North Vegas Times

A member of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine is reflecting on his career that made the institution's dental program possible.

Dr. David Ord was led to the dental profession by his father and his father's friend, who was an oral surgeon; a news release from the university said. 

“I then met a physician and rode back with him from a conference,” Ord said in the release. “We started talking about medicine, and I became really interested. So, I learned how to work as a certified nurse assistant within an acute care hospital and continued throughout my undergraduate years. That was part of my way of working through college and through dental school when I got to that point.”

Ord added that he contemplated a nursing career until he figured out working the graveyard shift was not to his liking.

“So, I started switching my majors around,” he said. “I went to psychology, then back to nursing, then to medicine. Finally, I recognized that dentistry would give me what I wanted: A regular day schedule, working with people, and using my hands. That and my wife told me I was done changing majors.”

Ord also noted that he learns just as much from his students as they do from him.

“When I started teaching, I had to explain the reasons why,” he said. “I knew the 'how,' but teaching students helped me remember the 'why.' The students brought this knowledge out, which enhanced my skills. Now, I try to reveal that 'why' during my instruction so the students have that a-ha moment a little earlier than I did.”