From Picking Grapes to Treating Cavities

Ramneek K. Batth

Dr. Ramneek Batth

I  grew up on my family’s vineyard in rural, central California, a region known for cultivating a good portion of our country’s grain, nuts, and fruit produce. Here, agriculture is sewn into the land and lives of so many people, including my own – to my parents’ liking, picking grapes off the vine was one of my favorite things to do as a child. I loved the sweetness of the fruit, and as I grew older, I came to appreciate that I was eating food my family had carefully cultivated over the harvest season. My family’s vineyard did not quite use traditional science during the horticultural process, but learning about viticulture, the cultivation and harvest of grapes, gave me my first glimpse into a real-life application of science as I learned about different biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to healthy vines and plentiful fruit. Even at a young age, I found myself always curious to learn more about the science that helped my family’s grapes grow. From soil, to sunlight, to sugar content, the experimentation and protocol for cultivating my family’s grapes was quite honestly my first exposure to science, without me even knowing it.

Because I grew up in a place where there were vast expanses of farmland as far as the eye could see, I never saw myself pursuing a career in anything other than agriculture simply because almost everyone that was born into the profession stayed with it. My neighbors and everyone around me grew up on their farms, learned the ins and outs of cultivation, and then joined the family business and worked as farmers for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, my scientific curiosity continued to flourish on our farm, and as I grew older, my interest in science began to take shape thanks to a formal education. The a-ha moment of realizing science was not only an interest but a possible career choice happened in high school when I took an advanced biology course that began to answer my viticultural questions and gave me the opportunity to really do science for the first time. Just like how farmers experiment with various growing conditions, chemicals, and fertilizers, I was able to actively experiment with science in the classroom. This influenced my decision to pursue science in college for two main reasons: first, I was able to ask and answer interesting questions using the scientific method, and second, I was able to use my hands.

Science was no longer just reading pages from a textbook. It was tactile, real, and transformative.

After high school, I ventured away from my family’s farm to University of the Pacific where I obtained my BS degree in Biological Sciences. During my undergraduate studies, I was exposed to a multitude of new scientific topics and research methods that lead to my own research experiences. From cell cycle research to electron microscopy research, I found myself in a world quite different than the one I grew up in. I came to recognize the importance of research and it’s need to advance almost every, if not all, aspects of life.

After graduating, I made the cross-country move to Boston, MA to pursue a Masters of Medical Sciences in Oral Health at Boston University School of Medicine. I found that Boston was truly a hub for science and academia, and I came across many different people with vastly different stories and experiences than my own. This time in my life was a really formative period because I began to better understand myself and uncover a great interest in dentistry. I recognized my passion for helping people, and the idea of aiding others in maintaining healthy smiles really appealed to me.

Pairing the aforementioned with the thought that dentistry allows me to work with my hands and is in a lot of ways artistic and creative, I felt as though I had found my calling. This interest arose thanks to the single most influential educator in my academic career, Dr. Theresa Davies. Dr. Davies was the kind of teacher and advisor that you see in the movies changing kids’ lives for the better. She was patient, compassionate, and incredibly knowledgeable. She encouraged me to pursue a career I love, despite me doubting my ability to pursue the rigorous academic route of dental school. At the time, this encouragement was something I really needed because a career in dentistry was so different from my roots and from anything I knew.

I went on to complete my DMD at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, where I took every opportunity to fully explore the many subfields within dentistry. During my dental studies, I completed an externship with the Indian Health Service in which I focused on providing dental care for extremely underserved populations in Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska. I also completed an externship in cosmetic and family dentistry in Honolulu, Hawaii. I organized Spanish language workshops for BU dental students to master key medical and dental vocabulary, volunteered as a student dentist through the BU Geriatric Department, making home care visits to provide dental care to the elderly, and even planned educational outreach events with the local Head Start chapter for elementary school students in the area. From young children to the elderly, Boston to Alaska, I experienced dentistry in many different forms. These experiences in dental school allowed me to recognize a desire to go beyond becoming a practicing clinician.

I realized I wanted to become a contributing member of society by making oral health and better health education accessible to everyone.

Now I am at a point where my goals are still a work in progress. I finished dental school and furthered my training at a rigorous General Practice Residency (GPR) program at Brown University and Samuel Sinclair Dental Center of Rhode Island Hospital. Since my GPR was hosted by hospital, I was also able to complete rotations in other departments such as anesthesiology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and pediatric medicine, all of which showcased the interconnectedness of health. Dental health is typically overlooked by patients because many do not look at their health issues with a holistic lens, but I am passionate about changing this narrative. I presented at numerous Patient Care Conferences, as well as participated in Grand Rounds, fulfilled over 100 hours of Continuing Education through the Rhode Island Dental Association, and attended seminars and lectures by faculty and dental professionals in pursuit of this goal.

I feel like I am doing something good; giving back to my community now that I am back in the agricultural epicenter of California as practicing dentist. It feels as though I have finally merged my two worlds together. Of course, now that I have reached certain goals, I’ve gone ahead and formulated new ones because I believe in being a lifelong learner. My hope now is to continue residency training and specialize in my absolute favorite field within dentistry: endodontics (the study and treatment of dental pulp). I love the meticulous and complex nature of root canals, apicoectomy surgeries, and regenerative endodontic treatment. My goal is to one day provide access to specialist services in more rural, underserved areas. Endodontics requires an additional residency of two to three years of training, so I’ll keep you posted on my goals and career trajectory. In the meantime, it’s good to remember that science is more so a way of thinking than anything else. Once you recognize that, the possibilities are infinite.