Dumoulin

science, public health, global health, psychology, and education.” As an artist and composer, she’s found ways to use her artwork in innovative ways for her own learning and studying but also for conveying important messages like advocating for oral health access and public health information. Bree hopes to enhance health communication, improve oral health knowledge, and make patients feel more relaxed through creating art such as infographics, oil paintings, animations or music. Here are some of the ways Bree uses art as a channel in dentistry!

MUSIC AND DENTISTRY

GUZHENG THERAPY

CUSTOM PLAYLISTS

“Every Thursday, at the beginning and end of the hour, I played the guzheng , the 21-stringed Chinese harp, as patients entered the waiting rooms, incorporating elements of music therapy such as receptive intervention, re-creation, improvisation, and composition,” shared Bree. “Through my guzheng, I realized the power of music as a common language to connect us, heal us, bring out stories and memories, soothe our fears.”

Bree also “set up an office Spotify account and wireless bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for each operating room” to help comfort patients during dental treatment. “Rather than listening to a preset music playlist, patients could select any songs they wanted through Spotify or connect their own phone to the bluetooth headphones.”

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DENTISTRY THROUGH VISUAL ART THE MOUTH IS A WINDOW TO THE BODY’S HEALTH “I’ve seen how the mouth is often the first place to detect disease, cancers, and immune system dysfunction; how poor oral health is linked with heart disease, diabetes, COVID-19, Alzheimer's, and other synergistic diseases rooted in socioeconomic circumstances.”

OUR TEETH AS TIMEKEEPERS “The tooth is a birth certificate. Similar to tree rings, striations in our enamel carry the topography of the changes and transitions in our life, recording physiological rhythms as often as every 8-12 hours.”

REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE AND ORAL HEALTH “Access to dental care is about reproductive health and birth equity. Hormonal changes greatly increase risk of gum disease, and nearly 60-75% of pregnant people have gum disease (CDC), which can lead to tooth loss and increase likelihood of pregnancy complications like preterm birth, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia.”

BUCKETS OF OXYGEN, BUCKETS OF LOVE “Red blood cells are like little “boats,” and hemoglobin workers stand on top of these boats, carrying 4 iron buckets filled with oxygen to supply our body’s tissues. I want to humanize these red blood cells as ‘parents’ of our body who work hard to provide us energy and life to flourish, often breaking their backs under heavy burdens to give their children’s ‘body’ the best chance at life.”

RECORDS OF OUR ORAL ECOSYSTEM “The mouth is a vital and vulnerable ecosystem...Within these complex interlocking ecosystems, our microflora live, die, travel, trade, balancing each other in symbiotic cooperation, commensalistic coexistence, opportunistic competition and colonization. Yet this balance can be disrupted by overconsumption of sugary foods, common medications that reduce saliva flow, and any physiological changes such as stress, sleep deprivation, poor mental health, pregnancy, and diseases, favoring opportunistic growth of decay-causing bacteria.”

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PATIENT EDUCATION THROUGH ART ANIMATIONS FOR ADVANCED UNDERSTANDING “It’s not always convenient to draw the full process of a root canal. When I searched online for short video animations, I discovered that these animations were all longer than 1 minute or were too hyper-realistic. Thus, I decided to create my own animation, distilled down into a simple digestible form—all under 30 seconds. This video is the first of my series of handdrawn dental education animations, focused on being easy to visualize and understand even without sound.”

INFOGRAPHICS “After making this video, I also became inspired to create short educational infographics on other dental topics (cavities, plaque, gum disease, fillings, pregnancy) for patients and their families at the Dental Associates of Rhode Island, trying to distill dental education into short bite-sized pieces of information.”

COOKING UP LIKES Jack Eppolito As future dentists, we learn a lot about taking care of the oral cavity, especially the teeth and the gums, but let’s not neglect the tastebuds. I would like to highlight one of my fellow first year dental students, Ashton Gurrola. If you have not seen his Instagram, @ashtoncooking, then you are missing out on some culinary cinema. When I first stumbled upon his account, I was left wowed and feeling hungry. I couldn't believe that one of my own classmates was behind it, and I had to learn more. I had the opportunity to chat with the man behind the operation and get to know the story behind all his mouthwatering creations. Ashton received his training from the best teachers he knew, his mom and grandma. During COVID while most of us were watching Netflix, Ashton decided to take his cooking from just his kitchen to Instagram. Cooking became a creative and artistic outlet, and if you are questioning how cooking can be artistic, I ask you to just take a look at a few of his posts. They are a masterful combination of cooking, filming, presentation, and video editing. Ashton contemplated becoming a professional chef but was concerned about the stress, so instead applied to dental school. With the flexibility of a dental career, he hopes to have time for cooking during his time off. But for now, Ashton is cooking for his roommates, friends, and family. I look forward to the next delicious meal that comes across my feed.

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

Islamic Calligraphy Alina Naqvi “I wanted to find a way to showcase my Muslim identity through my art. Islamic calligraphy is based off the Arabic alphabet and has been around since the 7th century, as it was used to make copies of the Quran. I incorporate words such as “alhamdullilah,” which means “all praise be to God.” I enjoy showing people the immense beauty in Islam through this art form.”

A Tooth Study Bree Zhang

“After submitting my first dental final, I painted the occlusal surface of posterior maxillary teeth because I wanted to put together my conceptual knowledge and see how much I remembered! (Then used a typodont to check and fill in details) It made me realize that all the tables and charts we memorized barely even brushed the surface of the detail and complexity of people’s teeth. In fact, a lot of what I was drawing in reference to my typodont did not even match some of the information I memorized in lecture, showing that even “standardized” models of teeth have variation. I have still so much to learn and this drawing was a good lesson to show me that mastering memorization is nowhere near mastering true understanding!”

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“I picked up crochet about 3 years ago to work on my hand skills before dental” school started. During the process, I learned that the crocheting community is infinitely creative in designing, from making granny squares to stuffed animals to clothing designs. The crochet pattern designs require a lot of thoughtfulness into determining how each kind of stitch creates shapes and affects the appearance of the project as a whole. After starting dental school, I find the same kind of creativity and thoughtfulness that were put into different dental treatments. For example, I learned how restorations are considerate about which shapes affect not only the retention and resistant forms, but also affect the aesthetic result. I found the parallel between the two an amazing feat of how all aspects of our lives are connected with each other. Therefore, I am trying to continue developing my crocheting skills in my free time by crafting gifts for my friends, like giving their cats some cute crochet collars or stuffed animals of their pets. I am excited to say that more projects are definitely on the horizon!”

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