{"id":27003,"date":"2019-01-18T19:51:47","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T00:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2019\/01\/19\/northern-essex-alumna-was-destined-for-dentistry\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:09:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:09:48","slug":"northern-essex-alumna-was-destined-for-dentistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/18\/northern-essex-alumna-was-destined-for-dentistry\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Essex Alumna was Destined for Dentistry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_19475\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/01\/Lauren-Branscomb-at-UNE.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19475\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19475\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/01\/Lauren-Branscomb-at-UNE-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-19475\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Londonderry, NH, resident Lauren Branscomb, a graduate of the dental assisting program, is attending dental school in Maine.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\">Northern Essex<\/a> alumna Lauren Branscomb has gone from dental assistant to dental\u00a0student in just a few short years.<\/p>\n<p>A preteen interest, piqued by a set of braces, first led her to the world of dentistry. A dual enrollment student her senior year of high school, Branscomb was thinking about enrolling in dental hygiene school, but wasn\u2019t ready to commit to a specific program. Instead, she continued her studies at Northern Essex and earned her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/learn\/credit-programs\/general-studies\/\">associate degree in general studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still liked the idea of working with my hands and working on people in a fast paced environment though,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>When Branscomb graduated, her mom, an NECC English professor, recommended she enroll in the 10-month dental assistant certificate program to familiarize herself with the dental office environment. Branscomb did and loved it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was really the best advice I ever received,\u201d the 26-year-old shared.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/01\/Lauren-Branscomb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-19476 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/01\/Lauren-Branscomb-300x132.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"132\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Branscomb worked as a dental assistant in a large group practice for several years while simultaneously earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication arts from the University of New Hampshire at Manchester. Along the way, she discovered a few things. Her instincts were correct &#8211; she belonged in a dental office, but wrong about the position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce I became comfortable I knew I wanted to do more\u2026have more responsibility and further my education. I wanted to become a dentist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She continued working while completing the arduous task of studying for and sitting for the five-hour DAT entry exam followed by applying to dental schools. The odds were long she knew. Only 50 percent of applicants are accepted.<\/p>\n<p>Odds or no odds, Branscomb just completed her first semester at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.une.edu\/dentalmedicine\">University of New England\u2019<\/a>s dental school in Portland Maine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was warned that the first year of dental school is like trying to drink from a firehose and not spill a drop,\u201d she said. \u201cBut honestly it\u2019s the most challenging and rewarding thing I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her dental assistant experience has been invaluable, she said. In addition to knowing dental products and instruments, she said she has a solid foundation in patient care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel confident in patient care because I worked in the field for four years,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you interact so closely with patients, having confidence is important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Admittedly, Branscomb has taken a circuitous path to dental school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m exactly where I\u2019m supposed to be,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot from the detours I\u2019ve taken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NECC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/learn\/credit-programs\/health\/dental-assisting-certificate\/\">dental assisting certificate program<\/a> prepares individuals to work in private dental offices or specialty practices or for transfer into a two-year or four-year dental hygiene program.<\/p>\n<p>Information sessions for the dental assisting program will be held February 6, March 6, and April 3 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the El-Hefni Allied Health &amp; Technology Building in Lawrence, 414 Common St.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Northern Essex alumna Lauren Branscomb has gone from dental assistant to dental\u00a0student in just a few short years. A preteen interest, piqued by a set of braces, first led her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":27005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Northern Essex Alumna was Destined for Dentistry - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/18\/northern-essex-alumna-was-destined-for-dentistry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northern Essex Alumna was Destined for Dentistry - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Northern Essex alumna Lauren Branscomb has gone from dental assistant to dental\u00a0student in just a few short years. 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