Looking ahead – 'stereotypes are starting to blur'

Anmol Gill, a third year dental student, talks through her experience as a woman training to be a dentist and her hopes for the future of the profession.

Please introduce yourself

My name is Anmol Gill and I’m currently a third year dental student at University Europa Madrid.

So far I’ve been loving the experience. I’ve loved integrating with different people from all around the world. It’s been a great experience – and that’s not even talking about the weather!

The weather is beautiful out there. I’ve also been learning a second language, Spanish, which is pretty exciting.

Have you always wanted to be a dentist?

I’ve wanted to be a dentist for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents are in the medical field and being introduced into dentistry from such a young age. I watched my dad – Dr Jas Gill – growing up and it just made me fell in love with the profession.

I love how it incorporates the sciences and arts, which I’m very interested in. Also I feel like it is the best profession that aligns with my personal skills and personality.

Do you have any female role models?

I do! Reena Wadia is somebody I look up to, and Rhona Eskander and also Marina Rhode. I feel like all three of them have really excelled in a speciality that they love and it’s inspiring to watch.

What have your experiences been like as a women in dentistry? What challenges have you faced?

Being a young student, I haven’t been exposed to make a full judgement. However, I have seen a lot of challenges women in dentistry already do face, such as maintaining the home life and work balance.

I do want to try to get myself involved in courses and further educate myself into different fields of dentistry. I do feel that women are stereotyped as being the homemaker.

But I do feel like working with new generations, these older traditional stereotypes can be blurred and it might be made easier for women to achieve their goals and careers.

What would you have done if you were to choose another profession?

I think it would have been medicine as I am interested in all the aspects of medicine.

However, I do feel like dentistry was the one that was fit for me. As I previously mentioned, I love the sciences and also creative arts.

I feel like dentistry is essentially an art of science so I thought it was a perfect fit.

What would your dad have said if you had chosen a different profession?

My dad is my personal cheerleader. He has always believed in my potential even when I’m at my lowest.

I’m pretty confident in saying that he would have supported and been proud of any path I’d chosen to go down.

Why did you choose to study in Madrid?

I really enjoy getting involved in completely different things and meeting new people. Madrid presented so many of those opportunities.

It’s been amazing because, as it’s an international university, I meet people in different global cultures on a daily basis and I feel like it’s really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Looking ahead as a woman in dentistry – ‘traditional stereotypes are starting to blur’