Try It Out Because You Never Know

As a child, Mario Ramos’s grandmother would say, “You should be a dentist.” To this day, he doesn’t fully know what she saw in him. Maybe it had something to do with him taking apart her vacuum cleaner. But in any case, she was right.

Ramos has been a pediatric dentist for over 30 years, running a successful private practice that serves children and patients with special needs. He’s also the president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) Foundation, which has helped 830,000 children access dental care since 2010.

“I consider myself very lucky that I was able to find a career in a profession that works for me,” said Ramos.

Finding this career was a result of listening to those around him. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he met a Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM), then the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, representative. With his grandmother’s words in his ear, he got advice on how to enter dental school and later sought a dental internship.

“Back in those days, we found jobs with a newspaper,” he said. After many no responses, one said yes. Starting with sterilization, he moved up to dental assistant, then head dental assistant. While working full-time, he completed dental school prerequisites and headed to Fairleigh Dickinson University’s dentistry program, which closed a year into his first year. He was among the three students that RSDM accepted as transfer students.

Ramos eyed to become an oral surgeon and did internships, research, and clinical practice to pursue that goal. However, he discovered a natural talent for working with kids during his pediatric dentistry rotation. That didn’t go unnoticed by the faculty, who recommended he consider pediatric dentistry while applying for residency programs.

“I wanted to work with surgically complicated, medically compromised patients. I wanted something challenging,” said Ramos. He then learned this was still an option for pediatric dentists. “I would have never known had faculty not told me,” he said. “That's my advice to students—try things out because you never know.” He did just that and applied to multiple programs, including Harvard University’s program with Boston Children’s Hospital and fell in love with it. “That was the best professional decision I ever made,” he said.

During his residency, he noticed the advantage of his Rutgers training. “I was probably ahead of most of the residents in terms of my clinical skills that I learned at Rutgers,” he said. Upon graduation, he rejoined the practice that gave him his start—now as a dentist. He also began teaching pediatric dentistry at Rutgers. Because he observed that dentists doing multiple things were happier with their profession, he tried to do the same. Shortly after, he started his practice with classmate Carmine Russo. But teaching remained a passion.

“What better gift to give someone than your knowledge?” he asked. “Teaching gives back just as much as I gave, if not more.”

After a decade of teaching, he turned to organized dentistry, joining the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) board. “As practitioners, we can only help a certain number of patients in our offices,” he said, “but organized dentistry allows us to touch many more patients.” He served on several committees and transitioned to the AAPD Foundation, which he leads now.

He still mentors students—many of whom became pediatric dentists. “This year is my 30th year, and I still love it,” he said. “I love seeing a two-year-old smile. It's very rewarding.”