Student Spotlight: Brazilian Brothers Partner in Education and Career

Stalin and Yuri Borges Yuri and Stalin Borges are nearly five years apart, but as close as twins. The Brazilian brothers attended the same dental school in their native country and then completed a three-year orthodontics residency together before opening a thriving practice — which they still own — in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. “After a few years, we started thinking about how we could take our careers to the next level,” 32-year-old Stalin Borges recalled. They applied to dental schools in the U.S. in 2020, with Rutgers School of Dental Medical at the top of their list. Growing up, the brothers lived in New Jersey for five years and knew of Rutgers University and its dental school. Yuri Borges, 37, had an interest in dentistry while attending St. Joseph’s High School in Metuchen. “We knew about Rutgers’ reputation for clinical programs,” he said. As international students, the Borges brothers are in a two-year program and set to graduate in May 2023. “We always liked science and biology, and working with our hands,” Stalin Borges said. Yuri Borges recalled a friendly dentist from their childhood who allowed them to handle instruments and answered their many questions about what each did. They said their parents raised them to always help others. “We saw that in dentistry, we’d be able to help people and use our minds and hands,” Stalin Borges said. Yuri Borges added: “We became dentists because we really like dentistry, and enjoy talking to the patients.” After graduating from dental school in Brazil (the elder brother in 2007, the younger in 2010), both did post-graduate studies. Together they conducted research for a year on the use of lasers in alleviating oral ulcers in children with leukemia. After their orthodontics residency, they served as clinical instructors for the program for three years, they said. The brothers are both married and live in the same apartment building in Kearny. Yuri Borges is a triathlete who met his wife while competing, he said.  While the Borgeses haven’t yet decided where their U.S. practice will be, they know they’ll do it together. “We work very well as a team,” Stalin Borges said. The general oral rehabilitation practice “will focus on the quality of life of the patient, integrating health and lifestyle, and also improving their smile,” Yuri Borges said.

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